Naruto: Genesis of the Nindo
by Bloody-Mad
Summary: Inspired by Reading the Future: Naruto's True Nindo. . . The future is not set in stone. Every action has a reaction. The people of the past have a chance to change things- hopefully, for the better. Join Team Minato, The Slug and Toad Sannin, and the parents that started it all! Hopefully, a different kind of Naruto!
1. Chapter 1

**HEY! My first Naruto fic, and I'm excited and all sorts of nervous. This was inspired by a similar fic, by xxHinaAngelxx, which i liked a lot. Graciously, she gave me the go ahead. So, let me know what you think. Naruto fics i read a plenty, but to write one . . . never had the courage until now. So without further ado!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

* * *

Knowing the future to what's to come had never been done or known in the Elemental Continent. For this was dangerous for many reasons. The balance would tip, and the wicked would undoubtedly use it for their benefits.

This was the unspoken rule: _"Do not meddle with the future. In order to prevent even greater darkness and suffering, even with pure intentions in our hearts, we must never attempt to know the future."_

This was a rule that all should follow. . . Even if it was _unspoken_. Naturally, you were to _assume_ this.

Unfortunately, there was a go-with-the-flow kind of person who quite frankly didn't give a shit for such rules (and why should she? She **is** a deity) for she was the one in control and knew this would help bring peace to this world, along with her companion. The two were garbed in cloaks, the first in a brilliant scarlet cloak, and the second in one of pitch black.

"Things are going according to plan. All we need to do is stop the time of this world while they're in that dimensional room I created for them," The melodious voice of a woman spoke up from the scarlet cloak.

"It's a good thing _he_ gave his permission for them to know the future," From the pitch black cloak of the second figure, came the voice of a boy— perhaps just emerging into adolescence.

"Yes, our mistress has been anxious for them to know and change the Nation's future, and help _that person_." The scarlet cloaked woman said.

"Let's hope for the best," The boy in the pitch black cloak said worriedly.

The mysterious woman giggled in a fluid and musical tone. "I'm sure it will! Even with any changes he'll still grow into the man of legends; it's just in his character. This I am sure of!" In her voice, you could practically hear the wide smile.

"But...how will you know his father will even survive Kyuubi's future attack? I'm pretty sure that's something our mistress cannot prevent, along with his mother's death," The cloaked boy said.

The woman merely replied, "This is the Yondaime we are talking about. He can do the near impossible. He has shown that over the years in Konoha. He _is_ Naruto's father for a reason. Not to mention our mistress will most likely have us prevent his mother's death,"

"Then I guess we'll set up the jutsu into motion," The boy sighed.

The woman nodded. "Yes. Let's get this over with."

A bright pure light engulfed the two people as they began the jutsu to change the future for the better.

* * *

Chapter One

_Rise, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

It was a relatively relaxing day in Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Many of the Leaf's finest ninja were out and about in the battlefield of the Third Great Shinobi War in the Elemental Continent, or out doing missions to show their village's strength. The war had been going on for quite some time. As the war continued and months turned into years, more and more the sadness and heartache that accompanied war seemed to smother the people of the village.

This war was something that one specific shinobi wanted to end. The hatred and blood being shed was tiresome and eroded the spirit— even in the battlefield as he killed his enemies, he still felt pity and sadness for those whose blood was on his hands. He was a kind man, but would do everything in his power to help and protect those whom he held dear to his heart.

This man was better known as Namikaze Minato, the rising star of Konoha's ninja corps.

Right at the moment, the extremely handsome young man of outstanding reputation was on a rare off day, and was running a bit late to meet his girlfriend.

Slowing down as he approached the local ramen bar, Ichiraku Ramen, he jogged into the little place, ducking under the short curtains. Sitting rather impatiently with her arms crossed tightly under a firm and decently sized chest, was the woman of his dreams, Uzumaki Kushina. Glaring at him as soon as their eyes locked, the beautiful young red head started in on him.

"What took you so long Namikaze? We were supposed to meet up here fifteen minutes ago! You had better have a good reason." She growled at him, grumpy from being surrounded by delicious ramen, but unable to have any of it just because she as nice enough to wait for him!

He smiled sheepishly, bringing up a hand to rub the back of his head. "I'm so sorry Kushina, but I had to tell my team that there was no training today— and you know them, so it took a little longer than I had anticipated. Forgive me?" He clapped both hands in front of his face, shoulders stooped forwards in a classic pose of penitence. She frowned at him for a minute, before gustily sighing.

"You're lucky I like you too much to give you what you deserve." She mumbled in mock annoyance, before smiling at him.

Just barely holding back a blush, Minato returned her smile with one of his megawatt grins, that only increased when he saw a blush race across her face before she hid behind her amazingly long fall of red hair, scowling. Finding her embarrassment inexplicably cute, he quickly took the seat next to her and brushed the hair hiding her face from his gaze back behind her ear. Who knew that the fierce girl who declared herself his rival for the Hokage's seat, as well as holding a fervent disdain for his "flakiness", would end up being his one and only.

"Well, shall we get started?" He asked kindly, and still blushing, she agreed. But, as they intertwined their hands, and got ready to order, they were engulfed in a white light, before they and the white light vanished from sight.

At the same time, about ten miles from the village gates, a tall and imposing figure with an equally impressive mane of long spiky white hair in a ponytail, turned to his smaller yet equally as impressive blonde haired companion. The blonde beauty (who the man now known as Jiraiya would attest to being the greatest beauty in all of the Elemental Nations— though to be fair to the red head his student Minato was seeing, she came a _very close _SECOND) also turned to her partner, wariness in her honey brown eyes.

"You feel that too?" Jiraiya asked, the serious tone coming from the usually jovial and carefree man the blonde beauty— named Senju Tsunade— let her know this was serious.

"Yes," she nodded in agreement, sharp eyes tracking anything unusual in their surroundings, "that power . . . was unlike anything I've ever felt."

No sooner had that last syllable left her rouge red lips, when both she and Jiraiya were engulfed in the white light that claimed Minato and Kushina previously, before they too vanished from sight.

At the EXACT same time at Training Ground Seven back in Konoha, there were three genin who lazed around uncertain with what to do with the free time given to them by their sensei Minato Namikaze.

A spiky black-haired boy yawned loudly, jaws looking as if they would crack if stretched anymore. "This is so boring!" Uchiha Obito complained in a petulant voice. A brunette by the name of Inuzuka Rin, rolled over onto her side from where she lay in the grass next to him, eyeing him tiredly. The corners of her mouth pulled down, making the purple markings on her cheeks stretch a little, as doe brown eyes glared into pitch black ones, hidden behind orange goggles.

"And you don't think we are as well? Give it a rest already." She sighed wearily, tucking a lock of shoulder length chocolate hair behind her ear.

Obito cast puppy dog eyes at the girl (who also happened to be his not-so-secret-crush), and whimpered, "But . . ."

A snort from his other side made his head snap around so fast you could hear the bones crack, glare as hot as a Katon jutsu ready and aimed at his rival. "Got anything to say bastard?"

A handsome young boy sat isolated away from the other two (by _choice, thank you_) on a large boulder, in the classic pose of a brooding douche— I mean . . . affected young man. Hatake Kakashi, whose no doubt handsome face was half covered by a mask, silver gravity defying hair kept out of his face by the Konoha Headband he wore with pride, turned his head enough for Obito to make out the pure disdain in the cobalt eye. "You should keep quiet dobe." He said in a monotone voice.

"Why you—! Say that to my face!" Obito spat, temper flaring at the outright disrespect coming from the smug silver-haired boy. Just as he was about to lunge for the throat of his teammate, they were engulfed and taken by the white light.

Now, it would be up to these seven individuals to change the future . . . for better . . . or for worse.

This narrator just wonders . . . how has nobody witnessed this?!

"WHAT THE—!"

"Ouch!"

"Dobe get **off** me!"

"**You!** Get! _Off!_"

"Damn! Kushina-koi you alright?"

"Yeah— hey! Jiraiya_, move. Your. __**Hands**_**.**"

Eventually the ragtag group disentangled themselves from each other. Confused, they assessed their situation. They, for some strange reason, had been taken from Konoha, and dumped into a large white room. The room was decorated in whites and spring colors. There were four doors, leading to other rooms but the doors were closed. The walls of the room were a pristine white with green and gold detailing, like vines crawling up the corners to the ceiling. In the middle of the room was a large ivory couch that curved into a half circle, with lemon chiffon and vanilla pillows. In the middle of the couch was an oak wood coffee table with a cinnamon vase holding yellow and pink roses and a remote control. To the right was a decent-sized kitchen. On the wall directly across from them were a fire place and a flat screen— their TVs were still rather large boxes. There were no windows.

"What the hell?" Kushina aptly simplified everyone else's thoughts into that one blunt statement.

"Well, see, it worked! And you weren't a believer, were you silly!"

"I never said I didn't believe, don't put words in my mouth!"

Whirling around, the Konoha group faced the two new strangers that suddenly entered the room. One was a small figure in a scarlet red cloak, with— they noticed with shock— two large storm gray wings folded up behind her back, the other figure in an ebony cloak loomed over the first figure.

The figure in the scarlet cloak spoke up, identifying herself as the female that spoke first. "Well, I'm so glad to see you all here, you really have no idea. You lucky people are being given a little something special."

"I won't trust the words of a stranger, especially one whose face is hidden from me. Identify yourself!" Tsunade barked, honey eyes narrowed yet blazing.

"Calm down, fine!" The woman said with mirth in her voice. She took hold of her hood and pushed it back, revealing her face. A lovely woman perhaps in her late teens or early twenties stood before them. Her hair was a deep navy blue and gently wavy, surrounding a cherubic yet mature face. A hair band pushed back her hair from her face, where two sets of amethyst eyes looked directly at the group, curiosity glinting in their depths. A lovely Cupid 's bow mouth was curved into a smile. Turning to her still-cloaked companion, she spoke, voice musical and happy.

"Well, now yours. They won't listen to a thing we say if you insist on being antisocial."

The other figure grunted. "Keep babbling on and they'll tune you out." The voice was smooth and male, if still rather high, indicating that he was even younger than the girl.

He too pushed back his hood, revealing a young yet handsome face belonging to someone in their mid-teens. The boy's hair was like Minato's excluding the red and black highlights. His eyes which had a slit pupil were the yellow of a hawk, showing some nervousness, but never wavering from the group. The left corner of his mouth was being chewed on by a lengthy canine.

"Nice to meet you, name's Anazawa Tohru." The boy drawled, smiling at them.

"And my name is Takigawa Mitsuki!" the bubbly raven beauty chirped.

"May I ask why we're here?" Minato was the first to speak up, voice calm and warm.

"You all have an important role in the future. Some more than others, but you'll figure that out. Though in the end things worked out fine, a lot of pain and suffering could have been avoided. It was too cliché for our tastes so we wanted to mix things up, and help our favorite hero, who will bring peace to your world. And with your help, by reading the events of the future, we can do that." Mitsuki boldly declared.

Though the group were confused, their facial expressions remained neutral and distantly polite— if these people had the power to bring them here, wherever here was, then it's best not to anger them needlessly.

"Whether you believe or not is your choice. However, you're here, so might as well not waste it." Grinning at them, Tohru turned to Minato, and from his cloak procured a large book. The book was leather bound, with the title printed in large, glossy gold lettering over the orange front. Handing it Minato, he took his place by his companion's side once more.

"**Naruto: Genesis of the Nindo." **Minato read aloud for the rest to hear. Huh. Naruto, like the character in Jiraiya-sensei's book? Looking at the Toad Sage, he could see the man had reached the same conclusion. Turning around to the group, they all had a silent conversation, looking into each other's eyes. Jiraiya was the spokesperson this time, turning to speak to the two odd beings.

"We accept, and thank you humbly for this." He said, straight to the point. Tohru and Mitsuki smiled.

"Ah, one last thing!" Mitsuki said, pointing to the flat screen.

"That is for visual effect every now and then, you'll be glad for it. Whenever a point comes into the story where you can watch or see something specific, just take the remote and press the large button in the center. OK?"

With that, Mitsuki and her companion faded away, both of them silently wishing the group from Konoha the best of luck.

The group still stood around even after the two had left. Obito, deciding to be the one to break the stupor, clapped his hands together, as if he was trying to dispel bad energy.

"Well, come on people! To the ridiculously comfy looking couch!" he cried, already making a beeline straight for it. Most of the others chuckled, before they all followed his lead. Rin, Kakashi and Obito took up the right side of the couch, Minato and Kushina took the right, with Tsunade and Jiraiya in the middle.

"Oooohhh, it is comfy." Jiraiya sighed happily, sinking into the cushions of the couch.

"I know." Obito said in complete agreement, following the sannin's lead. Rin and Tsunade hit their respective couch mate's upside the head, scolding them.

Ignoring the horseplay, Minato asked, "Who wants to go first?"

Kushina extended her hand for the book, fingers wiggling. "Me!"

Smiling at her, he gave her the book, chuckling when she quickly opened the book to the first page.

Clearing her throat she began, "**Naruto: Genesis of the Nindo.**

**It is said, that one decision can change it all. One small, inconsequential act, has the potential to rewrite the future. Uzumaki Naruto did not care about that at all.**

"Uzumaki? Kushina-san, there's a relative of yours out there somewhere?" Kakashi asked, brows furrowed the tiniest bit.

"No, I'm the only Uzumaki left far as I know. At least the only one who still carries the name." Kushina said, also thinking about this.

"Since this is the future, then that's most likely your son Kushina." Tsunade informed her, a small smile at the thought of a mini-Kushina wreaking havoc around Konoha.

"If that's so, then why did he take my surname, and not the father's?" Kushina asked, half to herself.

Minato wondered the same thing, only slightly different.

_His name is Uzumaki, but where am I? Who is the father? _He thought anxiously. Jiraiya, seeing his student's expression, caught Minato's eye and smiled reassuringly, getting a soft smile of gratitude back.

Pushing the questions back for later, Kushina read on.

**Whoever out there that wanted to analyze every choice and acted like every single one mattered, good for them. Sitting atop the head of the Fourth Hokage,**

"So sensei either kicked the bucket or threw in the towel." Jiraiya said, smirking when Tsunade lightly punched his shoulder.

_Here's hoping it's me! _Minato thought, focusing back on the story.

**The eleven year old had the best view of the village. Down there the civilians were heading home or getting last minute dinner supplies. He snorted, seeing how happy and friendly they were to each other. However, he had other things to think about. Like who the hell signed him up for the Genin Exam. This was his second one taken, and the second one failed.**

"He's about as dumb as you Obito." Kakashi snorted. Both Obito and the irate Kushina loomed over the unfortunate boy.

"What was that?" they growled out simultaneously. Kakashi scowled but didn't relent, glaring right back at them.

"Enough! Kakashi, quit it with the insults! Kushina, Obito, sit _down_." Tsunade's world as final, and the others knew better than to don anything else but comply.

**Naruto smirked. 'Suckers.' He thought vindictively.**

"What?" they all said, confused.

"Shut up and let me read, and you can get the answer to your question, -ttebane!" Kushina pointed out, then scowled when she realized she had slipped up with her verbal tic. Glaring at the sniggering forms of everyone, especially Minato, she continued reading with a huff.

**The first time he had taken it, he knew full well that he would fail, but he thought it's be a good idea to see the types of things that would be on it anyway.**

Tsunade nodded approvingly. "Kids got good sense, even I wouldn't have thought of doing a recon on the Genin Exam."

Jiraiya snorted. "You didn't need to Hime you passed with ease. I agree though. Kid's doing you proud, eh Kushina?"

The Uzumaki princess didn't answer, but her tender smile was enough answer for everybody as they smiled at the soft expression on her face.

**From the talks he had overheard from the older kids, back when he first started, the test didn't change too much. It was true; this second test was a basic copy of the first, give or takes a few extra things. However, this second time, he figured one of the Academy teachers who hated his guts signed him up in hopes that failing a second time would depress him so much that he would drop out of the Ninja Academy.**

**No such luck. Say whatever you want about Uzumaki Naruto, but he was nothing if not determined(**_**stubborn**_**). **

"Sounds like you Kushina." Minato said warmly, amused at the boy's attitude.

Kushina snorted, tossing her head proudly. "Damn right, that's what Uzumaki's are all about, so it goes without saying _my _son would feel the same way!" The others laughed at her enthusiasm and obvious pride in her son.

**He had purposely failed the exams, since he had no desire to be teamed up with some older punks who thought they would be better than him simply due to being older. Standing up, Naruto cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Nice try JERKS! I'll never give up, haven't you figured that out yet!? I'm not going to stop 'til I'm the best shinobi Konoha has **_**ever **_**churned out!" **

Jiraiya snorted, laughing raucously. "That's Uzumaki Kushina to a 'T'." The others followed suit in his laughter, even Kakashi, though he only gave a short chuckle.

Kushina, wiping away a tear from her eyes from laughing so hard, took a couple deep breaths before continuing.

"**Is that what you want to be? To be the best?" A voice came from behind him.**

**The man had barely started his sentence when Naruto whirled around, all emotion now gone from his face as he held a kunai that came from his jacket sleeve in his right hand. He faced a man in a ragged, torn dark brown cloak, the hood covering up to his nose, so all he could see was the man's mouth.**

"Who the hell is that?!" Obito demanded, as the others looked worried. Kushina shook her head, also nervous.

"Give the kid props on his reaction time." Minato said, hoping to dispel some of the nervousness from his girlfriend's features. Seeing her face lighten up, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

**The stranger raised his hands up, to show he meant no harm. **

"**You make it a habit of just popping up unexpectedly for total strangers?" Naruto asked, still keeping a neutral expression.**

"**Only for the important ones." The mystery man chuckled, slowly lowering his hands back to his sides.**

"**What's your business with me, stranger?" Naruto hadn't relaxed out of his defensive position, unlike the man before him.**

"**Good, you aren't too trusting are you?" The man smiled at him. Continuing on, he replied, "I just want to know if that's truly what you want, and why?"**

"**And I should just . . . **_**tell **_**you?" Naruto looked incredulously at the man. Who the hell did this guy think he is? As if he would be stupid enough to just start talking freely to a mysterious man like this dude!**

Kushina nodded her head. "Good boy." She said firmly.

"This guy obviously doesn't know how to deal with Uzumaki's." Tsunade snorted, laughing when Kushina mock glared at her.

"That mystery guy is pretty stupid." Kakashi agreed.

"**Humor me, Naruto. I won't hurt you, you have my word, and my word once given, cannot be broken." The man said with so much sincerity, that Naruto softened a little against him. Sighing heavily, but still keeping his kunai, he put all his weight on his right leg and crossed his arms loosely.**

"**Okay . . . it's just as I said. I want to be the best shinobi. I want to surpass all before me, even all the Hokages. There's nothing more to it." Naruto said simply.**

"**Does that mean you yourself want to be Hokage?" The cloaked man asked.**

"If he answers yes, then he's your own carbon copy Kushina!" Obito cried excitedly.

"I'm curious as well." Minato said, smiling at the red head. Blushing at the charm that just seemed to ooze from her blonde boyfriend, she continued on.

"**NO." Naruto said bluntly.**

"That was unexpected." Jiraiya mumbled a little shocked.

"I know it just doesn't seem to fit right?" Rin agreed, twirling a short lock of hair around her finger. "With all that determination and he said he wanted to be the best. Aren't Hokages the best?"

"Well there's also a case like the Sannin." Minato pointed out. "Easily all three are Kage level, but two of them don't want to be Hokage, and the other is just no."

"Still, he seems so much like me, and I wanted to be Hokage at his age." Kushina said, contemplating the enigma her son seemed to be.

"**That was quick. Now onto the second part of my question: why?" the man pressed.**

"**Why do I want to be the best, or why do I not want to be Hokage?" Naruto countered.**

"**Those two questions sort of blend with each other don't they?" the man noted.**

**Naruto snorted, but answered anyway. "To protect that which is most precious to me, I need to become strong. For those who acknowledge me and care for me, I'll protect them with my life, and protect the village they love and live in. But I have neither the desire, nor the obligation to go any further than that. I only want to love them, not the rest of those assholes down there. I have a rough understanding of what Hokage entails." Images of his precious people drifted through his thoughts. The Ichiraku's, Iruka-sensei, The Sandaime, and his best friend in the whole entire world . . . **

"Why am I not mentioned?" Kushina asked, troubled. They all looked at each other, uneasy with this. Rin, unable to bear the look of sadness on the usually feisty woman's face, directed their attention elsewhere.

"I'm sure there's an explanation, but—we just have to keep reading" Rin said sympathetically.

**Here he paused, and turned his head to look at the village below them, stained orange and red from the sunset. As he spoke again, he continued to look at the village.**

"**The Hokage is responsible for everything in this village. It's his responsibility to protect everyone here, and to make sure they are safe and happy with their village. He tends to the finances of this village, the rules, the daily events, everything. He controls every single ninja who bears a leaf headband, and basically directs when they live and die. This job is not for the faint of heart, and only for someone who loves this village deeply." Naruto's voice was low, but the man could hear him clearly.**

**He turned back to the man now, a disinterested expression on his face.**

Minato shook his head. "That's better than a 'rough understanding.' This kid has the position of Hokage down pretty well." Jiraiya nodded, looking impressed.

Obito looked nervously at Minato. "And that's the job you want sensei? It seems too much . . ."

Minato nodded with a happy smile on his face as he was reminded of the village he loved. "Yes. It seems like a lot, and it is, but if you love something enough you do whatever it takes." He said resolutely.

"Well, the young Uzumaki doesn't seem to hold your fervor. Let's find out why." Jiraya said, directing Kushina to keep reading.

"**This village is deserving of neither my love, nor my attention, beyond what my duties as shinobi will entail. I'm not fit for the position of Hokage." Naruto said, shrugging.**

**The man nodded. "I wouldn't be so sure, but let's drop the subject for now. Does that mean you hate this village?"**

**Naruto shook his head. "That's too predictable! On the contrary, I like the village. It's one of the most beautiful and lively hidden villages of them all right? I just dislike the **_**villagers**_**."**

"What have the villagers been doing to my son?" Kushina asked suspiciously, an edge in her voice. Sensing her temper rising, Minato pulled her closer to him, her form resting on his as he held her close. Kushina looked at him, grateful, and Minato smiled. Returning her attention to the book, she took a deep breath.

"**Naruto, I've seen how your life has been in this village." The man said with sadness in his voice. "They ostracize you, made you into an outcast, and hate you for something totally outside of your control. Hell, you were too young to even remember it."**

. . . .

. . . .

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Kushina roared, struggling against Minato's restrictive grip on her. Fury erupted inside her like a volcano, seeking to crush any threats to her future baby's happiness. "What has the village become in the future?! How _DARE _they treat _my_ son like that!"

"What the hell is going on in the future?" Tsunade growled, angered by their treatment of the little boy. "He's just a child!"

Jiraiya frowned, working through possible scenarios, though none of them seemed likely. Rather, there was one . . . but he didn't want to even consider it . . .

**Naruto's guard went back up again, but he never returned to his defensive pose. **

"**So you know about the mobs that tried to hurt me, the drunks that would hit me when they saw me? Do you know of the curses and spitting? The isolation? You're just a stalker aren't you?" Naruto asked, chuckling in dark amusement.**

The book trembled violently in Kushina's shaking grip, too shocked to notice she was in danger of ripping it. She blinked rapidly, the sudden dryness a bother to her, as well as the dryness of her mouth.

Minato looked at her with a subtle alarm. He reached towards her slowly, unsure. "Kushina-koi . . ."

She didn't acknowledge his voice, but after a minute or two she licked her lips, and when she spoke her voice shook with suppressed emotion. "Where am I? How could I let such things happen to my child . . . Just what the hell kind of mother did I turn out to be?" tears spilled out from violet eyes clouded with misery. Minato took the book and threw it behind him to Jiraiya, before gathering Kushina close to him and cuddling her.

"I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation for ALL of this. We just have to keep reading, and remember that the purpose of us reading this is to be able to _change_ things, for the _better_." Minato said, soothingly yet firmly to the distraught woman in his arms. She made no reply, but she sniffled and nodded her head. Wiping away the tears from her face.

Deciding that was as good as it was going to get, he turned to Jiraiya and motioned for the man to pick up where Kushina left off.

Jiraiya thumbed through the pages until he found the last place they were on, and with a last sad look at the Uzumaki princess, read on.

**The cloaked man nodded, sadness even heavier in his voice. "I do. But you turned out wonderfully despite all of that. You really are amazing Naruto."**

**Naruto shot the man a small smile. "Flattery gets you nowhere stranger. Why did you need to know all that? For that matter, why do you know so much about me?"**

**The man smiled, straightening up from his saddened slump. "Like I said, I've seen your life. You are an important player in the future Naruto. Even now, your choices are important. When I was first assigned the task of scouting you, I thought you would be a lot worse off with the condemnation of the village. How could I expect a child such as you to accomplish so much? But then I found out your secret. You had a little help from that **_**best friend**_** of yours huh?"**

**Naruto shifted, now moving into a vaguely threatening offensive position. "I'd prefer if we kept to safer topic, stranger." His tone darkened on the last word, reminding the man of his place. **

Obito couldn't help it, he chuckled. When he was met with stares of either confusion or irritation, he shrunk in on himself a little.

"What's funny about this dobe?" Kakashi asked harshly, thinking Obito was just being an idiot again. By the look on Rin's face, so did she, and that hurt him more than anything, but he soldiered on.

"It's just, he seems pretty protective huh? One might say almost possessive?" he chuckled weakly. Mentally, he hoped this would be an opportunity to lighten the mood a little.

Jiraiya, sensing where Obito was going with this, played along. "Yeah, for an eleven year-old he sure is." Though Tsunade was frowning at the pervert sage's leer, she sensed that this was going somewhere, and remained quiet.

"He had to get it from somewhere. Are we getting some insight into you two's relationship? Poor Minato-sensei." Obito simpered, grinning widely at his sensei and Kushina.

The couple's eyes widened and a massive blush spread across both their faces. As they spluttered for an answer, the others laughed with lighter hearts. Eventually they caught on to Obito's intention, and sent warm smiles to the young outcast Uchiha.

**The man didn't speak for a moment, for he was too caught up in Naruto's eyes. Those blue eyes had quickly changed from the warmth and openness of the sky and ocean, to cold and flinty, not giving an inch. Those eyes seemed to examine his whole being, like the scales of the Shinigami. He was reminded of another blonde shinobi, one of the strongest shinobi to have ever lived in the ninja world, whose enemies were treated to eyes like that— just as cold . . . as calculating . . . as deadly.**

Jiraiya and Tsunade's eyes widened. _'This seems like a clue.' _They both thought, giving each other significant glances.

"**Naruto, I gave you my word, but perhaps I was remiss in it? I said I wouldn't hurt you. That includes anything or anyone precious to you, doesn't it? I can tell, that to hurt her would hurt you." The man said with a soothing tone of voice, hoping to get the young boy before him to relax again. **

**Naruto's eyes widened infinitesimally, as he mentally cursed himself. He should have known his response would garner the man's surprise. He had ended up putting more attention on her, instead of the opposite like he was trying to do. He'd have to remember to curb his response to her. Still . . . he eyed the man. He **_**had**_** given his word.**

**He relaxed again, and shot the man a grin. "Sorry, can't be too careful."**

**The man nodded. "I know your true intentions now, and I cannot wait to see this story unfold. I'll be in the shadows, young Uzumaki, and will aid you along the way on your path to greatness when it is needed. Farewell." He turned around and walked into the shadows, disappearing.**

**Naruto, though he could not see the man, still replied. "Farewell, stranger." He made to follow the same direction back home, before stopping and cursing. "Damn! I never got his name. Probably wouldn't have given me it anyway, would have ruined the 'mystery'." He muttered in annoyance. Shaking the thoughts away, he returned back to his course and headed home. **

"Crap, I wanted to know." Kakashi muttered mutinously, and then stiffened when he realized he said it out loud. Ignoring the others curious and surprised stares, he waited for Jiraiya to start.

**Though the Sandaime had given Naruto an apartment of his own when the boy turned five (and was subsequently thrown bodily out of the orphanage by the seemingly kind old orphanage matron), he hadn't stayed there for more than a few hours since he was six. His new unofficial residence was towards the back of Konoha, in the more woodsy area, near the clan compounds, and where neighbors were spaced far apart with lots of acreage in their backyards.**

**He stopped in front of a simple two-story house, which really wasn't a simple house at all. The place screamed, "home and comfort." Saffron with a russet roof, and vines of wildflowers crawling up the side of the house, Naruto finally allowed his body to relax, taken in by the peace of the home.**

**It wasn't his, not totally anyway. It belonged at first to a fierce, proud woman named Kuroshio Nami. He affectionately remembered her as 'Nami-baba.' However she had passed away about two years prior, and the current owner was his best friend, and his precious person.**

The level of interest in the room raised several notches at the way the boy phrased this.

Rin wiggled in place on the sofa. "I think we get to meet Naruto-chan's crush!" she squealed, excited. Kushina, pushing back her dark mood, leaned forward in interest, totally missing Minato's look of relief and adoration directed at her.

**The door of the home opened, revealing the person of his thoughts. Kuroshio Katsu stood illuminated by the lights from inside the house, orange peel-colored hair like flames as she halted. Poppy gold eyes locked with ocean/sky blue eyes for a few moments, the only sound in the world his heartbeat. She grinned and gave him a two-finger salute, jumping over the steps to the ground below.**

"I like her already." Kushina stated firmly, soft smile on her face.

"**Where have you been? I was getting worried, but I couldn't leave since I was cooking dinner!" she sighed tiredly, opening the wooden picket fence gate as he walked to meet her halfway. "Well, I was held up." Coming to his side, Katsu turned around to stand side by side—even though she was shorter by a few inches— as he slung an arm around her small shoulders. **

"**Was it villagers?" He glanced down to see large gold eyes look at him sharply. Smiling he shook his head. "Nah, just some otherworldly dude with a God-complex." **

**Katsu opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and instead went, "Ok. Dinner will have to be rushed tonight, remember we have that extra lesson with Juu-sensei at 8:30? So that'll be 45 minutes to eat and get there."**

**Naruto snorted, rolling his eyes as he tucked her into his side a little closer. "The perfect end to my day." He quipped, smiling softly at her answering snort.**

Jiraiya set the book down on the coffee table, sighing heavily. He dragged a large hand down his face in exhaustion.

Kushina finally straightened up, sending Minato a look to convey she was alright, as his arms hovered around her.

"We have to keep reading. I need to know where the fuck I am in all this. I just can't see myself allowing my son to have such a horrible future." Her voice was quiet, but filled with resolve and determination.

Minato agreed. "There's a lot of question that need answering, and the next chapter will probably clear things up for us a bit." The others agreed, until Tsunade spoke up.

"Look at the screen." Her own honey eyes were already trained on it, and the others saw what she was seeing. A message was displayed on the screen, though nobody knew how it turned on.

_A Freebie!_

_You have the option of choosing whether or not,_

_You wish to see what Naruto and Katsu look like._

Under the message were two options: Yes or No.

"Well of course we want to see them!" Rin shrieked, diving for the remote and quickly pressing yes. The screen dissolved into rainbow colored pixels, gently floating around, before coming back together and forming the pictures of the two children in a millisecond.

Jiraiya gasped, and then whooped.

Tsunade choked out a hysterical laugh.

The lens of Obito's glasses— when did he put those on? — broke.

Kakashi quietly swore in awe.

Rin squealed, in happiness or shock, this narrator cannot quite tell.

Minato whooped getting up from the couch to jump up and down with Jiraiya.

Kushina made a strangled sound, before blushing massively.

Naruto— her beautiful son— was the carbon copy of her boyfriend, Namikaze Minato. Oh, the face was hers, but even then there was a mix of Minato in there as well. The same spiky and uncontrollable blonde locks covered his head, sans the jaw length bangs Minato sported. The same intensely blue eyes set into an adorable face (she could tell he would be extremely handsome, like his father, when he was older). Same tanned complexion on his skin. And the grin— so large his canines showed— was the perfect mix of hers and Minato's. The only thing different were the three whisker marks on each cheek. She wondered how he got those. He stood at about 4 feet 9 inches, only a little under average height. His head was held straight up, shoulders sloped back elegantly. He stood, challenging the world. Still, what was with the kill-me-orange jumpsuit?

Kushina smiled, tears filling her eyes again, but this time they were tears of happiness. "Isn't he beautiful?" She felt familiar arms surrounding her, and trembling breath by her ear. Minato had suddenly lost his voice, so he settled for nodding.

"Congratulations you two! I knew you had learned something from your old sensei Minato my boy!" Jiraiya shot the younger man thumbs up, a dirty blush covering his face. That same face soon met the floor as Tsunade decided enough was enough. Blowing on her knuckles, she turned towards Kushina and Minato, smiling brightly.

"He's the best of both of you." She said warmly.

Team Minato— well, Rin and Obito anyways— were besides themselves, cheering loudly and jumping around the room. Kakashi just gave a quiet but heartfelt word of congratulations, and somehow it meant just as much as Rin and Obito's obvious glee.

Rin quickly returned her attention to the screen, pointing at it. "His taste in women comes from sensei then!" she declared, a wicked grin on her eyes. The statement reminded them that there was another person on the screen, and they crowded closer to see the girl that had so obviously captured the Uzumaki boy's heart.

Jiraiya whistled. "You're right about that Rin."

The others nodded, in complete agreement— a slim figure, with curves already making an early hint on her body, flowed up into a slender neck and a cute face. Large, expressive gold eyes filled with warmth and good humor, looked straight at them, and scrunched up by her grin. Her pink lips were also stretched into a large grin, though not as large as Naruto's. Her shockingly orange hair waved and curled down her back, spilling across her shoulders, and her bangs swept messily (yet cutely, they noted) into her eyes. She wore a loose mid-thigh length black dress, and orange pants that closed in under knee, with black, orange, and red Chinese slippers. Her wrists were adorned with multiple bracelets, and she wore a simple black necklace with a gold coin around her neck.

"Our boy has good taste." Minato said, bumping shoulders with Kushina. She grinned back at him.


	2. Chapter 2

**SO . . . i'm back! Well, the fic is still in its early stages, so i have no idea if i can do chapters within a week of each other. Maybe every two weeks? Well, i wont jinx myself otherwise i'll get lazy. So, chapters coming in hot for a while? Once again, Read and Review so i can get a feel for how the fic is going in this direction, and you reaction to it. I'll see what i can do about putting up visuals in my profile . . . the new chapter of Naruto today gave me enough energy to finish this today so thank Kishimoto-dono!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Two_

_Your Journey Begins, Naruto!_

* * *

The heroes of the past settled themselves back into their seats, looking forwards to the next chapter, but with no small amount of trepidation. At the moment, they all stared at the book, none of them volunteering to read it.

Minato, seeing nothing for it, reached for the book. "So I guess I'll—"

Obito's hand shot out, touching the book before Minato could. "Actually, sensei, I want to read this chapter. Please." Obito's tone started out forceful, but the please had a strange sort of anxiety mixed into it. Minato stared at his student for a good time, and Obito gulped, feeling somehow overwhelmed as the azure eyes seemed to drill through him, seemingly changing shades of intense blues. Eventually, Minato retreated, and relaxed back into the couch, arm wrapping around Kushina's waist.

"Okay Obito-kun." He grinned widely, and everyone around him had to stifle a smile at the exact match from his grin to Naruto's. Obito quickly flipped through the pages, before clearing his throat and beginning,

**Kat—**

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" Rin broke in, blushing when everyone turned to stare at her, "but, I just . . . Obito when did you get those glasses, and weren't they broken a minute ago?"

Obito blinked, the square rims now apparent as they winked in the light. His customary orange lensed goggles hung around his neck. Rin tried vainly to fight down a blush, the kind of blush that all girls seem to get when near a cute member of the opposite sex wearing glasses.

"Dobe wears glasses?" Kakashi asked, confused.

"Obito, you're eyesight as a ninja is already perfect, you don't need glasses." Tsunade informed him, also curious about this new information.

"Well, it's just that I have a second cousin who's an optometrist, and he said that even though it was unlikely it would happen to me, people usually hurt their eyesight when reading for too long or in bad lighting. So, just to be safe, I got these for reading." Obito said, rubbing his spiky hair nervously.

"Huh." Rin said, really that was all she could say.

Obito, seeing there would be no further interruptions, continued.

**Katsu hit the ground with a bone jarring thud.**

"What?! Who's hurting that girl?!" Tsunade barked, angered at the force used against the girl. Obito, having read ahead a bit, snorted with laughter. "You'll see." He grinned.

**She choked on a gasp the fall ripped from her mouth. Realizing that during some point she had screwed her eyes shut, she quickly opened them, blinking up at the amused yet worried face of Naruto. **

**Grimacing, she growled out, "If this is because I didn't make any dessert last night, then your point has been made."**

**Shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, Naruto reached down with both hands and curled them under her arms. Hauling her up onto her feet, he steadied her before dusting her off.**

"**I'm sorry!" he chuckled sheepishly, biting down more amusement at her pout. "I put a bit more into that last hit than I really should have."**

"They must be training together." Minato voiced, brow furrowing.

"She didn't sound like an Academy student to me, though . . ." Kushina supplied, leaning her head back onto Minato's shoulder, face thoughtful.

"I'm more surprised that Naruto is sparring with her. It seemed like she was so precious, he wouldn't even think of hurting her. Here, he has no objections." Jiraiya pointed out, crossing his right ankle over his left knee. Minato hummed in agreement.

"Well that's why we are reading this book. _To find out answers."_ Kakashi pointed out, only a trifle testy as he pointed to the book in Obito's hands.

Obito took that as his cue, and continued on.

**Katsu shot him a look, 'do you think?' Shaking her hair away from her face, she redid her ponytail, loose from sparring for the past fifteen minutes. The sun had nearly broken from the horizon, signifying the early time the two were up. The breeze wasn't heavy enough to cool her body, but she ignored it and the sweat starting to gather on her brow as she took up her stance again. Her stance was high and peculiar, like that of a dancer. Her body was twisted to the left slightly; left leg moved forward a little way and foot facing Naruto, the other foot facing in the direction of her body, leg slightly pushed back. Her arms were held at the ready, left arm raised to heart level with elbow pointing down and her hand held palm facing Naruto. The other arm was curled by her side, yet held slightly away from her body, hand loosely curled into a fist.**

"What a peculiar taijutsu stance." Jiraiya mused, looking back through his memories to see if there was a style he knew that held such a beginning stance.

"**Ten more minutes, and we have to start getting ready for school." Katsu told Naruto, watching him with sharp eyes as he too took up his stance. It was the basic academy stance, but looser, allowing him to easily switch into another taijutsu style if he so wished. **

**The only thing moving were their hair and clothes in the breeze, both forms still and watchful. **

**Naruto attacked first.**

**Rushing her, he sent a haymaker straight for her, but Katsu had already spun on the toes of her left foot and dodged as she came to Naruto's side. She sent a jab at his kidneys, which he deflected with his other hand as he already twisted around to block. Katsu jumped back, then quickly shot forward to engage him. She planted a foot firmly on the ground, before raising her other leg for a roundhouse kick. Naruto caught the leg, and with a grunt of exertion, lifted her bodily up, before quickly bringing her down with the hopes of smashing her onto the ground. Just as Katsu passed overhead, she brought her free leg down for a kick on his right shoulder making his grip on her leg loosen with a surprised cry. Noting this quickly, she brought her foot down on his shoulder again, using it as a springboard as she flipped away from him. She landed on the balls of her feet, and made to rush him, before dancing away from his kicks. Naruto did not hesitate to follow her, making her backpedal as she dodged and blocked his attacks. **

**Stopping suddenly, she grabbed first one fist, then the other as he tried to get her with it. She raised her knee as she jerked him forward, but Naruto had already anticipated this. Using his own knee to block her rising one, he allowed himself to be jerked forward, and smashed his forehead against her own, knocking them both away from each other.**

"**Urgh!" Katsu cried.**

"**Enough!" Naruto said, blowing a breath out harshly. **

"Those two brats don't sound half bad." Jiraiya said with a large grin.

"They really are good, though we would have to see them fight others to really get a good comparison." Kushina said happily, feeling proud of her sochi's abilities.

"**Nice one Naruto." Katsu said with a tight smile, rubbing her forehead. Naruto grinned at her, and she couldn't help but give him a full one back.**

"**How come you didn't try to switch up your style?" she asked curiously. **

**Naruto shrugged. "That can come when we have more time. For now . . ." he trailed off at her pained groan. "What?" he asked.**

**Hands on her hips, Katsu looked at him with a sulky expression. "Hurry up and make nice with those clan brats, so you can beat **_**them **_**black and blue, instead of your supposed best friend."**

"**Have I told you how much I love and adore you today?" Naruto asked with a sweet grin.**

"That a boy." Minato laughed. Kushina pushed him with a playful pout, before snuggling back into his arms. Rin and Tsunade giggled at the couple.

"Oh sure, a cheesy line and all the girls are putty in your hands— it's because you're a freaking bishounen, unfair bastard." Obito mumbled, prompting snorts of amusement from his teammates.

"**Make it an even six!" Katsu laughed merrily, skipping back to the house. Naruto chuckled fondly at her, following her back in. They both separated to their respective bathrooms, clothes already there. **

**Cleaning quickly, they returned to the kitchen, where Katsu had prepared breakfast before their sparring session.**

"**Yum!" Naruto eyed the breakfast table hungrily, eagerly gathering up his fill of food.**

**Katsu shook her head at him fondly, calmly eating her rice and fish. **

**Naruto frowned at her simple meal. "You need more than that, Kuro-hime." He said chidingly, lading out a bowl of miso soup for her, and handing her two onigiri.**

"Aw! He even has a pet name for her!" Kushina squealed happily, gushing at the cuteness of their young love. Minato laughed at her silliness.

"**Well, yes, but you know I never eat much anyway. Don't need to get too big or else I won't be able to follow you in a spar!" Katsu laughed him off. **

**He suddenly grinned, speaking about some secret joke only the two of them were in on. "You'll be the only civilian with such badass ninja skills, ne?"**

"**Damn straight." She boasted, ocher eyes glinting wickedly. **

"She sounds kind of like you and Tsunade, Kushina-san." Kakashi observed. Kushina and Tsunade smiled proudly, before turning sour looks at Jiraiya as he muttered, "Yeah, but nowhere near as violent I bet."

**She suddenly perked up, before quickly downing the rest of her milk in one gulp, and gathering up the dishes.**

"**We better hurry, don't want to be late!" she said, walking over to the sink and starting to wash the dishes. Naruto quickly followed her with his own dirty dishes, depositing them in the sink before taking his place at her side to work on drying the dishes. Together it took them little time to pack up the dishes, and they immediately left for the doorway, where the cubby holding their shoes and bags rested against the wall.**

"**Oh, wait!" Katsu cried, as she turned and dashed back into the kitchen. Naruto barely had time to form a question before she was back with two bentos, and a few smaller wrapped packages.**

"**Here's your lunch." Katsu handed him the bento wrapped in an orange cloth, before handing him the smaller wrapped items. Bending down to put on her slippers, she thanked Naruto when he opened the door for her, and closed it behind them, locking it.**

"She cooks breakfast, lunch, and dinner for him? She is so sweet!" Rin cooed, giggling with Kushina.

"The power of the Namikaze Charm is indeed overwhelming." Minato said, as if parting with a secret, eyes glinting with laughter.

"**Thanks, but what are these?" Naruto indicated the mini-bentos.**

"**Those are for Iruka-sensei and Hinata-chan. After today we have a break, so there won't be much interaction between you and them anymore. Tell Hina-chan I said good morning, and tell Iruka-sensei that I said hi as well, won't you?" Katsu informed him, both now walking briskly down the path leading into town.**

"**Of course hime." Naruto nodded, tucking the packages with utmost care into his backpack. They walked in companionable silence to the edge of town, where store keepers and workers were just arriving half-drowsy to begin their busy work days anew. **

**Naruto stopped and turned to Katsu, before stopping at the look on her face. She stared at him in resignation, with the tiniest bit of annoyance lurking beneath.**

**Naruto sighed. "Oh hime . . . you know, I . . ."**

"**It gets annoying to purposely change routes just for you, right? When can I start doing what I want and not keep our friendship a secret?" Katsu interrupted him.**

"Again with the contradictions in their relationship!" Rin said, thoroughly confused.

"He adores her, but he's not afraid to pound her into the ground. He doesn't want to be away from her, but he hides the fact that they know each other?" Kakashi listed the so-called contradictions, ticking them off on pale fingers.

"It makes sense actually." Minato said, explaining further as the others turned to look at him. "Judging by what was said regarding the villagers treatment of him, it could be possible that she would face the same discrimination— though hopefully not to the same extent— just by being seen associating with him."

"So he just wants to keep her safe." Kushina finished, troubled by how hard her son had to work to keep his precious people.

"**If the villagers ever hurt you, I would tear open the seal on my body, and allow the Kyuubi to finish what he started eleven years ago!" Naruto snapped, glaring at her. Katsu's flinch was barely perceptible, but he had been with her for so long that he saw it clearly, so his face and tone softened. **

. . .

"Oh . . . shit." Jiraiya's voice was muffled by his hands covering his face.

. . .

"No!" Kushina moaned in horror, doubling over into herself. "_No!_" she sobbed, holding herself around the middle tightly. The very thing she wished never to brand her children with, the very same thing . . . her son had it, and what's worse the villagers knew it too!

"He's the . . . he can't be!" Tsunade said faintly, shocked beyond all belief that her red-headed friend's child would become the new Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.

Minato had paled considerably, lifting Kushina up and settling her into his lap, hugging her so tightly it seemed like he wanted to meld her to him. As he murmured soothing things into her ear, trying to calm down her painful sobbing and shuddering, his own mind was working quickly. Apparently, something would happen that would require a new Jinchuuriki to be made. Had Kushina's seal failed somehow? He knew the woman in his lap would rather die than let the beast out without a fight to the death. Would something happen to his love in the future? _NO. _His heart rejected the thought, but his mind wasn't so quick to scratch off the option. He could only hope. . .

Team Minato were no better, wondering why the boy was the new Jinchuuriki. Due to how close Minato was to his team, Kushina had told them about the secret of her being a Jinchuuriki. But how did . . . ?

Jiraiya had the same question as the genin, because he slammed a fist down on the coffee table in anger, startling the others. "Why is his status as a Jinchuuriki common knowledge? Whoever the Fourth Hokage is, he has to be a fool to do such a thing. It seems in the future the Kyuubi escaped from Kushina, and nearly destroyed Konoha I'm willing to bet. Naruto must have been used to seal the beast, but why are the villagers treating him in such a way?!"

Tsunade nodded in agreement, clearly furious, and her harsh voice bit out, "Then the boy is a hero they should all respect! Instead, it appears they see Naruto as the demon himself! Why has no one come forth to explain the sealing to them?!"

"Which begs the question: _Where the fuck am I?!_" Kushina wailed, voice slightly muffled, pressed against Minato's chest as she was. Minato shushed her, rubbing her back and arms lovingly.

"Or where am I, even? I wouldn't allow this to happen." Minato said, anger finally showing through his voice as flinty eyes like chips of ice glared holes into the book.

"I have a feeling we'll be finding out this chapter." Obito said coldly, though his anger was directed at the village he thought was a veritable paradise, instead of this cold place he was reading about.

"**Just for a little while longer, Katsuhime. When I become a ninja, the civilians will face bigger consequences if they try to hurt me, so when I'm safe from their attack so will you be. Then, and only then, will I bring you to light."**

**Katsu sighed, feeling guilty for bringing it up. "I know, but . . ." **

**Naruto bumped shoulders with Katsu, leaning closer to her. "I know something that'll cheer you up." He said lowly in her ear. **

"**What?" Katsu whispered back.**

"**At lunch, look towards the direction of the main street market. Something really special is going to happen then." He leaned away from her, smirking. Katsu giggled, and nodded, good mood now back. They hugged, and bid each other farewell, before parting ways.**

"He's got your indomitable spirit, Kushina-chan." Rin said quietly, desperate for anything to stop the sobs that were now silent, but not any less painful to see.

"And, Kami-sama help us all, your pranking abilities if I'm reading this right." Surprisingly it was Kakashi who gave cheering up the woman a shot. The fact that it was Kakashi who tried, made Kushina give an extra effort to calming down, smiling tremulously, even though the tears had yet to stop. Sighing at the bittersweet victory, Obito read.

**Katsu continued on straight through the street, sending sunny smiles and chirpy greetings to the stall owners and early-bird mothers walking their brood to the daycares or to school. Naruto stuck to the shadows, taking a long route that would coincide with the road he would have taken to the Academy from his apartment. Eventually he disengaged from the alleys, and jogged through the thickening crowds of people on his way to the Academy.**

"**Demon."**

"**Murderer."**

"**Look at it, just walking around free."**

"**I wish Hokage-sama would think about us . . ."**

**The barely whispers floated around him, seeking to find a chink in his defensive armor, and sink into his skin like poison barbs. The villagers didn't seem to care if they heard him or not. **

"Poisonous bastards." Kushina snarled like an angry tigress, forget vixen, eyes burning like coal as she stared at the coffee table

"I'll never be able to look or think of Konoha the same way ever again." She continued, ignoring the squeezing of Minato's arms as he tried to convince her to calm down.

"Same for us all, I'm sure." Tsunade said cautiously, eyeing Kushina's form as it trembled with rage.

**Naruto had heard these things for as long as he could remember. Maybe, it hurt him to hear before . . . but now, he had precious people to love and protect, and they would love and protect him in return. **_**'Let the villagers whisper. One day, they'll see me for who I am, not what they think I am.' **_**Naruto thought, determination setting his shoulders, making his stride longer and more powerful as he continued to the Academy.**

Minato smiled down at Kushina, playfully jostling her in his arms so she would look up. Kushina did, and catching sight of his smile, managed to let go of some of her anger.

**Naruto made it with little time to spare, wrenching open the door of the classroom to see Iruka-sensei just rising from his seat to start attendance. His friend and teaching assistant Mizuki was seated at the desk in the chair next to Iruka. Naruto fought the urge to growl at the man; he hadn't liked the vibes he sent off towards him from the start.**

**Iruka frowned at Naruto. "Cutting it a little too close again Naruto. Take a seat."**

**Naruto rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner.**

"He gets that from sensei!" Obito and Rin squealed together in silly happiness.

"**Gomen sensei." Naruto went to his seat, in the back right corner of the room, directly in front of the window.**

**Iruka eyed Naruto one last time, before sighing in resignation, and starting off the attendance.**

"**Aburame Shino." He called.**

"**Here" A stoic voice came from a boy in a large jacket, of which the collar covered half of his face. He wore sunglasses, so no one could really describe his physical experience, beyond, "a pale brunette with short hair." **

"Oh, the Aburame clan heir, that's Shibi's kid." Kushina realized.

"That's right, we can find out about our year mate's kids too." Minato realized.

"Yeah . . . but the thought of Shibi having a kid . . ." Jiraiya muttered, shivering at the creepiness. Tsunade huffed and punched his gut, making the Toad Sage double over in his seat.

"**Akamichi Chouji."**

"**Mmrph." The 'large-boned' boy (even this narrator fears calling an Akamichi the 'f' word, and said narrator isn't even in the same dimension) garbled out through his mouth full of chips that he was steadily adding to with each swallow. His light brown hair stood up with one lock falling into his face, and swirl marks on both cheeks. **

"Chouza's boy." Minato said, sweat dropping with a grin.

"**Ayumasa Shinji."**

**So it continued as he went down the list. Only half of his attention was on the roll call, however, with one Uzumaki Naruto taking up the rest of his thoughts.**

**At first, like the other villagers, he hated Naruto for what he carried, thinking of him only as the demon fox. However, having Naruto as his student every day (though not all day as the boy found it prudent to cut class for various reasons), had forced him to see beyond his own unfair and unjust hatred and see the little boy who was struggling with the weight of the village's scorn. After a while, Iruka cast aside his distrust and hatred of the boy, and now genuinely cared for him. Iruka tried his hardest to be fair and objective with all students, not wanting to have favorites, but he couldn't deny that he felt more invested in Naruto's well-being than in the other students.**

"**Haruno Sakura."**

"**Hai!" a girl with unusual light pink hair, an unusually large forehead, and light green eyes promptly spoke up.**

"Civilian born must be." Rin commented, and her teammates had to agree, but the adults either hadn't heard or did not care about the girl's name.

"That's another one who cares about Naru-chan then!" Tsunade said, relief filling her. Suddenly, the sound of rustling and a soft scratching sound filled her ears, and she turned in slight confusion to the direction it was coming from.

"Obito . . . what are you doing?" She queried.

Obito, not realizing he was the center of attention at the moment, looked up at her question, and turned violent red at the surprise of catching everyone's eyes. "Ah! I . . . um!" he stuttered and mumbled, fiddling helplessly with his hands.

Rolling his eyes at the dobe Uchiha's uselessness, Kakashi prodded him along. "You were making a list." He said helpfully.

Obito's face suddenly cleared, and a grin crossed it, looking much more natural and at home than the embarrassed and nervous expression from before.

"Yes! I ah . . . I am making a list of all the people who are nice to Naru-chan. Lil' Miss Katsuhime is at the very tip top of course. He mentioned others last chapter too! Those Ichiraku's, the father and daughter, uh Iruka-sensei— I think I've seen him around the village before— and Sandaime-sama of course!"

"That's a good idea Obito. When we get home, we'll buy gifts for all those people." Kushina said, a natural and genuine smile now back on her face. "Keep reading! What else does Iruka say about Naruto?" Kushina insisted, waving her hands at the book.

**It was hard for Iruka to keep his peace with Naruto. The boy was such an enigma. He was strictly average in every subject. His grades were not horrible, nor were they all that good. He was just straight in the middle. The thing is Iruka knows that Naruto can do better than this! It's not as if when asked something the boy doesn't know the answer. Instead he doesn't answer at all, and skillfully deflects the question over to another. Why was Naruto holding back? More importantly, why was Katsu **_**allowing**_** this?!**

**Aside from the puzzle Naruto was, Iruka also connected with the boy's life story. There were a few similarities. For instance, he and Naruto were both orphans.**

Obito choked, eyes wide and unseeing, focused on the last sentence. The others were no better, faces frozen in masks of horror and grief that last sentence echoing in their minds.

_He and Naruto were both orphans . . . _

_Orphans . . . _

_ORPHAN!_

Immediately, the eyes of the genin and sannin locked on Minato and Kushina. Minato's arms had fallen from Kushina, his face pale as the couch he rested on and horror etched into every line and curve of his face. His blue eyes were unfocused, and filling fast with tears. It was Kushina though, that scared them . . . whatever happiness she had finally gotten back seemed to just break inside of her, like a rock smashing through glass.

Kushina lurched up from the couch with a groan, eyes roaming around the room in dazed horror. Minato, finally snapping out of his stupor, made to grab for her, but she suddenly moved, body jerky and wobbling. She rounded the couch, and made for one of the doors behind it.

Minato scrambled up, flashing to her side. He opened his mouth to say something, then looked at her face and shut his mouth with an audible click. He put a hand on her back, firm yet gentle, and opened the door to lead her into the bedroom. He made sure she was lying down comfortably, before turning back to the open door. He popped his head out of the room, and gave the rest sitting on the couch a heavy look.

"We'll continue tomorrow. Team, bunk together okay?" he said softly, then retreated into the room and closed the door.

Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at each other, the shock of what they read just starting to clear away from their minds after the Habanero had stumbled away like she was heading for the gallows. Tsunade bowed her head in sorrow for the younger woman, heart breaking for both her and the boy who hadn't even been born yet— but who she cared for like family, and was caring more deeply for still. Jiraiya sighed heavily, unable to come up with any words at all to soothe the young ones or his own beloved teammate.

"Get some rest kids." He said at last. "If you can, wait till tomorrow for food, and we'll start up again when we're all awake and good and ready." Turning slightly, he helped Tsunade up, and then retreated to the second door next to Minato and Kushina's room. The door closed with a soft click, and still the three young shinobi would not look at each other.

Rin broke the silence first with a rough clearing of her throat. Kakashi started the slightest bit, and then took the lead. "We had . . . better get to bed. Let's hope those guys really thought of everything and gave us some clothes to change into." He got up and walked off to the last unoccupied room, stepping in and leaving the door open. Rin and Obito looked at each other and smiled, thinking just how exasperating Kakashi's unflappable attitude usually was, and just how much they appreciated it right now. Standing together, they walked into the room and closed the door. Later on, after they had discovered that yes, the duo had given them clothes— somehow they had gotten their own clothes straight from home and brought it here— and showered, they wondered if they would hear Kushina's sorrow any time soon. Fortunately or unfortunately, they weren't sure which exactly, nothing was heard, and figuring that Minato had worked his charm again, left it at that and retired for the night.

What they didn't know was that the rooms were soundproof.

The next day, Obito was the first to wake. He hesitated, wondering whether or not to shake his team awake, before deciding against it. They would waken naturally after his shower most likely. Obito showered, and as he suspected, when he came out from the slightly steamy bathroom, Kakashi and Rin were awake and looking around as if they had forgotten they were transported here from Konoha yesterday. Obito's eyes darkened and he immediately switched trains of thought. He didn't want to think about . . . there, just yet.

"Morning!" he said brightly, throwing his towel on top of his bed. Luckily, no one had to sleep on the floor as there were three beds made and ready for use. Those two strangers really had thought of everything.

"Morning." Rin yawned, then blushed when she realized how big and loud her yawn was, and especially around Kakashi . . . Suddenly conscious of the fact that she was neither freshly showered, nor was her breath all that minty, she scrambled up from the bed with a heavy blush and walked as calmly yet quickly as she could into the bathroom.

"I'll be going in then!" Was all they heard before the door shut. Obito glared at Kakashi, knowing why Rin was rushing, and all Kakashi did was stare dully at him in return. Growling at his unflappable nature, Obito turned to his bed and busied himself with making it up. Eventually Rin came out and Kakashi went in, he only spent fifteen minutes in there. The problem came when they faced the door leading to the living room and kitchen area.

As one, they glanced at the door handle, then at each other. None of them were too eager to go out there among the heavy atmosphere they were sure still lingered. But, what choice did they have? Taking a deep breath, they steeled themselves and opened the door quickly, striding out as one unit. Stopping, they realized no one else was out there. Obito looked at the other two and they shrugged. Closing the door, they ventured into the kitchen. Rin gasped in appreciation of the room's beauty.

"Let's do something nice for the others, ne?" Rin murmured, turning to look at both boys. The boys agreed, and so Team Minato made breakfast, even giving homemade ramen a try. It came as a shock to the Inuzuka and Hatake tat Obito knew how to cook, and especially that he could make homemade ramen. Obito merely shrugged, not offering any respite for their curiosity, and so they continued on. They had just finished putting everything on the table, when both doors to the other bedroom swung open. Jiraiya and Tsunade came out first, followed a few moments later by Kushina and Minato. The team suddenly felt inexplicably nervous, and wouldn't meet the adults' eyes. When Obito and Rin turned to look at Kakashi in surprise— it usually took a LOT for the other boy to back down— he merely shrugged and let some of the discomfort show. Though outwardly they took his word for it, inside they were even more surprised. Kakashi usually never let so much emotion show . . . this book was already working wonders. Then they winced at the thought and made sure not to look at their sensei or Kushina as they sat down.

"You guys cooked all this?" Tsunade asked, surprised. Slightly startled, they nodded. Tsunade nodded approvingly and filled her plate.

"Looks good! Itadakimasu." She said, before digging in. The others followed suit, though Kushina and Minato more slowly, and on the red head's part more reluctantly. That is, until she smelt the ramen.

" . . . Ramen?" She muttered questioningly, wondering if she had finally cracked. Obito grinned and popped up from his chair, reaching for a bowl and ladling the ramen into it. He plaed it next to Kushina's sparse plate, and sat down.

"It really is ramen." Her voice had the tiniest hint of emotion coloring it, and she looked at the three genin with confusion. "Which one of you cooked this?"

"I did Kushina!" Obito chirped, hoping his cheeriness would compel her to work up at least some enthusiasm.

She stared at him in shock, belatedly noticing the rest doing so as well. "Why?" she asked.

"To . . . cheer you up." He said, though now he wasn't as sure as he was before. His cheeks gained a light dusting of rose, and he fought hard the temptation to just look at his plate. "I just . . . uh."

"I didn't know you could make ramen." Kushina continued, now even more confused and a little worried at the boy starting to shrink into himself a tiny bit. Was this really the confident and brash kid she knew? The people around her were starting to change a little with each page of this book . . . or maybe, they were being more of themselves then they allowed before.

Minato, seeing where Obito was going with this, cut in to save the floundering boy. "Just goes to show you that things change." He said lightly, his words seemed to only be for face value. But Kushina knew better, and the others didn't need too many context clues to figure out his meaning either. Kushina and Minato stared at each other for a long time. Finally, Kushina nodded her head, at first hesitantly, then a second time with more surety.

Turning back to her food, specifically the ramen, she said thoughtfully, "At least I know I'm not neglecting him. I'm just dead."

"And we'll change that. We'll change all of this." Minato said with no room for argument.

Kushina nodded, and tasted the ramen.

And blinked.

Then took another bite.

And blinked twice.

"Obito! This ramen is delish, -ttebane!" Kushina crowed with stars in her eyes, and then realized she said –ttebane, and said "Damn!"

They all breather sighs of relief; Kushina was back.

After cleaning up from breakfast they returned to the couch in their original positions.

"Do you remember where you left off Obito?" Tsunade asked the young raven, who nodded in response.

"Yeah, right . . . aha! Here." He laughed victoriously, then commenced reading.

**Naruto's parents as well as Iruka's had died in the Kyuubi Attack eleven years ago. Naruto and he at that age wanted the villagers' attention and did pranks. Or at least, Iruka amended, that was Naruto's reason before. Ever since Naruto met Katsu and the Ichiraku's, he no longer did pranks for attention. They were purely just for amusement, something he found out in his third civil conversation with a younger Naruto earlier on in their relationship. So, the similarities pretty much stopped there, and Iruka was glad for it. At least Naruto had figured out that their attention wasn't worth hurting himself for way earlier than Iruka had.**

"**Hyuuga Hinata." **

"**H-here." A shy girl, pale face illuminated by a blush stuttered out, fingers poking together out of nervous habit. Her short hime-cut blue hair swayed in the breeze coming from the open window from the back, and her white eyes— without pupils— tinted with lavender looked down at her desk. Occasionally she would look up to gaze at the blonde boy in the back.**

"Sounds like the Hyuuga heiress." Kushina noted, surprised Hiashi had a girl.

"She doesn't really sound like a Hyuuga. She's shy first of all." Rin said incredulously. The rest of the group nodded, but only Obito piped up with an optimistic (insult) comment, "So there's hope for the Hyuuga's after all. OW!" Obito yowled when Rin sent a well-aimed elbow into his side.

"And . . . it sounds like she's got a crush on your boy, Minato." Jiraiya said, grinning at the thought of Naruto's popularity with the women. Minato chuckled. "As nice as I'm sure this Hinata girl is, sadly I don't think anyone will be able to tear his eyes away from Katsu."

"**Inuzuka Kiba." **

"**Yo!" "Arf!" both dog and master answered. The young and brash Inuzuka had a feral grin on his face, red clan markings stretching to fit it. Atop the wild-haired brunettes head, covered with a fur-lined hood, sat his partner, Akamaru, a small white puppy. **

"I guess Tsume oba-san actually became Clan Head." Rin sounded a little too shocked, not that those who knew the rough and tumble Inuzuka woman could argue too much.

"Doesn't she have a little girl now?" Kushina asked, struggling to remember.

"**Nara Shikamaru."**

**Iruka was answered with a snore, and a vein popped up on his head. Reaching his hand out to the side, he touched the eraser sitting on his desk. Picking it up, he hurled it at the sleeping Nara, and watched with satisfaction as the lazy boy woke up with a start from the pain of impact. **

"**Troublesome." The boy grumbled, rubbing at the mark on his temple left from the eraser, before returning to his nap. Iruka searched deep inside himself for calm.**

"Oh, Shikaku." Minato shook his head. Kushina laughed, "Poor, poor Yoshino-chan."

"**Uchiha Sasuke."**

**Iruka turned a helpless gaze to the reclusive boy, who uttered no words or even sounds to respond. He merely sat with his hands in front of his mouth and fingers laced together, leaning on his elbows.**

"Fugaku's kid, it seems." Minato said politely, but it was an empty and blank politeness that reminded the others of hi personal feelings regarding the Uchiha Clan Head.

"The second one. If I recall, Mikoto already has one son." Kushina said thoughtfully.

"Seems he turned out like a true Uchiha." Jiraiya snorted. Obito did not comment, but his hands curled into fists so tight that his nails bit into the rough skin of his palm. Deep down, he was both relieved and saddened at the mention of an Uchiha in the book, because then maybe the whispers he had been hearing in the clan compound were really just rumors . . .

"**Uzumaki Naruto." **

"WHOOOOOO!" The room filled with the blazing cheer that ripped from the occupants of the room in excessive degrees of enthusiasm and spirit.

"**Yo." His own response, though the same as Kiba's was said in a far cooler way, and this rankled— for some strange reason this narrator knows not, the pricks— the children of the class.**

"**Baka!" Sakura screeched, standing up and pointing at Naruto. "Stop trying to act so cool like Sasuke-kun!" **

"Who is that bitch?" Kushina demanded, angered at the girl's unprovoked remark.

"Sakura Haruno, comes from a civilian family we expect." Kakashi's voice ccame out monotonous and slightly bored, the same as if he was doing a mission's report.

"As if anyone wants to act like a stuck up Uchiha." Obito snorted darkly, a bitter smile curling his lips. His teammates looked at him in alarm, never really having seen such a dark side to the usually bright boy before. The adults were concerned too, but hid it far better than the genin did.

"I can think of quite a few people who could take a page out of at least one Uchiha's book." Minato said quietly, gaze heavy on his student. Obito gave a small smile in acknowledgement of sensei's words.

"**YEAH!" Other fangirls chorused throughout the room— basically every girl in there except for Hinata. Naruto, who hadn't yet turned from gazing outside the window, finally turned at the unanimous shout.**

"**Hm? Did you say something?" He asked absently. Iruka and Mizuki suddenly wondered if he had met a certain one-eyed jounin who habitually said the same exact thing.**

"BWAHAHAHAA!" Jiraiya guffawed, slapping a large hand on his thigh. "Minato's coolness, geez the kid is your copy in every way!"

Kushina looked put out. "Did he get nothing from me?" She wailed, only half meaning it.

"Your stubbornness and determination." The answer was voiced by everyone in the room besides herself with a deadpan expression. Kushina for her part, didn't even have the decency to look contrite, and instead flashed a foxy smirk and the peace sign.

**The girls all shrieked and hurled insults at him. Kiba looked at the boy and laughed. "HA! Stay in character Naruto, and fade back into the background." He snorted, and Akamaru yapped to back up his statement. **

"**Hn." Sasuke said in vindictive agreement . . . this narrator must pause. How, did that translate to so much . . . ?**

"One: I agree with this narrator. Two: Why are they being so mean to Naru-chan?" Rin huffed, arms folded tightly in anger and irritation.

"Those temes!" Kushina growled, fist trembling as she held it up in some sort of promise for vengeance. Minato sweat dropped and soothed her ruffled feathers.

"**Well said, Sasuke." Shikamaru noted lazily, but with a mocking edge to his drowsy voice. Naruto sent the sleepy boy a grateful glance. Only he, Chouji, Hinata and Shino treated Naruto with civility— indeed the former two could even be called friends if he were to stretch it. "ENOUGH." Iruka cut in sharply, but the kids weren't done yet.**

"**Yamanaka Ino!" he shouted out, glaring daggers at the unruly children.**

"**Here! And by the way, Naruto-**_**baka**_**," Ino added the suffix to his name in a teasing voice, so Naruto knew she wasn't entirely serious, tossed her long pale blonde ponytail over her shoulder with all the pomp of a noblewoman with her pale blue eyes drilling in to the bored looking boy. "How cool do you think you can be in such a horrible outfit?"**

**Shikamaru sighed. "Not that it's any of the harpy's business, but you had better outfits in the previous years. What gives with the eye-searing colors?" **

**Naruto turned eyes now glinting sapphire with his amusement. "Shika, what happens after every one of my pranks?"**

"**You get chased by the ninja." He answered easily.**

"**What kinds of ninja?"**

**Shikamaru was starting to get it, but continued for the other idiots. "Chunnin, jounin, and ever since four months ago, ANBU."**

**Naruto smiled slow and easy (making quite a few girls blush at the confidence he oozed before cursing themselves and him at their momentary betrayal of Sasuke-kun),**

Minato snorted, muttering apologies when everyone turned to look at him with amusement.

**and purred, "In an orange jumpsuit no less. With the exception of Iruka for however brief a time, did they ever catch me?"**

"**No." Shikamaru said, looking bored. "Even with Iruka-sensei, you stopped letting him catch you after a while. Once ANBU join, you let the chase last a little longer until you turn yourself in to the Hokage personally."**

**The sharper minds caught on to it. Chouji, Shino, Hinata, Sakura, Iruka and Sasuke— though it was only the last that looked mad because of it, and glared blackly at the supposed 'Dobe'.**

"**NO WAY!" Sakura screeched, "As if the baka could be that good—"**

"**Anyway, I wore it on account of a dare." Naruto said, almost like it was an afterthought, completely cutting off the fuming rosette. Truly, it was Katsu herself who dared him, which he still found odd since she refused to dress him up in anything less than a fashionable state more suited for models than ninja. Women, honestly . . . **

**Iruka snorted, harshly cutting off Sakura before she could start up again. "The boy has shown incredible stealth in some of the brightest colors imaginable. Actually, that jumpsuit is most likely a training method. At least his unconventional fashion serves a purpose unlike you kunoichi-to-be." Iruka cast specific glares at Sakura in her crimson red Chinese battle dress, and Ino in her purple attire that, without the bandages on her midsection and legs, would be much to skimpy for a young girl.**

"HMPH! Fan girls, and they have such nerve to berate the boy. He's not even the dead last!" Tsunade snorted in contempt of the future females. Fan girls were a universal problem, no matter the time zone or dimension . . . this narrator knows it well.

"But the kid is badass." Obito crowed, eyes sparkling behind wireframes.

"For even ANBU to have such a hard time . . ." Minato trailed off, but pride in his son soaked every word. Kushina hugged the arm around her middle, and they smiled at each other.

"With parents like you too . . . especially since he has Kushina's prankster habit— poor Yondaime!" Jiraiya grimaced, before booming laughter escaped him again.

"**Now, enough chit-chat!" Iruka's voice and eyes were sharp and promised pain to any who dismissed the order. "We'll continue with our lecture on battle tactics for teams . . ."**

**And so it continued, Naruto and the rest of the students tuning in and out. Naruto took a glance at the clock on the wall. Lunch would be in fifteen minutes, he realized. His eyes strayed thoughtfully to the outside. 'It'd be best to start preparations now.' He decided. Raising his hand, he asked, "Ano, Iruka-sensei, is it okay if I head to the bathroom really quickly?" **

**Iruka looked impatient at the interruption, but allowed it with a nod of his head. Naruto walked out the room without a backward glance, before suddenly disappearing. Ten minutes later he walked back into the classroom, apologizing for the interruption. Iruka suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine, and he looked at the blonde boy that sat oh so innocently in the back. He had a sudden thought that the boy had done something, but he couldn't have had time to cause any havoc in that short "bathroom break" . . . could he?**

**. . . OH GOD.**

"**Iruka." Iruka snapped out of his horrific musings when Mizuki shook his shoulder. Turning to the other man, the other explained himself. "It's lunch time." Then he turned and left the classroom for his own lunch.**

**Iruka nodded, pushing back thoughts of an impending chase into the back of his mind. "OK, Lunch time! Everybody, go out and eat, but I better see ALL of you back in class in thirty minutes!" He said firmly, and the class made a hasty agreement as they scrambled out the room. Well, most of them. Shino walked at a far more sedate pace, as did Naruto, though he made a detour to the teacher's desk. Chouji was at the desk shaking Shikamaru awake, coaxing the boy to make the effort to walk to the Academy lawn and spill out area. Iruka however was focused on the sauntering blonde headed straight for him.**

"**Anything I can help you with Naruto?" he asked, smiling down at the younger boy. **

"**I don't know how you two got so close, but she's sending you treats now." Naruto said, taking the green wrapped package and plunking down in Iruka's desk. Iruka picked it up, unwrapped the small cloth and opening the box. Inside was a cupcake, carefully iced with cream cheese frosting. Iruka's face lit up, and he quickly took a bit of the treat.**

"**This is delicious!" he sighed happily. "And the only reason we're so well aquainted, as you well know, is because she often waits for you after you're being scolded by Hokage-sama."**

"Psh, as if the old man is really scolding him." Kushina laughs, remembering the "scolding's" she would receive from the Sandaime for dispensing her own brand of justice to her school bullies.

"**Makes having me in your class bearable right?" Naruto teased, grinning foxily at his teacher.**

"**Only just." Iruka countered, gently cuffing the boy in the back of his head. Ignoring the protests, Iruka moved on to a topic of concern.**

"**Naruto, what did you do?" Iruka asked, almost scared of the answer.**

**Naruto smiled at him. "Whatever could you mean sensei? Better hurry and eat, you'll need your strength dealing with a bunch of hyper pre-teens, right?" The voice was too sugared, too smooth. It raised hairs on the back of Iruka's neck. Still, he didn't stop the boy from walking out his classroom. Plausible deniability would be the comfort for his conscience. **

**Naruto stepped out into the bright sunshine of the outdoors, and he breathed deeply of the sweet scents around him. Freshly cut green grass, the smell of tree bark soaked in a heavy heat . . . thanks to the Kyuubi enhancing his scents far beyond that of a normal human, he could experience entirely new things that perhaps only ones like the Inuzuka would have access to. But he could observe nature later. He had a schedule to keep. Opening eyes he hadn't realized drifted shut; he stepped into the crowd of lounging students. **

**The others ignored him, and he did the same. **

"This answers one question." Minato muttered quietly, but Kushina wanted an explanation.

"What question does this answer?" she asked.

"Why he and Katsu were training. He doesn't really want to, but it's a necessity, that eventually turned into a joy." He explained succinctly. The others caught on, and Tsunade explained it further.

"The other children, probably following the adults, don't seem to like him, with the exception of a select few. So, Katsu must have offered to help him become the best ninja by training alongside him and giving him someone to bounce ideas off of, spar with, to use to improve himself. "Tsunade said with a grim satisfaction.

"She shouldn't have to do that, but I'm glad she is anyway." Kushina said.

**He was looking for someone specific anyway. He looked around before spotting her curled up at the base of a tree close to the Acadamy wall that enclosed it from the rest of the street. He walked up to her, a cheery smile on his face.**

"**Hi Hinata-chan!" he said loudly, prompting a squeak out of the girl who hadn't noticed him. "I have something for you!"**

"**I-I- I w-was wondering about th-that N-Naruto-kun." Hinata said, looking at the ground. Naruto frowned at her avoiding his eyes, but said nothing.**

"**You're getting better with the stuttering, Hinata-chan." He said gently, praise evident in his tone. He— and by extension Katsu, since Naruto wouldn't allow her to meet any of his school mates, for her safety!— Hinata blushed cherry red, before peeking up at him and giving him a small smile.**

"**W-what d-d-did Katsu-ch-chan send f-for me t-today?" she asked, now turning to face him and look at him directly. Naruto smiled a touch of exasperation showing on his face. She may have faced him now, but her stuttering had gotten a little worse. 'One step forward, two steps back?' he mused, before rummaging through his bento bag.**

"**Yeah, some sweet little treat, I'm sure." He said absently, looking through the bag. As he looked, Hinata took the time to think about the boy who she had befriended, though it was something she only thought would happen in her wildest dreams. She had at first developed a large crush on him when he had taken a beating meant for her from three bullies when they were small. After that she was always on the lookout for him, and she was nearly overcome with joy when they were put into the same class. **

**However, that blessing was also a curse— though not for long. Though Naruto took the initiative in befriending her, she came to find out it would go no further than that. He told her months into their friendship that the reason he had contacted her first was at the urging of his best friend, a civilian, though she wouldn't learn the name for another year. Though she was heartbroken, she still stayed with Naruto, knowing friendship was better than nothing. And she was glad for it too, because when she saw the soft fondness and obvious happiness the mere thought of the other girl put on his face, she was extremely grateful for the two of them. She knew then that she wouldn't have stood a chance. Now if only Naruto-kun would let her actually meet Katsu-chan!**

"So she did have a crush, but now she's letting it go." Jiraiya said with a knowing voice, grinning in manly comradeship with Minato. Minato humored his sensei, chuckling.

"An unknowing heartbreaker is really the worst." Rin sighed, but her amuse grin did not lend credit to her statement.

"It's nice that their good friends, but he sure seems overprotective of Katsuhime." Tsunade said, chuckling at the slight overzealousness of the youngsters. The others chuckled with her, before returning to the book eagerly.

"**Here!" Hinata was startled out of her walk down memory lane by a small box wrapped in purple cloth presented before her. Thanking the whiskered boy, she unwrapped the treat, and opened it before gasping and smiling happily. Inside was a new creation of Katsu's a cinnamon bun cupcake, with frothy white icing whipped into a peak laid delicately inside the box.**

"**It's wonderful!" Hinata said softly, joy suffusing every word as she took a tiny bite of the treat. Naruto smiled, and nodded. Katsu knew that Hinata's favorite food was cinnamon buns.**

"**She enjoys having people eating her cooking, and loves it even more when they're as wild about the food as her." He said fondly. Suddenly he perked up, and Hinata looked at him with confusion. Her confusion arose when he suddenly jumped from a seated position next to her, to the top of the wall surrounding the yard and facing the village. **

"**N-naruto-kun?" Hinata said, but then an explosion startled her so bad she almost dropped the cupcake.**

**Naruto didn't answer, instead he watched with sharp eyes and a predatory grin as the prank unfolded. 'Are you watching Katsu?'**

'**So this is what he meant.' Katsu thought idly as the peace of the village fell like dominoes. The explosion was actually one in a series, each a different colored cloud— which was actually paint, she realized upon closer inspection. The paint bombs were set up in different areas around the village. One in the center of the market, one near the post office, another close to her school, and another by the Academy. The clouds were pink, orange, yellow, and red respective to their places. Screams of surprise and rage rose up like the crescendo of a concert. She clapped twice, and then promptly burst into gut-busting laughter at the sight of paint splatter ninja all running around trying to figure out what happened. When she saw two ANBU streak past her, covered from head to toe in rainbow paint and gold glitter, she stopped laughing. She processed this in her brain, and it almost broke from the hilarity. Instead, her legs went out from under her, and she doubled over in a kneeling position, hands clutching her sides as she howled. Looks like the ANBU quarters got it too.**

The ones reading in the room were faring no better, howling and cackling. Obito was struggling to keep the book in his hand, the other one wiping away streams of tears from his cheeks. Kushina had long since fallen off the couch, and Minato was clutching at his ribs too hard to even help her up. The two sannin leaned on each other, weak from laughter.

**Back at the Academy, Naruto could be found in a similar position to Katsu, though his howls had now died down to cackles, and evil sounding ones at that. The other students were both exasperated at his never-ending pranking streak, awed at the fact that he hadn't even left the school and it had still went off perfectly, as well as confused as to how it exactly happened. **

"**NAAAA-RRRRUUUUUU-TOOOOOO!" A near crazed bellow had all the observers shrieking and jumping, whipping around to see a clearly infuriated Iruka storming over to the trembling form of Naruto, who was trying gamely to stop laughing.**

"**H-Hai, Irukahahahahaaaaa!" Naruto was finding air difficult to come by, and another pulsing red vein popped up on the teachers head. **

**Before he could even tear the impertinent brat a new one, four ANBU suddenly surrounded the boy, and Iruka goggled at them. The ANBU headquarters had been most definitely hit, as all four ANBU were now decked in rainbow and sparkling in the sun.**

**One who bore the mask of the rat spoke up first. "Uzumaki Naruto, you are to come with us to see Sandaime-sama."**

"Wouldn't this be a matter for the Hokage?" Jiraiya asked, suspicious.

"**On what grounds gentleman? Oh, and fair lady, sorry Neko-chan." Naruto said, still giggling a little as he shakily got to his feet.**

"**Naruto, there's no one else in this village who would, or probably even could do it." The mentioned Cat ANBU said, but there was a foreign tremble almost unnoticeable in her voice. Naruto, of course, picked up on it. **

"**Careful neko-chan, I almost detected emotion in your voice. You have no evidence, but that's fine I've wanted to see jiji anyway." He turned to his sensei and gave a two finger salute. "Later sensei!" And, with the turtle ANBU grabbing a hold of his jacket, they vanished in a whirl of leaves.**

**They appeared in the office of the venerable Hokage, standing to attention, as professionally as they could looking like walking rainbow sprites. The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen took one look at them, and bit down on the pipe in his mouth to prevent any sound of hilarity.**

"Sensei!" Tsunade gasped. "But what about—"

"Where is the Yondaime?" Minato asked, feeling a shiver of foreboding going through him.

"**Thank you ANBU. Dismissed." He said gruffly. They did as told, leaving so fast they seemed a blur. Focusing back on Naruto, he shook his head in half amusement and half exasperation as the boy just took a seat at his desk casually, as if he hadn't pulled a village-wide prank, and opened up his bento. The boy in question felt his jiji's gaze on him and looked up at the man, grinning with utmost wickedness and unrepentant of his deed.**

"**Naruto—" he was cut off as the boy pushed the bento in the middle of the desk, equal distance between them. Naruto merely grinned.**

"**We'll be here for a while. Have some lunch jiji! Katsu packed a lot, I think she knew I would be seeing you today. . ."**

**Hiruzen looked at the boy, before giving in and laughing long and loud, reaching for an onigiri.**

"**Clever girl seems to know what you'll do always." Hiruzen said, still laughing.**

"**She misses you. Why not come over for dinner sometime? Then you can introduce us to your grandson who we've only heard of." Naruto suggested, popping a shrimp into his mouth. **

"**I miss her too, so perhaps." He agreed. "in order to feel like I'm at least trying to keep this village from going under with one of your pranks . . ." And so he gave Naruto the standard warning of keeping the pranks to a minimum and not quite so widespread, though both knew the blonde would do no such thing. So that talk ended rather quickly and instead they enjoyed the lunch. When Naruto walked out of his office waving, he turned to the picture of his successor/ predecessor. No matter how many times he looked at the picture, he was still struck on how much the same Naruto and Minato looked. The Sandaime smiled at the picture of the deceased Fourth Hokage and said, "As expected of a child from you and Kushina, Minato-kun, he will be something great."**

. . .

. . .

. . .

"WOOHOOO! I'm going to be the Fourth Hokage, HELL YEAH!" Minato whooped, his reaction at odds with the shell shocked faces of his companions. They were even more shocked at the uncharacteristic display from the usually composed and ultra-cool jounin.

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**Reviews are love and peace my friends!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So! It was a bit later than i wanted, but i was out on Wednesday, so . . . I had a concern about Katsu already being mary-sueish because everybody likes her. In my defense, there will be people whO don't like her too much and who she hates in return in both the Rookie 9 and beyond. Like Danzo. Cuz nobody likes him. As always, i present this to you in hopes you'll enjoy it a lot more than i did writing it. My poor elbows . . . **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i don't own any songs both english or japanese.**

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_Chapter Three_

_The plans of Uzumaki Naruto (as supplied by the Shadow Queen, Kuroshio Katsuhime)!_

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Kushina suddenly snaps out of her shock, and stats punching Minato wherever she can reach. "What are you so happy about?!" she growls, eyes blazing.

Minato yelps, trying to hold her hands away from him. "Kushina, what—?!" he yells, confused and a little irritated. The others are looking at each other, as confused as the victim himself, before Jiraiya suddenly whips around to stare hard at Minato. Minato, noticing his teacher trying to bore holes in him with his eyes, demands an answer. "WHAT?" He hisses through clenched teeth, now actively trying to restrain Kushina.

Jiraiya shakes his head, now deflating from his stiff position. "You were too good at your job kid." Tsunade gets it at once, and looks at Minato with sad eyes. The genin are still wholly confused, but figure it will be explained soon.

Minato feels that what Jiraiya just said was important, but with Kushina struggling against him, he's too busy to figure it out. "Well I certainly hope so! Jeez, why are so unhappy that I'm Hokage, I—" suddenly it comes to him, clear as a bell and he cannot believe he was so _stupid_— too stupid to know that being _Hokage_ meant—

Minato shuts his eyes tightly, and lets go of Kushina so abruptly that Kushina stops trying to bloody him in slight surprise. "To be Hokage means sacrificing more than anyone in the village. Did I sacrifice my whole family? Just for the last of it to be persecuted like this?" he said softly, dark blue eyes like a night-time storm out at sea nearly overwhelming Kushina as he looked at her. He looked repentant and sad, and she felt guilty for acting like she was the only hurt party.

She sighed. "Well, I don't think it was a sacrifice of us all so much as the better option between a rock and a hard place. I was most likely already dying from the Kyuubi escaping from my seal, and the only way to combat that threat is to seal it. I don't know how, or what seal you used, but it leads to your death. I simply must have died too. But our baby was left alone . . ." her voice wobbled a little before she cleared her throat. "Anyway, it's not our fault. In doing what we did, we saved a lot of people, probably even Naruto himself, but, it's inexcusable for us to have just left him without some sort of security." She continues on, chastising herself just as much as she was doing to Minato.

"No, it's the village that is to blame!" Rin spoke up defiantly, cheeks red with anger. "Even if the civilians don't quite understand the seal, they ought to know better than to antagonize a demon, if they truly believe Naruto is one."

"While I don't like that line of thinking, she is absolutely right." Tsunade agreed with a hard edge in her voice. The three males who quietly watched all voiced their agreement. Jiraiya even leaned over and clapped a hand on Minato's shoulder in a rough, joking fashion.

"Well, I'm the teacher of a Hokage!" Jiraiya boasted, dark eyes sparkling with humor and excitement. "And a damn good one too, to create a seal like whatever you used on Kyuubi! Plus, you were that shinobi the man was speaking of earlier in chapter one!" Jiraiya hollered, reclining back in his seat and barking out laughter like a pirate king. Tsunade made a disgusted sound and bashed the toad sage's head in, showing no mercy even when he looked at her with tears streaming out of his eyes.

The others sweat dropped, but while the Rin and Obito laughed at the situation, Minato and Kushina had a silent conversation and seemed to come to some conclusion since they now relaxed into each other as they had before with contentment.

Obito, seeing the relaxed couple, figured now was a good time to read. "Come on guys, don't you want to read chapter three?" he shouted impatiently. Once the group had resettled themselves comfortably, they now had to choose someone to read.

"So, whose up now?" Obito asked. Minato raised his hand, and snatched the book up from the table. "I get a good chapter, since it's the kids' school break. Thanks Obito-kun." Minato smiled at the boy, who poked his tongue out at his sensei. Minato opened the book to chapter three, and read.

**Naruto awoke slowly, eyes fluttering under the muted sunlight that shone through opaque blue curtains. He took a slow, deep breath and snuggled closer to the warmth next to him. He took another breath, this time the scent of warm days just after the rain, citrus, and spices filled him. His brows furrowed; just what was he snuggling up to?**

**He opened his eyes, and looked down at a sea of orange . . . hair? **

The group gasp, with the exception of Jiraiya, who approves of the situation he believes, is actually true. "That's very good my boy! Finally, there is someone who will listen to my teachings!" He raised his hands to the ceiling, as if praising the heavens for a miracle. Tsunade and Kushina both ganged up on him, bashing him in the skull, leaving a twitching pile of pervert.

"I'm sure the situation is not quite like _that_." Minato said rationally, bringing his fuming girlfriend into his arms and smoothing her hair away from her face.

"It better not be!" She snorted. "The shame of having a pervert for a son!"

'_**Oh.' **_**He realizes, **_**'we must have fallen asleep again before we could go to our rooms.' **_**Naruto and Katsu were sprawled on the living room floor, a blanket strewn haphazardly across them, though Katsu parallel to him in the opposite direction. His arms were wound tightly around her waist, his head buried into her covered stomach. He was startled when a groan from Katsu suddenly amplified in his ear on her stomach. **

**Katsu woke up slowly, and then groaned at the weight of something trying to burrow into her. She propped herself on her elbows, then blinked rapidly at the sight of Naruto's spiky blonde head nestled firmly into her abdomen. Absently pushing an over-large sleeve from her sleep shirt up her shoulder, she thought back to last night. Remembering how they had played around till they fell asleep in the middle of the conversation, she shrugged. It was often enough when they fell asleep together that she no longer bothered. **

"What a . . . interesting relationship." Rin laughs in nervous embarrassment, thinking that she could never be so comfortable with a male except her husband, like these two were so early on.

"**So, we fell asleep here then?" She muttered to herself, then looked at Naruto and smiled wryly. "Ohaiyou gozaimasu." She greeted. Naruto smiled at her, rising up into a sitting position. **

"**Ohaiyou-ttebayo! My day to cook, so I'll hurry and make breakfast." Naruto smoothly rose from the floor, and padded to the kitchen.**

Kushina's head suddenly met the table. "Ugh! Of all things, I wished he hadn't of gotten my verbal tic!"

Minato patted her on the back consolingly. "I think it's adorable. How does he even know about it? He must say _dattebayo_, while you say _dattebane_. And hey, the fact that he cooks totally makes up for that!"

As one, the ladies of the room sighed, "A man who can cook."

Obito grinned. "Katsu trained him well." Kakashi snorted at the thought, if only thinking that a civilian girl 'taming' a shinobi male of such lineage was ludicrous. However the women took his snort as an insult, and glared fiercely at him. Jiraiya chuckled, shaking his head and muttering something about youthful folly and experience.

**Katsu looked down at the floor again contemplatively, before also rising and getting a start on the day. Stretching upwards, she walked to the windows and pulled the curtains back to let more sunshine in. She looked outside, and smiled faintly. It was still rather early, and the sun hadn't quite gotten rid of its tenacious red, though it was slowly bleeding out to its regular gold. **_**'I can get a bit of gardening in before lessons if all goes well.' **_**She thought, pleased. She moved to the portable radio sitting on a table under the window. The radio was very old, and she knew it didn't have much longer left, but radios weren't cheap.**

"**Come on, please, just a little more." She softly coaxed the old tinny-sounding radio. With a few deft twists of the dials she was able to get a decent sounding station, and she sighed in relief and happiness. An old song was playing, some catchy tune by a group called Toradora. The song was . . . Vanilla Salt?**

"**Naruto we have another day of music!" she sang happily.**

**In the kitchen, Naruto snorted. "If I took away music from you, would you exhibit the same withdrawal symptoms as a junkie?" he mused loud enough for her to hear.**

"**To hell with you too!" she said sweetly, and he laughed. Remembering something, Katsu turned and called to Naruto.**

"**Yeah?" he responded.**

"**Would you like to come out into the yard with me?" she asked, turning from the window and starting to tidy up the living room. As she plumped up the pillows, a pair of hands suddenly clamped on her arms, and she squeaked in surprise.**

**Whipping around, she was face to face with a grinning Naruto. "Sure, dattebayo." He smiled cheekily. "There might be some cleaning to do around the yard anyway." Smiling her thanks at him, she took his hand and lead into the kitchen. Looking at the table she whistled appreciatively. Waffles, sliced fruits, onigiri . . . all in all a good spread.**

"He's a very good cook too!" Rin squealed, clapping her hands together in delight.

"No instant ramen dinners for him, eh?" Jiraiya chuckled.

"No simple meals from him." The women again sighed in unison, making the men look at each other in exasperation.

"You're son is making us look bad brat." Jiraiya growled. Minato shrugged his shoulders helplessly, laughing at the older man.

"**Glad for break huh?" she commented as she slid into a chair. Naruto sat down across from her, laughing at her eager expression. They ate, the conversation between them never stopping, never drifting to a lull. Soon they get up and clean the kitchen together— even though Naruto threatens her about several different ways of torture if she doesn't let him do this and **_**relax**_**, and Katsy just giggles and flicks him on the nose— and go upstairs to take a bath— "**_**separately **_**this time**_**, **_**Naruto.", "Damn."— **

"Yes, he is one with the PERVERT!" Jiraiya is just about in conniptions over this "joyous" discovery, and Tsunade and Kushina, not having the boy in question there in front of them to beat some sense into him, settle for Jiraiya. Though it wouldn't have the same effect, since Jiraiya is one type of pervert you cannot beat into normalcy, it did make them feel a whole lot better.

Minato and his team just wonder where the kid got this from. "She said this time though, did you catch that?" Obito pointed out.

"Though now that I think about it, Jiraiya, it goes without saying I would name you the godfather, so where are you?" Minato asks suddenly, eyes narrowed at his sensei. Jiraiya suddenly gulps, nervous with the X-ray treatment being given to him by his own prize pupil. "Well, I don't know. Perhaps I simply haven't been mentioned yet." Jiraiya reasoned.

**They return in fresh clothes. However, now that they were on break, Naruto didn't need to wear the orange jumpsuit, and instead wore casual civilian clothing. A black shirt with a blue wavy-stripe pattern going from under his arms to the end of the shirt on both sides, with the kanji for confidence in blue on the back, and regular orange cargo shorts with lots of pockets. Katsu wore a similar black shirt though sleeveless with blue waves on the bottom in addition to the stripes, and a blue skirt. From seemingly out of nowhere Katsu took out a planner from behind her and listed the day's activites.**

"**So today we have piano lessons with Haruka-sensei at 1:30, tea ceremony with Momo-sensei and Kai-sensei at 2:45, I have instrument-lessons with Mai-sensei afterwards at 3:00 while you have guitar lessons with Zaki-sensei for a shorter time, the rest of the time you'll hang out with Hokage-jij until I'm let out, and we are back home. Then tomorrow is calligraphy lessons with Juu-sensei at 10:00 in the morning— and I get the feeling he really is going to go through with comportment lessons like he said so expect a long lesson— and then we train for the rest of the day. Plus, if I bother Gin-sama long enough, he'll teach me some new sewing tricks so I can make more clothes for you and me!" She looked up, looking extremely sheepish. "Easy?" it was supposed to be a statement, but came out as more of a question.**

**Naruto shook his head in amusement at her. "At least we still train every day. Otherwise I would protest to this clear abuse." Katsu chuckled nervously. **

"What the hell kind of schedule is that?" Obito sulked, somehow disappointed with the kids for not milking the break for all it was worth. Rin snorted, slapping the back of his head.

"I'm not surprised you wouldn't think of trying to broaden your horizons baka. Good for those kids, keeping themselves busy, and with such interesting subjects too!" Rin said huffily, glaring at Obito. Obito shrunk a little, feeling a tiny bit of hurt over her callous treatment of him. If it had been Kakashi-teme, she would have been much sweeter in explaining it, he thought sourly.

Tsunade gave the smaller girl a stern glare. "Obito has a point, Academy children and even civilian kids don't think to take such lessons in addition to their own obligatory ones. I believe though a couple of the subjects are rather useful for future use, especially to ninja."

"Calligraphy will be very helpful for fuuinjutsu later on, since good handwriting is required." Minato said looking toward Jiraiya, who nodded in agreement.

"And the instruments are a good thing to learn just as something to do. It'll probably be a good way to relieve stress later on in Naru-chan's career. It's a much better alternative than him falling to the shinobi vices." Kushina noted in a sort of lecturing manner.

**Well, you know, it's all for the promise! Don't you remember my promise?"**

**Naruto nodded gravely. "How could I not? It was within the same week that I first became your friend."**

"**Oh man, it took me so long to approach you." Katsu laughed, embarrassment making her rub the back of her head, showing she had picked it up from Naruto. **

_**Flashback!**_

_**A six-year old Naruto was heaving for breath, having finally evaded the mob after him. A familiar feeling burned at the back of his eyeballs, but he angrily stomped the feeling down, hardening himself. He promised himself he wouldn't cry anymore, that he wouldn't let himself be so weak!**_

_**Still . . . he looked around, not recognizing his surroundings. No surprise since he had run into the forests, but he knew he wasn't too far in, he still couldn't see the walls surrounding Konoha. Sighing, he resigned himself to more walking. It was fast approaching dusk now, and he had to get back to the apartment. He was achy, and hungry, and tired and all he wanted to do was take a shower and eat ramen and sleep. Perhaps tomorrow the old man Hokage would take him out for— **_

_**Naruto spun around; feeling like someone or something was staring at him. Wary eyes darted around the foliage surrounding him, suddenly feeling foolish for running so far into the woods. A rustling to his left had him spinning around, too scared to run but not necessarily wanting to face the oncoming unknown either. The sounds of snapping twigs and rustled leaves came closer, and Naruto's heart thumped louder and louder. He swallowed, trying to bring some moisture to his dry mouth. Wait— there! **_

_**Naruto peered at the small bit of the other person. It was a kid, just like him! Judging from what he could see . . . a girl. She was hidden behind the thick trunk of a tree in front of him. If he wanted, he could lean over and touch her hand. But neither child made a move, only observed. Naruto was surprised by the girl's appearance. Her features were exotic, even more so possibly than his. He might have been the only person in Konoha with blonde hair so bright, and eyes so blue, and the only person with whisker marks— but he was sure there was no one else in the entirety of Fire Nation with hair so vividly orange paired with eyes like molten gold. Her skin was as tanned as his, and the only person who was darker than them was that Chuunin he saw on occasion working at the Academy— his name had something to do with dolphins.**_

_**Naruto was cut off from his internal reverie when the girl shifted to the right a little more, revealing herself fully. She was small— smaller, even, than him and he didn't really eat full meals every day. She wore a short-sleeved, ankle length burgundy dress that only made her orange hair brighter. A tiny black apron was tied around her waist and fell to just above the hem of the dress.**_

"_**Hi." He mumbled, never looking away from her. He was normally a bit more cheery, but a mob can turn any person's mood down a bit.**_

"_**Hi." She said quietly, so quiet he almost missed it.**_

"_**What's your name?" he asked.**_

"_**What's yours? Whenever I ask adults in the town, they just say demon." She responded quickly. "But you can't be named demon can you? You don't look very much like one either. Not even with those whiskers, you look more feline."**_

_**Her words reminded him of the villagers and they're hatred of him. Sadly, he looked away from her and said, "I don't know why they don't like me. But, I'm not a demon! At least, I don't think so. . ." with each passing day, being under the microscope almost of the village with their cold glares, he grew a little unsure of his answer. **_

"_**Well, I don't think so either." The girl said like she was confiding something, and her voice was almost normal level. "Still, it'd be nice to know. So for now, this is enough. I'll decide for myself, and I'll tell you whether or not you're anything remotely demon. Goodbye!" And then she was gone in a whirl of orange and red.**_

"_**Wait!" he called, but she was already gone.**_

"_**. . . Goodbye." He said to the empty clearing, before turning and leaving.**_

_**It had been three days since the encounter, and Naruto found himself once again in the woods, though this time of his own volition. He had only fancied a walk, and— secretly, hopefully— to see that girl again. She had spoken to him without hatred or cruelty, even knowing who— what? — He was. He just wanted to speak to her again . . .**_

"_**Do you like the woods?" a voice spoke right behind Naruto. Caught off guard, he jumped and spun around, barely stifling a shriek. But her twitching lips let him know he wasn't too successful. Seeing her laughing at him made him annoyed, so he snapped at her, "Why don't you just come out and face me, instead of hiding like a coward?"**_

"_**Who jumps out in front of a demon? That's stupid!" she shot back, annoyance as plain on her face as it was on his.**_

_**He leaned back, feeling hurt despite himself. "I thought you said you didn't think I was a demon?" his voice was both petulant and accusatory, and he was mad at himself for caring so much when they'd only spoken once.**_

_**She nodded in confirmation. "That's right. I don't think you're a demon, but I want to know for sure. I can only tell if I speak with you, observe you. From, you know, a distance. But I guess you're more an up-close type, so this will be okay from now on too."**_

"_**I don't know if this will make a difference, but . . . I promise I would never hurt anybody. And I always keep my promise! I never hurt anybody before in my life. I especially haven't killed anyone either, unlike what the people in the village says."**_

"_**I'll say," the girl agreed, a teasing light in her eye, "What sort of baby kills as many people as they claim you did?"**_

"_**I know!" Naruto cried, throwing his hands up in exasperation. The girl giggled at him, and he smiled at her. The feelings of hope were growing too strong and wild inside him to control. He couldn't help but hope that she would be his friend . . . his first friend.**_

"_**Where do you live?" she suddenly asked. Naruto was a little taken aback by the question, but answered anyway.**_

"_**In an apartment by myself." He said slowly.**_

"_**But you're so young to live on your lonesome!" she protested, eyes wide and large like dinner plates. He had to stifle a snort. 'Lonesome, who says that?' he thought.**_

"_**Well, I used to live in the orphanage, but the matron didn't like me, so the kids didn't like me, so . . ." Naruto shrugged. "Jiji gave me an apartment."**_

"_**Who's your jiji?" she asked curiously.**_

"_**He's the Hokage of the village! I want to be just like him!" Naruto boasted, tiny chest puffing out in pride.**_

"_**A ninja?"**_

"_**Yeah!" Well, Hokage, but he would explain that later.**_

"_**That's nice. Well, I will meet you again boy." Just as abruptly as she came, she left, leaving him shouting into the shadows of the forest.**_

"_**Hey, my name isn't boy! It's . . . ! Oh, whatever she's gone." He muttered the last sentence in resignation, before dragging his feet back to his apartment.**_

_**For the rest of the week, Naruto felt like eyes were on him constantly as he ventured (reluctantly) out into the village. They were on him in the grocery store, as the owner sold him overpriced products, and when he was happily slurping ramen noodles at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand, and even when he was at the Academy, being isolated or picked on by the other children. Finally, that Sunday when he was off from the Academy, he was confronted by his observer.**_

"_**It's you!" he cried, more elated than shocked at her mysterious entrance. She smiled and waved at him, skipping up to him. She suddenly took his hand, and ran, dragging him with her as he looked on in confusion. They ran for a long time, and though Naruto was not winded in the slightest— the mobs were great training— he was surprised she was doing so well. She kept going, and they passed houses every once in a while, until they ran into the garden and up the porch of a cozy-looking two-story house. He looked around at the bright and airy property. She must live here, he thought suddenly.**_

"_**Hi!" she chirped, bringing his attention back to her beaming face. "My name is Kuroshio Katsuhime! Katsu for short, I don't really care for formalities too much between friends as good as we are going to be."**_

_**At first he only stared at her, his brain slowly picking apart and absorbing the meaning of her sudden introduction. Then all of what she said fully hit him, and he almost felt like the smile on his face should have split his head into two, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth— on either account.**_

_**He took her hand into his, and their arms pumped wildly in an overenthusiastic handshake, before he suddenly pulled her close into a tight hug. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! Just Naruto, or whatever you want to shorten it into, because what's a nickname between such close friends as we are going to be?!" **_

_**She detached herself from him, grinning just as wide as he was. "Great! Obaa-chan, I brought that new friend I was telling you about!"**_

_**His stomach took a plunge. She was going to introduce him to her baa-chan?! But, but— she was going to hate him like all the other adults he just knew it!**_

_**His haywire emotions must have shone on his face, because Katsu bumped shoulders with him and said reassuringly, "Relax! My grandmother isn't one to judge without getting a clear impression of a person. She's not . . . oh what was the word she used . . . she's not as gullible! Yeah, that's it." Katsu nodded, seemingly pleased with herself. **_

_**Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the door to the house swung open. A woman with few wrinkles with the exception of laugh lines, of average height and sturdy build looked down at the, absently tucking faded brown hair behind her ear as gold eyes assessed the two children before her. She wore a blue kimono with a darker blue and yellow checkered obi. Naruto was doing her own assessing, and was slightly relieved at the neutral look he received from her, though his natural suspicion of all adults hadn't faded away. **_

"_**Well, introduce us, child!" She suddenly spoke, and both the children jumped. Katsu cleared her throat, looking up at her grandmother.**_

"_**Sorry, oba-chan. This is my new friend, Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto, this is my obaa-chan, Kuroshio Nami." The woman now labeled as Nami turned piercing gold eyes to Naruto, who to his credit only tensed up the tiniest bit. After a few moments of staring, the woman smiled and patted Naruto's head.**_

"_**It is nice to meet you young mister Uzumaki. You can just call me Nami-baa-chan. Any friend of my precious granddaughter's, is most certainly a friend of mine." She leaned forward a little in Naruto's direction like she was parting with a great secret. "I can trust you, because like all Kuroshio's before her, this little one is a good judge of character." She winked, and Naruto giggled.**_

"_**I'm glad you like him baa-chan, because I'm going to be investing a lot of time into him since I decided something." At the sudden business-like tone she'd taken, both Nami and Naruto turned to stare at her.**_

"_**What mischief are you dragging others into now?" Nami looked faintly incredulous, but Naruto could see amusement lurking deep in her eyes. Instead of explaining what she meant, Katsu pivoted on her foot in Naruto's direction, and pointed right at him. Naruto had the funny sensation of being prize cattle for auction.**_

"_**Uzumaki Naruto!" Katsu shouted, startling him and making Nami frown a little. Seeing her baa-chan's frown, she lowered her voice a little, but it still seemed to surround him. "I have observed your interactions with the rest of the village. They treat you like dirt for no good reason, and as your friend, I won't stand for this!" She suddenly folded her arms, one hand free to cup her jaw. "However . . . I am only one person and one person can't change popular opinion. So, I'll just have to change you!" She was going to continue, but Naruto stopped her to get an answer for this sudden bout of "inspiration."**_

"_**What the— what's wrong with me that I have to change?! I thought it was the villagers you were against?!" Naruto demanded, somewhat angry.**_

_**Kastu waved her hands at him in a reassuring, 'don't worry about it' manner. "That's all true! There's nothing wrong with you! The villagers just think you're a demon! So, we have to change your public image! It won't take effect immediately, mind you, but when it takes effect, Konoha better look out!" Katsu put her hands on her hips like she had truly conquered some great foe. Naruto was still hopelessly lost.**_

_**Nami folded her arms and leaned against the doorway. "Why don't you explain your plan of changing Naruto's public image, and see if that doesn't help to clear things up?" she suggested, clearly amused by the whole situation.**_

_**Katsu nodded, on a roll. "I plan on turning you into the perfect man Naruto. A gentleman of unparalleled class, a real upstanding guy! Calligraphy, piano, some other instruments, manners and how to conduct yourself with ultimate cool like a BOSS at ALL times— you'll be a noble in all but title! You'll be so . . . so . . ." Suddenly her face twisted u, and she turned to Nami.**_

"_**Grandma what's that word for when someone has all the right suff for the job?" she asked. **_

"_**Qualified?" Nami asked.**_

"_**More than that though!"**_

"_**Ah, overqualified is what you're looking for." Nami nodded.**_

_**Katsu turned back to Naruto with a fiery expression on. "Yeah! You'll be so overqualified, why; Hokage's seat would be beneath you! You'd be better suited for Daimyo! And just how much fun will it be to see the villagers finally realize that, and have to swallow their own hate for the good of their daughters! Mothers will fawn over you even worse than any Uchiha has ever experienced before, and fathers will have to swallow their pride AND dignity, groveling at your feet to secure a happy future for their daughters!" the ginger girl threw back her head and laughed loudly, almost crazily, her laughter seeming to almost echo.**_

_**Naruto was still thrown for a loop, and had nothing to say besides a few occasional splutters before periodically falling silent. Nami just shook her head and ruffled Naruto's head in sympathy. One thing her granddaughter is is certainly tenacious— she would get what she wanted, and she wanted that boy to be the best. **_

_**Naruto finally found a counter argument. "And just who will teach me all that? The civilians would rather die than see me succeed— in anything." **_

_**Katsu gave him a look like he was stupid for even asking it, and he suddenly doubted his own supposed-to-be-airtight logical rebuttal. "Just leave it all to me . . . with some help Nami-baa-chan?" she suddenly looked at her grandmother, hope shining in her eyes. Nami for her part just sighed and kneaded her forehead with the knuckles of her right hand. "I just end up getting dragged into your crazy ideas." She mumbled, before sighing in defeat, eliciting a cheer from Katsu. Naruto remained silent, but heavily skeptical. He didn't think this plan would actually work.**_

_**Two weeks later, a flushed and panting Katsu told him that he had his sensei's, and the lessons would begin tomorrow after school.**_

_**End of Flashback!**_

"Wha—?" Obito mumbled, feeling a little brain dead.

"Jiraiya, where did that sake come from?" Tsunade asked, shocked and slightly envious. Jiraiya pointed to the kitchen. Without looking away from his sake saucer, he handed her one and they both downed their sake.

"Damn." Jiraiya said, wiping his mouth with his hand.

"I mean . . . wow." Kushina said.

"He's in good hands." Was all Minato said, smiling widely, before returning to the reading.

"**Heh. Good times." Naruto said, Katsu smiling and nodding along with him. They both stood still for a moment longer before Katsu flitted over to the table and grabbed the portable radio.**

"**Well, come one, the weeds won't extricate themselves!" She smiled, and Naruto followed her out the backdoor to the garden. They spent about an hour in the garden, pulling weeds, mulching, pruning and watering the plants in the back, before going around to the front and doing the same. **

**Katsu stood, rounding out her spine before stretching to her tiptoes. She wiped a hand on her skin, feeling some slight sweat there, and grinned. **

"**We have to bathe before we go." Naruto commented nonchalantly as he wiped his face, leaving a streak of dirt on his cheek. Katsu nodded, turning around and leading the way back into the house. "Good thing we save the bath water, and we put that seal on the tub to keep the water nice and steamy." She noted, and Naruto agreed, before sighing with a slightly pouty expression. **

"**Yeah, one of the few seals I can do." He grumbled.**

"Aw, poor kid's having trouble with seals." Kushina sympathized, but was still proud her son took up the art of sealing as she and Minato had done before him.

"He's young to be doing seals, but I bet he doesn't even realize that. In all honesty, even a simple storage seal is good for him to do. He's ahead of his peers I bet." Tsunade said, looking to Jiraiya as they remembered their own Academy days.

"Yeah, fuuinjutsu is something barely covered for only a week at Academy back in our time. I doubt that's changed, even though they see— or saw, I should say— pure sealing genius from Minato. Heck, the Kakashi-brat is no slacker at it either!" Jiraiya said, ignoring Kakahi's frigid glare.

**Katsu punched him in the arm. "Quit whining, you're awesome at seals. Better than most Academy kids I bet. Besides, did you really think it'd be that easy?"**

"See, even she knows!" Jiraiya pointed at the book.

**Naruto grinned a little ruefully as they made their way into the bathroom. "No, but, I'm still on storage seals, and that's one of the few little puny ones I can do outside storage. I just want to get the **_**explosions **_**already."**

"Kami-sama help Konoha when he gets to them." Minato laughed, knowing how exceptionally deadly an exploding tag could be in the hands of an Uzumaki, sending a glance to his girlfriend who adopted an innocent look. No one was fooled.

**The bathroom was actually quite large, as it had been designed with a large family in mind. The bathroom had six shower stalls, three on each side and evenly spaced. In the middle of the room sat the large bath tub, still full from their morning draw, and still nice and hot thanks to the aforementioned heat seal. It had a long, narrow window at the top that let you view the lake that was in the backyard, and in the evenings you could see either the sunset sink into the trees or the moon hang over the lake. Katsu went to the left side, Naruto to the right. There was a shelf on either side, like the ones in hot springs with baskets to put your clothes, and fresh towels and other bathing necessities there. There was even a selection of small bath toys that had slowly grown from their times bathing together as small children. Thinking about this, Katsu brought this to Naruto's attention, even as neither of them turned around.**

**Sitting on the shower stool, Katsu said, "I don't really know how both of us just came to this conclusion, but— aren't we a bit too old to be bathing together anymore?"**

"I cannot condone this!" Kushina said shrilly, crossing her arms in an 'X.' Jiraiya was leering at something in the air, but it annoyed Tsunade and she was barely restraining herself from braining the bastard.

"He had an unorthodox childhood, it's to be expected he's not as aware of social norms as the other kids." Minato defends his poor son. "Besides I bet he can be very convincing." He said innocently, sending a grin with faint suggestive undertones to his girlfriend. She blushed beet red, before beating the color back with a scowl as the genin in his team went, "OH GOD.", "Sensei!", and "I need some brain bleach."

**She couldn't see him, but she knew he was shrugging it away like it was barely something to be concerned about. "Well, it's not like we're doing anything bad or perverted. We always took baths together when we were smaller, and really, we're just so close— what's the point in making a big deal out of it? Don't families and coworkers bathe together?" his was a slow and logical explanation, but Katsu just felt like being difficult. Truly, she didn't much care about normal conventions anyway. They enjoyed taking baths together.**

"They both must have had a pretty unorthodox childhood." Tsunade commented, seeing that this was just inevitable. She just worried that perhaps such intimacy so early on would knock them out of balance once hormones entered the equation.

"Why can't I get female friends like that?" Jiraiya whined, looking at Tsunade with accusation. She responded with a prompt right hook. Jiraiya acknowledged her point, and Obito and Kakashi were glad they only thought it.

Minato looked to Kushina for another comment from her about the strangeness of it all. But she took one look at the amusement thinly veiled in his expression, and capitulated with a sigh. "It's . . . just the way thy work. And their way, seems to be working." A wry smile tugged the corners of her lips up, until her smile was genuine amusement. Minato chuckled, hugging her tighter to him for a brief moment.

"**True, even if that's at a hot spring. I guess our friendship just has a lot of skinship involved huh?" she said loudly over the sound of the dual shower sprays washing of the soapy lather and the shampoo in her hair. Thinking about whether or not she should conditioner too, Katsu shrugged and did it anyway. A little more pampering on her hair never hurt.**

"**Skinship, that's what it's called huh? Yeah, I'd say so then." Naruto chuckled, tilting his head back to let the spray hit him head on, soap making swirly trails to the drain.**

**When they finished showering, they both wrapped towels around themselves— Naruto around his slim hips, and Katsu around her body, the towel falling just under mid-thigh. They turned around, and waked towards the large tub (it could easily fit the six people this bathroom was built to accommodate). They had no problems seeing each other in just towels, even if their bodies were different from when they were 7 or 8-year-olds. Sinking into the hot water with a delicious sigh, Naruto relaxed against the tub's smooth surface, arms draped on the sides. Naruto and Katsu's legs were laid next to each other, gently floating a few inches above the tub floor. They stayed that way for— too them— a time a little too brief, before heaving themselves out and going to put on new clothes. **

**When they came down Naruto was wearing a rust-colored Henley and black shinobi sweats, with black shinobi sandals. His wrists were adorned with one leather braided strip on the right, and a beaded bracelet on the left (a gift from Iruka from the Kyuubi Festival Naruto knew better than to go into). Katsu sported a loose short sleeved, knee-length romper in candy pink, and her usual wrist adornments, paired with some black sandals.**

"**Ready to go?" Katsu asked, and Naruto nodded. They left, locking the doors and going into town. The usual routine of splitting up started at the edge of town, but when they reached their destination, Naruto emerged from the shadows to stand with her.**

"**Little late there." Katsu commented, not really seeking an explanation. Naruto gave her one anyway.**

"**Heard about a shipment coming down." Seeing the faint look of disapproval on her face, he hurried on. "I know you don't like it when I go down to the wharfs but I'm not going to just sit around like some asshole while you take on babysitting and stuff to bring in extra money."**

"Good boy, he's growing into a fine young man without much help at all." Minato was proud of his son, who clearly took his best-friend status with Katsu-chan as a serious responsibility. Minato was glad Naruto was taking care of the girl just as well as she was taking care of him.

"What a gallant young man." Tsunade smiled, smile growing better at Rin and Kushina's cooing.

"Well, in such a situation, there'd be nothing less expected of him." Kakashi pointed out, though his voice showed faint approval for Naruto's actions.

**Katsu snorted. "You just want to be the one making the most money."**

"**They pay well at the docks, yes." Naruto sent her an amused glance as she snorted. Together, they walked into the small building, originally a Shinto shrine and now owned by Takeuchi Haruka, their piano instructor. **

**The rest of the days was a blur of lessons with the periodic interruptions from both students and teacher— usually instigated by Naruto's smart mouth and the teacher's slow acceptance of the jinchuuriki— and training, with some definite highlights. Such as when Haruka-sensei decided they could get off classical music, and return to something more traditional for Japan. Naruto also received his first compliment from the woman, who had only given him one before and with great reluctance. Juu-sensei even gave the both of them new calligraphy sets, saying in his usual curt manner, "I thought it'd be a waste teaching urchins like you, and you have mercifully proved me wrong. Here's your reward."**

**Training continued to progress, with both of them switching from the Academy style to their own researched taijutsu, as well as dabbling in weaponry. They would wake up at six each morning to do their warm ups. Three laps around the village— though Naruto was steadily pushing Katsu to do four, as he could—, stretching— as per Katsu's orders, who swore he would thank her one day for instilling flexibility into him after his body healed in the next ten years—, and some other things. Katsu knew the man who owned a dojo not too far from Konoha named Kon Takeshi, and he gave her two Bo staff to use since she had baked him and his whole class a large amount of treats.**

"**It may not be your perfect match," Katsu said a she threw the staff at Naruto for its first training session, "but it's still a good weapon to know how to use. How many staff wielders are in Konoha anyway?"**

"Girl's got a good hustle." Jiraiya noted, smiling.

"My future daughter-in-law is even better than I could ever have imagined her." Kushina sighed with a look of intense pride on her face. Minato chuckled, nodding in agreement.

**Naruto, as thanks for her hard work, went out and bought a completely new stereo system to replace the old radio, as well as a portable radio. His earnings from the boxing and moving that night on the docks had been great due to a shortage of workers, and the owner of the ship made his pleasure known to both Naruto, and Gama-chan, Naruto's frog-shaped wallet. With the still considerable amount of leftovers from the payment, Naruto put the rest in the savings box they kept inside of the house— they wouldn't all Naruto to have his own bank account, and he just felt better about having some cash close on the whole.**

"He spoils her!" Rin cooed, squealing with Kushina. Obito and Kakashi both had to rub a pinkie into their ear from her shrill squeal.

"They won't even let him get a bank account?" Minato complained, affronted.

"Well, in all actuality I bet sensei could get him a bank account, but Naruto doesn't seem to want one." Tsunade pointed out, elbows on her knees and hands supporting her head. "He doesn't really seem to trust authority figures— besides sensei, that is."

**Naruto would escort her— secretly, of course— to Hoshimaru Gin's store, where he made clothes. His brother had been a ninja and so he also had experience making clothes tough enough for ninjas to use. Their conversations were always something to hear.**

"**Why are you always coming to pester me?" Gin would whine in an affected manner whenever Katsu's form darkened the doorstep of his store.**

"**Shaddup you old cross dresser! You should be thankful someone takes your skill seriously enough that they want to learn it too!" Katsu would retort.**

"**Disrespectful brat! Don't forget who is doing the favors around here! I've got better things to do than cater to the stupid hobby pursuing of some orphan chit!" Gin snarls, already clearing Katsu's personal work space.**

"**Quit flapping your lips and do something useful, like show me that new stitch I saw on that absolutely **_**fabulous**_** dress in the window . . ." Katsu replies flippantly, and that would end their customary barb throwing in place of normal greetings between friends, now returning to gossiping and giggling best buddies. Naruto never failed to get a kick out of it.**

"She really seems to have some Kushina in her." Rin supplied, sweat dropping. Kushina just flipped her hair and pouted when the others agreed emphatically.

"Sans the girly hobby of dress making, you mean." Obito said, cringing in mock pain when Kushina hurled a pillow at him.

**Things continued on in that same fashion until the day came about that Naruto would later remember as, "The Fucking Miracle Day", and others just paled and looked sick at the mention of it. Katsu had just recently planted a new type of flower bush in the yard and didn't want to risk destroying it with their training. Naruto accordingly sought out a new space for them to train until the garden was cleared. It came in the form of a medium-sized clearing not too far from the official training grounds used by jounin and any genin teams they had. Their packs were laid by a tree on the edge of the clearing, with their Bo staffs next to it, and the portable radio set up handily. **

"**OK, let's go until we drop!" Katsu cheered, bouncing on the balls of her feet, already in her peculiar stance. **

"Famous last words." Minato snorted, remembering his own training sessions with his Uzumaki girlfriend.

"She's been friends enough with him to know about Uzumaki stamina, especially when that Uzumaki happens to be a Jinchuuriki!" Tsunade laughed, putting a hand to her face as she went through her own memories.

"Then she must have nearly as much stamina as he does." Kakashi pointed out. The others were better now at hiding their shock when the usually socially awkward boy commented, but they still felt it a little.

"Meaning that she trains with Naruto every time he does." Obito added.

Minato finished it up. "And if he has the same training schedule as his mother and I, which is more than likely true, then she has trained up her stamina and strength to an amazing degree for any other civilian."

"**Get ready to eat dirt." Naruto taunted, moving into his own personal taijutsu stance. He was in a half-crouch, body twisted to the side with both fists held out to the sides of his body and ready. His feet weren't exactly all the way on the ground, weight being put more on the balls of his feet than in the arch. Both taijutsu styles of the duo's relied on speed and fast reflexes, but Naruto's style was made more for heavy hits, which was perfect for him. Katsu's style was almost like the Hyuuga's Juuken in terms of grace and flowing movement. Twice as kickass though, if one were to ask Naruto. And indeed . . . the narrator is compelled to agree.**

**Katsu saw him tense up and coil, like a big cat ready to spring up. Naruto watched Katsu's graceful form, eyeing her for any sudden movements. Katsu attacked first, spinning her body to face him as she nearly lunged at him, running in a zig-zag motion to confuse him. She had already tried this tactic enough for him to not be fooled though, so he was ready when instead of a kick like her body language suggested; a fist was flying at his solar plexus. Grabbing her fist he went in close and sent an elbow into her side. **

"It all _sounds _impressive, but without someone else actually there to gauge this, I just can't get a feel of their skill level." Tsunade sighed.

"I'm sure their awesome." Kushina put in loyally.

**Katsu grunted, but allowed her body to be lifted by the force of the blow, and went in even closer to Naruto, bringing her other arm up to shove his head up. Her forearm hit Naruto's chin hard, making his head snap up. She went even further, making him bend backwards just enough for her leg to come up and shoot out to his stomach. The hit connected and sent him skidding back. Naruto recovered as he stopped skidding, and was already rooting through his weapons pouch and sending shuriken at her form. Katsu danced away, before coming at him from an angle. Naruto didn't let her get out of his sight, watching her. Katsu sent kunai and shuriken at him, and he blocked them all with a kunai he had hurriedly snatched out of his pouch. It was a mistake however; as Katsu used the replacement jutsu with one of her deflected kunai from behind him and was suddenly there with a vicious round house kick. Naruto crashed to the ground but had enough presence of mind to fall hands first and flip out of range of Katsu. **

"**Nice." Naruto said approvingly, rubbing the back of his sore head. Katsu grinned and sent him thumbs up. **

**Naruto rushed her, but then switched it up at the last second and drops down to sweep her feet. Katsu, expecting a punch or kick, was taken by surprise and fell to the ground. Naruto pounced on her with one arm holding him steady above her, kunai ready in his other hand to make her admit defeat. Katsu wasn't one to make things easy though, and knocked Naruto off balance by jabbing the inside of the elbow of the arm holding him up. As he toppled she grabbed his shoulders and flipped them over, straddling his waist as she concentrated on bloodying his face.**

"Ouch." The males all muttered, some bringing a hand up to rub their chin.

Tsunade approved. "That's how you train; you won't be so inclined to make mistakes in opening your guard when you're getting thoroughly pounded."

"Yeah, but the _face _though?" Rin whined, sympathizing with Naruto. She tried to imagine Minato-sensei's own handsome face being abused, and every fan girl bone in her body despaired.

"**Dammit— ow! Woman— gah! — not the—oomph— face!" Naruto growled out angrily, bucking up in an attempt to loosen Katsu's thighs' hold around him.**

"Whoa-ho!" Jiraiya hooted, leaning forward in interest. "They don't play around do they? Or can we call this foreplay?"

"Sensei please." Minato groaned, not even stopping Kushina as she launched out her seat to bash the pervert.

"**Please." Katsu snorted when he tried, and kept coming at him. "You'll heal up just fine anyway." Naruto scrabbled around for the kunai that he dropped. Once he had a good hold around it, he swung it in front of him in an arc, catching Katsu on the shoulder. **

"**Ah!" she cried lowly, halting her punches. That brief hesitation she showed was enough for Naruto, who pulled an old trick out and head-butted her savagely. Katsu tumbled off him, and he sprung up, and away from her. Katsu scrambled up, clutching at her bleeding shoulder. Twirling the kunai Naruto threw it directly at her. Katsu was moving to dodge it when suddenly a cloud of smoke popped in front of her, and a fist hit her with brutal efficiency, appearing from within the smoke cloud. Before she could reel back, another fist shot out and caught her on the chin, snapping her head back so hard stars appeared in her vision.**

"Nice, he's pulling her trick back on her." Obito murmured, settling back into his seat for maximum laziness.

**She flew back from the hit and hit the ground hard. "Guh!" the guttural sound escaped her when, as soon as she hit, Naruto was already there and sending a kick into her ribs. The force of it rolled her away, and then pushed up into a standing position, moving into the Cat Stance.**

"**Being on the defensive won't help you here!" Naruto smiled, before coming at her again. Once again he tried to confuse her by appearing to go for the front, but then zigzagging to the side for a hit. Katsu used the leg that was bent forward to kick out to the side. Naruto dodged out the way at the last second, and Katsu had shot off from her stance with the back leg and was coming after him. They trained hard and long, not stopping until Katsu's body forcibly reminded her she was only a normal girl.**

**As Katsu back-flipped onto her feet, she made to run at Naruto, but then her legs fell out from under her. She gasped, falling in a boneless heap on the floor. Naruto was too shocked to even stop her fall, until she attempted to get up on her own. **

"That's a risk of training with Uzumaki's I guess." Obito mused.

"She really should pace herself better. What good is training with Naruto to help him, if she tears apart her body to do so?" Tsunade frowned.

"I don't think he'd be all that happy either." Rin piped up.

Minato slid a sidelong glance at his red-headed love. "No doubt it's an argument they have often." He said, corners of his lips curling into a smile as Kushina made it a point to look away from him.

"**I thought we would drop out together, but I overestimated myself. Again." Katsu grumbled, struggling to get up on shaky limbs. Naruto made a tsk noise, scooping her up easily into his arms and waling over to the tree where their things were, depositing her softly on the springy grass under the shade of the tree.**

**Katsu looked on lazily as he rummaged through his pack, eventually coming up with his wallet. "Are you getting lunch? What are you going to get?" she murmured in interest. Naruto looked down to her with a fond look in his eye.**

"**My treat, your choice." He shook the full Gama-chan, grinning at her. Katsu hummed, thinking about it. Finally, she said, "Well, I think I'd like some dango . . ."**

"**Think or you know?" Naruto questioned. **

"**I know, I would like some dango." Katsu replied.**

"**Dango for the both of us then! And some soup to go with it, whatever they have. I'll be back soon, ok?" Naruto waved to her as he jogged away. He suddenly stopped, as if remembering something, and turned back to stare hard at the ginger under the tree.**

"**Do. Not. Move. I will know if you do." He promised, before jogging away again.**

"Such a Minato thing to say." Kushina mused, still looking away from her boyfriend even as he sighed in mock exasperation whilst the others laughed.

**Katsu huffed, blowing stray strands of hair away from her face. She turned to the radio and brightened up at the sight of it. "Well, since I'll just be waiting . . ." she muttered, turning the radio on and fiddling with the stations.**

**Meanwhile, Naruto was walking into town, heading to the only dango booth he knew. The woman who tended it only gave him a suspicious glance as he entered, but didn't trouble him. Naruto walked up to the counter where the woman was tending to the cash register, and greeted her.**

"**Good morning ma'am. I would like a platter of dango and whatever soup you have to go, please." He said politely, smiling at her. The woman nodded curtly, turning and going back into the kitchens he guessed through a swinging door. Waiting, Naruto sat down at the counter, tapping his fingers on the counter. An approaching noise alerted him to someone entering the establishment, and he turned his head to look over his shoulder, only mildly interested. His interest rose, as did a slim blonde eyebrow, when he saw who it was walking through the door.**

**Mitarashi Anko swaggered in with her usual ballsy attitude, in a buoyant mood now that she was in her food haven.**

"Woah, Anko-chan appeared!" Obito shouted out, a little surprised. Rin jumped at the sudden shout and punched Obito as a reflex. While Obito whimpered and cradled his battered cranium, Kakashi rolled his eyes at the immaturity, but secretly wondered at the familiarity Obito displayed towards her.

"Anko? Isn't that Orochimaru's apprentice?" Tsunade asked, mulling over the name, and feeling some definite recognition.

"Yeah, but she sounds different in here. Right now, the girl isn't exactly shy, but she sure is calmer than her future self appears to be."

**The jounin sported her usual attire of a chain mail shirt only covered by a knee-length tan trench coat that did little to hide the impressive womanly figure, and a purple miniskirt with shin guards.**

"She sounds _really _different." Jiraiya muttered, equal parts surprised and approving. Tsunade gave him a disgusted glare at his perverted grin, but didn't do much else besides that.

**She pouted when she didn't see the owner behind the counter, but just shrugged and sauntered over to plop into a stool right beside some blonde brat. She glanced at the brat, casually examining him and decided that he must be an Academy brat. Judging from his nonchalance at sitting next to her, she figured he knew nothing of her reputation. The snake mistress felt a smirk tug at her lips. She'd just do him a favor and correct that— the only thing that went as well with dango as red bean soup, was the fear of others!**

"And she seems a lot scarier in the future too." Obito said slowly, confused. The Anko he knew wouldn't usually be so . . . intimidating.

"**Say there gaki, what's a brattling like you doing all on your lonesome?" she asked cheerfully, swiveling around to face the door, turning her face to the boy. She was a little disappointed when the boy only gave her a neutral glance before returning his attention to the pictures on the wall.**

"**Getting lunch, much the same as you, I presume?" Naruto replied, sounding bored. Anko felt a spark of irritation. This gaki was too cool for her liking, she much preferred the gaki's that shook in their ninja sandals at the sight of her. **

"**You got that right! So, can I assume that you're a fellow lover of dango like me?" Anko smothered that spark of irritation, returning to a cheerfully scary disposition she was well-known for.**

"**You can assume that, but you'd be wrong." Naruto corrected, turning to stare at her with a small smile. "I much prefer ramen, but dango isn't bad if you can't get anything else."**

_**Forgive him his folly, Gods of Dango, the fool is uneducated in your greatness. **_**Anko's eye twitched, and she drew herself up from the slumped posture she adopted before, rolling her shoulders back to prepare to educate the child before her. The action unintentionally made her chainmail ripple and the tan trench coat she wore over it almost slip; Naruto's eyes didn't even as much as waver. **

"How very much like the both of you." Tsunade mimicked Minato from earlier, and they both shrugged with sheepish grins.

"**Brat, ramen is just some measly soup with a few stringy noodles and whatever else the chef scraped into it. Dango, however, is a complex food of rich taste." Anko instructed in a much more forceful tone than Naruto ever heard Iruka lecture in about anything.**

"It's always so sad to see poor souls like her who haven't seen the light of ramen yet, desperately try to fill the void with such paltry snack foods." Kushina sighed, putting a hand over her heart in mock sympathy. Minato chuckled at her dramatics, shifting them both around so they could be more comfortable.

"You think if those two ever met, there'd be a catfight?" Obito stage whispered, so everybody heard.

"Placing bets?" Tsunade smirked. The others laughed.

"**I have to disagree. Ramen is a wonderful and filling meal, especially when made right. Dango is . . . a snack and nothing more, to me anyway." Naruto countered.**

**Anko fumed, glaring at Naruto. "Boy, I pity your taste buds. Your sense of taste in foods is off kilter." Naruto hummed, turning when the woman returned with his food in a to-go box.**

"**That's nice." Naruto said absently, paying the lady and bowing in thanks. The woman ignored his courtesy and stared at something just above his shoulder. In the distance, they heard a youthful cry of, "Curse your hip and cool attitude!"**

Kakashi shuddered. "Oh Kami, Gai . . ."

"He only got worse I bet." Minato said, feeling more amusement than sympathy than he ought to.

"Stupid dango lady ignoring my son . . ." Kushina grumbled wrathfully, ignoring Minato's squeeze to calm down. She would calm down when she was good and damn well ready!

**Anko spluttered, now feeling anger swelling up as this snot-nosed brat just dismissed her like that. She snatched Naruto back by the collar of his shirt, and in surprise he only barely managed to clutch at his lunch tighter, or else it would have fallen. He turned around, face still carefully blank, but anger slowly forming in him.**

"**Just who do you think you are brat?" Anko snickered, face twisting into what Ibiki would call, her "Interrogation Face." Any sane ninja knew to make themselves scarce when that face came out. Naruto was neither completely sane, nor a ninja . . . yet.**

"**Typically, the one who asks for an introduction is to offer one first." Naruto said, as if reminding a child to wash their hands before dinner. Anko snarled, and Naruto felt some amusement breaking up his anger. Still, he scolded himself for falling into her childish game. He had far too many tea ceremony lessons and 'extra' lesson with Juu-sensei to act in such a manner. Naruto took a deep breath in through his nose, and out through his mouth.**

**Anko was about to flay the brat, when he suddenly opened his mouth. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, it's a pleasure to meet you . . ." he trailed off, waiting for her to introduce herself. Anko grimaced, but returned the introduction. **

"**Mitarashi Anko, Snake Mistress of Konoha." She said smugly, smirking as she waited for the eyes to widen, for the trembles to set in . . . **

**Whatever she was waiting for, she would be sorely disappointed.**

**Carefully taking his collar out from her clutch, Naruto stared at her carefully. He walked back to the woman at the counter, speaking quietly to her. Anko was confused when he suddenly slipped some bills from his pocket to the woman, and then turned around to walk right past her.**

"**Oh. Well, nice to meet you. Goodbye, Mitarashi-san." Naruto's tone was dispassionate, and he gave her a formal bow. He left Mitarashi Anko, for the first time that any shinobi could remember, frozen in shock as he simply walked out the dango stand. **

**Naruto quickly jogged back to the clearing, wanting to eat the food while it was still hot. When he got to the clearing though, he stopped dead in his tracks.**

"_**Hey I heard you were a wild one! Ooh ooh oooh!" **_**Katsu sung along with the radio, dancing to the beat. Naruto frowned, before stalking over. Katsu saw his tense frame from out the corner of her eye, and came to a halt. She sent him a sheepish look when he stopped in front of her, arms crossed. **

"**I couldn't help it." She said pitifully, smiling embarrassedly. Naruto sighed, before plopping down on the ground. Katsu joined him, crossing her legs in front of her.**

"**Well, if you're recovered enough then we'll continue on sparring, ne?" Naruto smirked as she winced, laughing. They ate their dango, sometimes dipping it into the soup, sometimes just alternating between chewing dango and sipping soup. As they ate Naruto told her of her encounter with the infamous Mitarashi Anko.**

"**She was obviously waiting for me to react to her name, probably with fear or something, but I was like, **_**'puh-leez.'**_**" Naruto recalled, finishing up his dango. Katsu drained her soup to the last drop, before talking.**

"**Well, yeah she's a powerful jounin and all, and the only one with the snake contract, but what besides her semi-psychopath tendencies, would make you scared of her?"**

**Naruto looked at her oddly before remembering that Katsu didn't know the full bio like he did. "I forgot, you didn't know. Well, she used to be apprenticed to Orochimaru, one of the Three Sannin, before he defected you know? He left when jiji found out about his secret labs where he was experimenting— i.e. torturing— people of all ages. It was really sick. He took her with him, but abandoned her later and she was brought back, because she really didn't know what was going on so they pardoned her. Now a lot of people are fearful and mistrustful of her since they think she's no better than Orochimaru."**

"Holy shit!" Jiraiya shouted out after a few moments of frantically working his jaw.

"I didn't think he would go so far with his experiments." Tsunade shook her head, sickened by what she had just heard.

"So because of his sins, Anko-chan has to suffer?! What crap!" Obito was furious at the treatment bestowed on his friends by the village.

"So her story is kind of similar to Naruto." Rin said softly, eyeing Obito at his strong reaction to Anko's revealed future. Her feelings were conflicted, which just tortured her further since she had no idea why she'd be son conflicted.

"That's a problem that we can address immediately when we get out of here." Minato said in cold assurance, and Kushina shivered at hearing that cold tone so close up. Minato hugged her close to him, and Kushina relaxed back into him.

"**Eh?" Katsu cried. "She didn't even do anything. Just another case of the village being stupid about things. Poor Mitarashi-san, her story is sort of similar to yours." Katsu said sadly, packing up the trash back into the to-go box before standing and stretching. **

**Naruto rose along with her, and went over to his position in the field like before. Katsu copied him, and they both assumed their given taijutsu's stances. The stand-off was longer this time, but the start was just as fast. Katsu struck out this time, sticking to punches and blocks, trying to get inside Naruto's guard. Naruto was finding it harder to stave her off, and so would sometimes throw out kicks and heavy blows to make her back off a bit. The balance between them shifted every so often. Katsu would press him, dancing around him to deliver blows, and Naruto would block when he could, or take the blows with winces. Then he would spot an opening if she overextended herself, and quickly take advantage as he went on the offensive and Katsu switched to defensive.**

**As such a switch was happening, out of nowhere two kunai flew at the two kids, and they quickly separated, bringing out their own weapons. **

"What?!" Tsunade and Kushina snarled together. "Who is that trying to hurt my kids?" Kushina demanded, protective instincts kicking in.

Minato was concerned too, but tried calming Kushina down. After all, this hadn't come to pass yet. "You're kids?" He asked, amused at her adoption of their son's best friend.

Kushina shrugged. "It's obvious she's going to be my daughter-in-law one day, so why not get used to it?"

"**Show yourself!" Naruto barked out, examining the trees around him. He positioned himself so that he could face the area the kunai came from, but if need be he could quickly get to Katsu. His eyes locked on a fluttering piece of tan cloth, which was revealed to be part of the signature tan trench coat as Anko appeared on a branch.**

Kushina growled, and Obito thought for a split second about defending his friend, but she had changed so much that he wasn't even sure what he could say.

"Still reckless." Kakashi snorted. Obito looked at him in surprise.

"You know her too Kakashi?" he asked.

"Only in passing and a few times we saw each other." Kakashi was quick to deny any relationship with the purple-haired female.

**Naruto was angry, but outwardly he maintained poise. "Mitarashi-san, to what do I owe the unexpected visit?"**

**Anko grinned, twirling a dango stick between her teeth like Genma. "Saw you two sparring, and I find myself very interested in such skill. From what I had heard about you, you weren't much in the Academy, just boringly average. But here you are showing some rather impressive taijutsu, something you normally only see out of clan brats."**

"Well, there's your gauge." Kushina pointed out smugly to Tsunade and the rest.

"If they're enough to impress a jounin, then they're on the right track." Obito enthused, throwing his arms up in victory.

**Naruto moved out of his defensive stance, and felt Katsu come up behind him. "Surely you're not one for village gossip and its conjectures, Mitarashi-san?" Katsu enquired politely. Naruto glanced at her in warning, but she didn't look at him. **

**Anko just smiled cheekily at the orange-haired brat. "Not really, and I guess you aren't either. The village also said he was all alone, except for the Ichiraku's and the Hokage. And you are?"**

**Katsu inclined her head respectfully. "Kuroshio Katsu."**

**Anko nodded in consideration, tapping a finger on her chin. "Nice name." she complimented.**

**Naruto put a finger to his lips, smirking. "Keep her a secret, OK?"**

**Anko snickered, and flipped down onto the ground, going over to the two kids. Naruto tensed, but Katsu remained politely curious. **

"**Like I was saying, you guys interest me, so how's about I help you guys out a little?" Anko grinned, ruffling their hair. Katsu huffed, though her amused smile hinted at false irritation. Naruto tsked, but did nothing else, thinking about her words.**

"**What do you get out of training us?" Naruto was suspicious of her suddenly generous offer. **

"Good to be wary." Minato allowed.

"Yeah, though this proves that he really isn't all that into authority figures much." Tsunade said, sipping some sake from her saucer.

**Anko smirked, patting him on the head. "Nothing except some entertainment. You interest me. Besides, it'll be my way of repaying you for the dango. Why did you buy it for me anyway?" Anko was honestly intrigued. People just didn't go around giving her things. **

"He bought her dango? What for?" Rin was curious.

"That must have been what he was discussing with the woman from earlier, but Anko was so rude to him." Kushina thought it over.

"**Ah, well, I knew about you already, I was just teasing in the stand. So, to show my respect for your skill, I bought you dango." Naruto replied easily, smiling at her. Katsu giggled at Anko's dumbstruck face, however brief that look was.**

"Sly kid. He'll be a favorite with the ladies when he's all grown up." Jiraiya boasted like a proud grandparent.

**Anko snapped out of her dumbfounded state, and instead sent him a cheery peace sign. "Well thanks brat!" She chirped, before making some hand signs.**

"**Now, let's get down to business! I saw you guys were fast, but I want to know just how fast you are. Reflexes, reaction times, all that. I have the perfect way to find out too." She finished her hand signs, and crouched to slam her hands down on the ground. From the smoke appeared two very large and very long snakes, big enough to swallow the kids. Katsu let out a small 'eep', and Naruto grunted in displeasure.**

Obito flinched, shaking his head in sympathy for the kids.

"What?" Kushina asked warily, noticing Obito's flinch.

"I've trained with her. She is a definite slave driver, and those pore kids . . ." Obito trailed off, a haunted look on his face.

"Her methods seem even more extreme than Jiraiya-sensei's." Minato chuckled at the man's disgruntled look.

"Pansy. They weren't that bad." Jiraiya dismissed the claim.

"**Let's see how long you can outrun my pets here." Anko smirked. **

"**You're a twisted individual Mitarashi-san!" Naruto grunted as he grabbed Katsu's hand and urged her to run. They both sprinted off, dodging their respective snakes as best as they could. Naruto realized the time he would be thankful for Katsu insisting on flexibility was now.**

"**It's Anko, brat!" Anko shouted out to the two fleeing silhouettes in the distance.**

* * *

**Reviews are always groovy.**

**Love, **

**Bloody Mad**


	4. Chapter 4

**HEY THERE EVERYONE! From me to you, a fourth of july, Independance Day special gift! So, please go forth and read with relish!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs in english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Four_

_Get Ready, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

The new day dawned bright and early for the group from the past, as they meandered into the kitchen, greeting each other and participating in polite yet genuine conversation. They ate breakfast in a bit of a rush, eager to read the next chapter

"I'd like to read, if that's all right." Rin shyly interjected, raising her hand like she was still in Academy.

"I have no objections to that, anyone else?" When a round of no's came back, Minato gave his female student a warm and supportive smile, handing her the book.

"Thanks!" Rin said happily, opening the book and flipping the pages to chapter four.

**Katsu and Naruto's school break took an even more exhausting turn than before. Not only did they have to contend with their lessons, but Anko had commandeered all their training sessions and planning them to her liking. After that first session she no longer brought out her snakes, to which the duo were thankful, but she had no problem flinging around very sharp weaponry to help her lessons sink in.**

Obito, seeing the dark faces of his sensei and Kushina, felt the need to stick up for his friend.

"No pain no gain?" he suggested weakly, and then cringed with a nervous chuckle when sour looks were turned on him.

**Naruto sometimes he couldn't help a couple barbs and sarcastic comments from slipping, though he couldn't exactly feel bad when the result was so amusing. **

"I can't tell if that's more Kushina, or more Minato." Jiraiya decided, interrupting.

"What are you talking about sensei? I rarely, if ever, lose my temper." Minato protested, a small pout forming unconsciously. Kushina giggled at the action, before turning to Jiraiya with a mischievous expression on her lovely face.

"I know what you mean, dattebayo? He may not lose his temper almost _ever_, but he's got a way of getting revenge by making you feel like the stupidest person alive, in the most collected manner possible." Jiraiya and Kushina chuckled together, recalling memories of such instances. Minato frowned a bit, flicking Kushina's ear and smirking when a small yelp escaped her lips.

**He would say something sly in a cool tone, and Anko would, after a couple barbs, explode, shouting at him. **

"Yes, that exactly!" Kushina and Jiraiya hollered together, giving each other an exuberant high-five. Minato shrugged, seeing nothing wrong with it.

**However, she often seemed to be made a fool of since Naruto never raised his voice and kept his smile— indeed, his unflappable cool reminded her too much of a certain masked Jounin, or said Jounin's sensei, the Yondaime Hokage.**

"Minato-sensei!" Rin and Obito whooped, throwing free hands up into the air. Minato gave them an exasperated look, but couldn't stop a smile from crossing his face.

"I'll cheer when I hear about you guys. Kakashi sounds like he's doing just fine." Minato said, smiling at his three little genin.

**In the end though, Anko won more often than not, since she had the power to escalate the intensity of the workouts. Naruto could actually feel soreness like other people now, and he wasn't entirely sure he liked being so normal. Anko didn't even feel very annoyed at the fact that she was giving up so much time— and on their schedule, not hers! – since the brats were just so entertaining. She had even taught them tree walking when she saw that they were creating variations of the Leaf exercise to help their chakra control. Naturally, Naruto took the longest time, and the sadistic snake mistress got a real kick out of seeing the boy get blasted off the trees so many times.**

"Naturally, he'd be a chakra monster." Tsunade remarked.

**Still, though Naruto and Anko wouldn't admit it, Katsu was more than eager to point out at every opportunity that those two were now acting as close as brother and sister, arguing just as heatedly, and forgiving just as quickly. **

"Well, it's an eccentric choice in family, but it is family." Rin observed, a small smile on her face. Obito gave her a warm smile, happy at her neutrality, and Rin had to fight hard to bite back a blush.

"I'm glad he has people with him who will care for him." Kushina said.

**In the last several days of the break, Katsu gave herself a task. She decided Naruto had fulfilled his dare adequately enough, but Naruto preferred when she made him clothes as opposed to buying something. **

"**They never have anything I want anyway. You always make the coolest clothes in styles I definitely prefer to those overpriced rags." Naruto confided in her when she had asked about his reluctance to go shopping.**

"She makes his clothes? That must take a lot of work." Obito whistled in appreciation. His oba-chan was a seamstress for the Uchiha family, and so he knew from visits to her shop just how much time and effort went into making clothes.

"If you think back on it, didn't that Nara boy say that he usually he had cooler clothes?" Kakashi remarked in an almost uncaring tone.

"She'd be the reason for that then." Rin concluded. Then she squealed happily, wiggling in her seat from the 'moe' of it all . . . whatever that is.

**Katsu didn't mind, she loved making new things, especially making something old into something totally new. It was like playing dress up, and it was only better when Naruto specifically asked her to do this.**

"I'd be willing to bet that it was more to make her happy in the beginning, before he realized he liked it too." Tsunade remarked, and the others laughed.

**This is what she decided to do, hence the new project Katsu had given herself. Katsu took all of the old orange jumpsuits that Naruto bought for the dare and brought them into her sewing room in the house. The sewing room was right next to her room, and even had a door connecting the two rooms. It was a decent-sized room, with large windows. In the room were several dress forms (mannequins), bolts of fabric, numerous sketches pinned to the cork boards scattered around the room, as well as a work station for Katsu to sit and work at. In the middle of the room was a stand made from several crates they got in the alleys covered in a wine red cloth, and mirrors to view the piece. **

"What, does she want to be a seamstress when she grows up?" Kushina pondered, feeling only a little disappointed that she wouldn't be a ninja with Naruto. It would be so cute if they were on the same team together too!

"She's got all the right stuff." Minato agreed, grinning as his girlfriend's unconsciously showed her thought on her face.

**One morning, Naruto awoke in bed ("huh? Why is it always Katsu's room?") to find it devoid of the other person that was there when he fell asleep.**

The males looked to the women of the room, but were surprised when it was only Rin spluttering this time. Tsunade just shrugged, and Kushina put her hands up in a surrender-like fashion.

**He looked around blearily, before his still sleep-addled brain thought the situation threw. Knowing exactly where she'd be, for probably the rest of the day besides lessons, Naruto took his time. He took a bath and brushed his teeth, then took his clothes out of the closet in his own room; a black and red sweat suit and black and red sneakers. Yawning, he ambled to the sewing room. Even before he opened the door he heard the quick pitter-patter of feet going back and forth in the room. **

**He briefly debated whether or not he should enter, but shrugged and did anyway figuring the worst she would do was show him out. He waited till she had settled at the work table, busily gathering things before he approached her.**

"**You had breakfast?" Katsu jumped when the voice came from behind her, but calmed down almost immediately when her brain identified it as Naruto. **

**Turning, she shook her head, asking the same in return. He responded with a simple, "no." He turned the conversation back to her.**

"**Katsu, will you be missing lessons today?" **

"Doubtful." Tsunade smirked.

"What a busy child." Minato said thoughtfully.

"**No, of course not! We just got to a real good song on the shamisen, and I have to play the song I've been practicing on the koto for sensei." She said, turning back to the table and frowning at something. Interested, Naruto peered over her shoulder and saw some sketches. **

"**Are those—?"**

"**Your clothes? Yes, or rather, they could be. I'm just . . . thinking it over. But here, you're going to be wearing them, so you decide!" She put a hand on his shoulder and guided him to stand beside her. Pointing at the pages, she said, "Which one would suit you best Naru?" **

**Naruto looked at each of the sketches, deliberating. He was briefly interested in a sweat suit that was a shade of blue a few shades lighter than his eyes. The jacket had a checkerboard patterned thick stripe going horizontally around his middle in orange and yellow, with two orange stripes going down each side of his pants, which were a nice fit similar to shinobi sweats except it didn't close in around the ankle. However, he figured that his coloring was striking enough, so it wouldn't be the best fit for missions. Maybe a birthday present later then?**

"That sounds wonderful!" Rin said happily, squeezing the book tighter to release some of the happy energy inside her.

"When she's born, I'll have a whole list for her to do." Kushina swore.

**Making his decision, he pointed to the sketch smack dab in the middle of the table. It was a black jacket with a hood and short sleeves, not to tight and not baggy, with animal-like claw markings like something had clawed the jacket going down the front on wither sides of the zipper. The Konoha swirl symbol was printed in orange down the back, just like the chunnin vests. The pants closed in around his ankle, and they were black with orange stripes like tiger stripes going down the sides of the pants. **

Kushina squealed, wiggling around in her seat . . . which was Minato's lap. A strange look flashed across his face, but before he could say anything, mercifully she stopped and leaned forward to slap the table with her hands.

"That outfit sounds so cool! My baby boy has to be the most stylish man in all of Konoha!" She declared.

"It'd certainly go well with that image remodeling." Jiraiya said, reminding them of Katsu's promise. While the others were doing the job of distraction for him, he sent a mocking grin to Minato, who gave him a look colder than ice. Jiraiya shivered dramatically, before chuckling and averting his eyes from Minato. He might joke about it, but those eyes were lethal after a while.

"**That is the most badass outfit I have ever seen. The Yondaime's jacket is going to have to take backseat to this." Naruto said with absolute certainty. **

"Jacket?" Kushina repeated, confused. She turned to Minato. "What jacket?"

Minato shrugged. "No idea . . . yet."

"**I'll pretend I never heard such blasphemy, and thank you." Katsu replied calmly, taking the rest of the sketches and stuffing them into a folder labeled, "Later." Turning back to the sketch in hand, she pinned it onto the cork board above the table on the wall, before turning and fetching one of Naruto's old orange jumpsuits from the pile of them at the corner of the room, throwing it onto the table.**

"**How are you gonna turn that" he pointed to the jumpsuit, "into **_**that**_**?" he pointed to the sketch. **

"**Faith, trust, and pixie dust." Katsu replied innocently, looking at him funny like he was the crazy one.**

"Woman and their elusive ways!" Obito mock raged, shaking a fist at the females of the room. They stifled their laughter, wanting to hear the rest.

"**It's fine if you just say, 'it's a secret,' you know?" Naruto deadpanned.**

"Boring." The females droned.

"**Boring." Katsu said flippantly. She turned and started guiding him out the room. "Go on now, let this be a surprise!" She murmured, herding him out the room. "I'll be down when it's time to go." And with that, she shut the door firmly, locking it.**

**Naruto eyed the locked door with disdain. Doors— locked or otherwise— offended him on a deep level as a ninja.**

"Most ninja never use doors, and I had wondered why. Could this be the reason? A general dislike of doors?" Tsunade's voice trembled with mirth, giggles escaping her every now and then.

"Fuck doors." Minato said solemnly, prompting a snort of amusement or disbelief from everyone in the room.

**They were made for civilians, and locked doors especially made him want to pick the stupid little lock. Naruto restrained himself however, and went down the stairs. He kept busy by cleaning the kitchen and the living room, and then cleaning his room, Katsu's room (might as well call it their room, really), and the library.**

"Good, a man should be no stranger to housework." Tsunade said firmly, gaining an approving nod from Kushina.

**He took his time too, so by the time he was done, Katsu was already out the sewing room and bounding down the stairs, telling **_**him **_**to hurry up. The audacity. Shaking his head, Naruto followed her, and started the routine over again. **

"Well, Katsu isn't the only one keeping busy." Obito said.

**Haruka-sensei listened to their piano work, giving a few comments and way to improve after each turn. Afterwards they were given the more advanced book of piano songs. **

"**Where are we going to buy a piano, I wonder?" Katsu mused.**

"**We aren't!" Naruto groaned, trying not to cringe at the blow is pocket would take.**

"He better pray she doesn't push the issue too much, or he will end up buying it." Minato said with a knowing look.

"He has the ability to say no." Kushina pointed out.

"Oh sure, and I have the ability to say no to you, ne?" Minato replied with a cheeky grin. Kushina pouted and slapped his arm, knowing that he barely felt it if at all.

"A man can't say no to a woman he cares for." Jiraiya contended sagely. Tsunade snorted, "And how many times have I told you to stop peeping?"

"There's more than your ire at stake Hime!" Jiraiya insisted. "I have my fans to think about, how disappointed they would be!"

**Momo-sensei revealed some interesting information to Naruto on that day, telling him that if he so wished it could be his last day.**

"**You've already performed admirably, and after this you would only be learning fickle pleasantries that most don't even bother with anymore. There's really nothing more to teach you." Momo-sensei told him when she pulled him aside during the lesson.**

Rin and Obito grinned at each other, before throwing up their hands and crying, "_School's out!_" The others laughed and cheered along with them, happy for Naruto's success.

**Naruto mulled it over. "Well if you think my tea ceremony is adequate enough, then I won't burden you any longer sensei." He acknowledged, bowing to his teacher. Momo-sensei shook her head with a small smile on her lips, tucking mousy brown hair behind her ears.**

"**You're tea ceremony is perfect, I couldn't ask for better student than you and Katsu-chan. Naruto, it was a pleasure teaching you, and . . . don't be afraid to come to me for anything." Momo-sensei asserted, giving the boy a gentle hug. Naruto tensed for a brief moment when the woman hugged him, but shook out of it and returned the gesture with a genuine smile on his face.**

"Even though it's sad that he'd be so shocked that she'd hug him, it warms my heart to know that he's slowly but surely changing people's opinions about him." Kushina breathed warmly, a soft smile on her face. Minato smiled, feeling himself fall a little deeper in love with the revelation of her new maternal side, and kissed her forehead sweetly. Kushina smiled up at him, winking.

The rest of the group smiled at their affectionate display, before Tsunade spoke. "All he needs is a chance to show them that he is Uzumaki Naruto, and no one— or nothing— else."

"Yeah, but it isn't easy getting those chances, especially amongst the civilians." Obito pouted, feeling indignant for the little tyke he already swore to be an uncle-figure for.

**When Katsu and he left, Naruto told Katsu he no longer had to work on tea ceremony, and what Momo-sensei told him.**

**Katsu gave him a smug grin. "Well, the image is changing even faster than I had anticipated. You sure do make this one's job easy." **

"Heh, she's like a proud mama." Tsunade chuckled.

"No, she's like a proud Kushina." Jiraiya nudged her shoulder, and the two laughed at Kushina when she stuck her tongue out at them.

"I'm so happy that he found a girl like me, and not some weird one." Kushina stated, flipping her hair, though she sent Minato an apologetic grin when her hair flipped right into his face.

**Naruto cuffed her on the shoulder, and they exchanged playful hits all the way to their next lesson. Katsu and Naruto had to separate at a fork in the road, as Zaki-sensei and Mai-sensei were at different buildings. Zaki-sensei had a hangover from the previous night, so Naruto just strummed his guitar outside the building, picking out any little melody that came into his head.**

"Aw that's right! My baby's a little guitarist!" Kushina squealed, giggling. Minato looked at her amused, thinking, _this is the longest I've seen her be so feminine. _

**Once his time with Zaki-sensei was over he loped over to the Hokage Tower and quickly ascended to the old man's office, ignoring those who ignored him and greeting the friendlier ninja. He walked past the secretary's desk, who gave him a quick smile that he retuned before she buried her head back into a pile of papers. Knocking on the door, he waited for the command to enter.**

"Like any other little kid going to his grandparent's after school." Jiraiya said, a softer smile than the others were used to seeing on him playing at his lips.

"I don't think sensei has any milk and cookies prepared for him though." Tsunade joked.

"**Ah, Naruto! Hurry in child." Naruto entered, and saw the Sandaime Hokage signing his last few papers, before looking up at him with a smile. Naruto smiled at his jiji, sitting at the seat in front of the desk.**

"I'm glad Sarutobi-sama is so fond of Naruto, at least he's taking care of him when he can." Minato said softly.

"He's on the list for major pampering after retirement." Obito revealed, grinning wildly.

"And now, he won't have to worry about retirement being temporary." Rin declared firmly. Minato smiled at her, proud of her attitude.

"Got that right kid." Jiraiya said approvingly.

"**You're finished do early with your paperwork jiji? Either something has gone right, or it's about to go very wrong." Naruto commented, eyeing the practically empty desk. Seeing the actual surface without stacks of paperwork covering it was a novelty for Naruto and the old Sarutobi too.**

Minato, Jiraiya, and Tsunade shuddered, thinking of the oft-dreaded paperwork.

"Good luck to you when you get the Hat, Minato." The Sannin muttered, receiving a dirty look from the last Namikaze.

**The elder man chuckled, stroking the short beard on his chin. "Let's not tempt fate; it never really goes well for those in our profession."**

"Ain't that the truth?" The adults deadpanned, except for Kushina.

"**Or it goes inexplicably well." Naruto countered, getting comfortable in his seat.**

"Good luck charms!" Kushina and Obito cheered, grinning at each other.

"**Only a very few times." Hiruzen compromised, before locking his hands together and leaning on his elbows, a habit he really ought to break if only for the well-being of his aged bones. "So, what is ticked off the agenda, and what is to come?" he asked, interested.**

"**Well I'm proud to say that I am officially done with my tea ceremony lessons." Naruto waved away his Hokage's applause modestly, smiling. "And . . . well, I'll be keeping the other lessons until . . . well perhaps they'll go until I become a genin, or I will cease them in the middle of the Academy. I'm not too sure, I really do enjoy calligraphy."**

"Yeah, that'll all have to go once he gets the headband." Rin said thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side as she thought of what she would do in that situation.

"He's been doing those lessons for so long that I'm sure he's got them down pretty well, so the time he chooses doesn't really matter." Minato thought out loud.

**Hiruzen nodded, pleased with his surrogate grandson's accomplishments. **

"Every copy will be signed and leather bound." Jiraiya swore quietly to himself, grinning innocently at his teammate when she turned to him with a suspicious look.

"**Whatever you decide is right Naruto, I dare say that you and Katsu are advanced enough to stop your lessons now if the both of you so choose." Hiruzen said, rummaging in his desk drawers for his pipe. **

**Naruto smiled at the Hokage. Sometimes it was a little too easy to forget that they weren't related by blood.**

"**True, but Katsu has chosen to stick it through until the end, so I won't leave her there for it." Naruto said, watching the Hokage gently shake a pinch of snuff into his pipe, and light it with a small katon jutsu. He had always had a sort of childish fascination with the pipe; it was so nostalgic.**

Everyone nodded, having felt that way a lot when it came to the old Hokage. He truly did his best to make everyone feel familiar, even if the duties of Hokage made it hard.

**The time past as the two talked of past, present, and the foreseeable future as they imagined it to be. Then, Naruto departed with exchanges of goodbyes and a promise to have lunch at Ichiraku Ramen together some time soon, before Academy opened back up again. He caught up with Katsu at the edge of town, and that's when the day took a different pace.**

"**You aren't going to join me and Anko this evening?" Naruto asked a little shocked when he saw Katsu turning on the path leading home.**

"They train together though!" Obito looked puzzled.

**She shook her head in the negative, pointing at him.**

"**I have to get started on those outfits for you. They aren't going to make themselves, ne?" Katsu winked and turned, setting a brisk pace back home. She only looked over her shoulder once to say, "I'll see you at dinner ok? Don't let Anko keep you behind for too long!"**

"Busy, busy." Kushina whined.

"Anko doesn't take too kindly to what she sees as someone standing her up, either." Obito gulped, feeling nervous for the two kids.

"Does she have a temper problem or something?" Tsunade clucked.

"No more than the other women in this room." Obito retorted, a placid look on his face.

Tsunade and Kushina growled, but before they could respond, Rin powered on.

**Naruto accepted the reason, but wondered if Anko would. She, after all, was a peculiar woman . . . **_**Oh well, **_**Naruto shrugged. It's not like she would hurt Katsu – or rather, not like she could. Naruto meandered to the training spot they used, and arrived to find Anko glaring at him. His hands were raised placating as a reflex. **

"**Jeez brat I got here, like, two minutes ago. And where's the she-brat?" Anko demanded, hands on her hips as she stalked up to the blonde boy.**

"**Katsu has some stuff to take care of, so she won't be attending." Naruto replied, reminding himself not to move— it would mean he feared her, and that crazy bitch pounced on the fear of men faster than wolves on meat— as she got nose to nose with him.**

"Language!" Kushina and Minato snapped in unison, first looking at each other in surprise, then shooting sullen looks at the others when they laughed.

"This is a book, you know that, right?" Kakashi drawled in his usual drawl, but underneath it was a faint amusement. Minato shot him a dirty look, which was harder to do when he really wanted to just smile at the boy for finally breaking out of his shell.

**This only seemed to make her angrier, as she couldn't comprehend that brat who was usually so into the training actually having something better to do. Sure, she knew about the lessons, but those were over with now, and Katsu wasn't the type to socialize much!**

"She seems pretty involved in their lives." Tsunade cut in.

"Something tells me they'll need all the supervision they can get." Minato said slowly.

"**Brat, what could be more important than making sure you two is on the same team." Anko protested, leaning back and giving Naruto some breathing room. His blank face gave her some satisfaction, as she oh so rarely got to see it.**

"She doesn't know that Katsu's not in the academy?" Kushina wondered.

"They don't broadcast it, it would go against the whole, 'Keep Katsu-chan a Secret Hence Safe' plan Naruto made." Jiraiya chimed in, using air quotes.

"And, I'm not entirely sure whether or not there's a rule against civilians learning jutsu and such if they're not in the Academy." Tsunade added, frowning as she tried to recall such a rule.

"I don't think there's one . . ." Kushina said, but was also thinking about it.

"**Huh?" Naruto articulated intelligently.**

**Anko looked smug, as she stared down her nose at him. "Well, it's typical to have the Rookie of the Year and the—"**

"**Top Kunoichi together in a team, yes I know, but— oh. Oh! Anko you've got it all wrong!" Naruto laughed.**

**Anko felt her anger cool to simple irritation and some confusion as she stared at the laughing blonde before her.**

"They must be really comfortable with each other for her to let him keep laughing at her so long." Obito chirped, happy at their brother-sister relationship.

"But he's not laughing at her." Kushina protested in defense of her baby.

"Well, try telling Anko that with any other person in that situation." Obito responded.

"**Gaki, mind telling me the joke?" Anko deadpanned. Naruto looked up at the purple-haired kunoichi, blowing out a deep breath to calm down. **

"**Well, it's just that I'm not the Rookie of the Year, you know that, and—"**

**Anko cut in, "Don't tell me you're going to keep hiding your skills?! Don't you want to bury that Uchiha in the dirt—?"**

**Naruto interrupted smoothly. "Yes I do, but after graduation. It'd be too suspicious if I suddenly blow past him this late. Besides, deception is a ninja's greatest tool, no?" At Anko's look of dawning realization, Naruto nodded, satisfied she got it.**

Everyone except Minato sighed in exasperation, pointing to him and crying, "What a _Minato_ thing to say!"

Minato looked smug. "Jealous?" he taunted.

"**Pretty clever kid, most brats just think it'll be cool to be top dog, but they don't realize they're making a name to young and too loud." Anko reflected. **

"**Right, and as for Katsu . . ." Naruto started.**

"**Don't tell me she's dead last or something, because you guys will still be in the same team." Anko argued. Naruto shook his head, denying the statement.**

"**No, I don't think she knows **_**how **_**to be last even if she tried." Naruto confided with a cheeky grin, before getting back to the topic. "No, Katsu isn't even in the Academy. She's a civilian, and will be so for the rest of our lives." **

**Anko blinked rapidly. To say she was thrown off balance was an understatement. **

"Well Naru-chan here should be congratulated. I've never seen Anko thrown off balance before." Obito pouted.

"He's an Uzumaki. They just have that way about them." Minato divulged, shrugging.

"**But— but she's so good! Do you even realize just how big a waste that talent is, leaving her as a civilian?!" Anko spluttered.**

"Coming from the apprentice of a sannin, that's saying something." Jiraiya said, albeit a little reluctantly since in some roundabout way he was complimenting Orochimaru.

"They both are really good. Naruto will have no problems ascending the ranks, just like his father and mother before him." Tsunade pitched in, sending an amused glance to the two proud parents next to her.

"He is our son after all." Minato and Kushina said together, looking at each other fondly.

"**Yeah, but she never wanted to be a ninja. She just learned all that stuff so she could help me." Naruto told her, holding back a laugh at Anko's ruffled state.**

**Anko blinked, then shook her head and took a deep breath. "Well, whatever." She muttered before pivoting around on the balls of her feet and marching to the other side of the clearing. She faced him once she was at the other side, and got into the stance of her personal taijutsu style, the Snake Style. **

"**Well, let's get started brat!" She cackled. Naruto grinned and shot forward.**

**Naruto returned in time for dinner, as Katsu had requested. Going inside, he belatedly heard the radio blasting some rock song, as his nose was almost overwhelmed with the many scents inside the house.**

"You think his sense of smell is as good as yours Kakashi?" Obito asked, and Kakashi— as well as the others— were surprised at the friendly tone the questioned was asked in. However, Kakashi didn't show he was surprised, but instead answered in a careful, measured tone.

"I'd say so, if not better. His sense of smell is attributed to the Kyuubi, so he might well have better senses than I ever will as he grows. The senses of foxes are nearly as good as some dog breeds, but I think that if it's a demon fox, than there's a definite improvement."

Obito was similarly surprised at the civil tones used in that answer, but hid it just as skillfully as Kakashi. "Huh, cool for Naru-chan, ne Kushina-chan?" He grinned at the red-head, who nodded back and returned the younger boy's grin.

**Prevalent was the succulent smell of dinner, and just under that was a smell of a fresh bouquet— from the garden probably, meaning the last blooms before winter were in already. But, fainter than the other two, were the smells he had come to identify as dyes for clothes, though since it was so faint Katsu had probably opened the windows upstairs so they wouldn't be too harsh. **

"**Tadaima!" He called, ambling into the kitchen. Katsu scowled when he draped himself over her shoulders like a fleshy cloak, slapping his hands away from the food. **

"He'll get her dirty." Rin fretted.

"**Okairi, now go take a bath and stop trying to get me dirty." Katsu huffed, shooing him away from the kitchen.**

"**Don't worry, you won't get dirty. Anko tossed me in a river before I came here." Naruto grumbled, exiting the kitchen and heading upstairs. He scowled fiercely when Katsu's laughter rose up from the kitchen, grumbling about crazy snakes and no-good gingers. **

**Naruto didn't take too long in the bath, even though the hot water felt heavenly on his sore muscles, and jogged down the stairs right as Katsu was setting up the table. Naruto finished it up quickly for her, shooting glares whenever she made to get up from the table. Dinner was a mostly quiet affair, as each was thinking of their own things. Katsu was, mentally, still upstairs in the sewing room thinking of the outfits, while Naruto was thinking of how to make it seem like he'd made no improvement once he got back to the Academy . . . and thinking if he actually wanted to do that anymore.**

"But didn't he want to keep deceiving people?" Rin asked, baffled.

"Yes, that was his original intention, but sometimes it gets hard to keep holding yourself back, and mistakes can be made." Minato informed the young brunette. Rin still wasn't sure however, and made it known.

"I don't understand sensei." Rin confessed, but Tsunade answered for her instead.

"To hide yourself, your abilities for years, it takes a lot of concentration. You have to actively tell yourself not to do your best, to do lower than your best. It wouldn't feel natural, you know? For example, it's like a dancer telling herself to trip and act clumsy on purpose. Eventually, she'd start to slip at certain times. She'd catch herself walking to fluidly, too gracefully. And wouldn't it be worse for these slips to happen in public, when everyone else just knew her as a klutz? It'd be suspicious, especially if it happened once too often." Tsunade lectured, and all three genin paid rapt attention.

Obito spoke up, "So what you're saying is, is Naruto is at a point where his natural instinct is to do his best— something that could easily get him the title of Rookie. But, he's been doing average for so long, that it'd be too weird, so he's facing that dilemma now?"

Tsunade and Minato nodded. "Exactly that." Minato said.

"**Katsu." Naruto's quiet voice broke the silence, making Katsu start a little, before looking up to see Naruto looking seriously at her.**

"**Ninja business?" She guessed, and he nodded. **

"**I was thinking, about the Academy, and whether or not I wanted to keep—"**

"**Pretending?" she finished for him. **

Kushina and Rin sighed, and gushed together, "They finish each other's sentences!"

"**I feel stupid for even feeling a little surprised." He murmured, chewing on a piece of fish. **

"**You're only a man," Katsu shrugged, smiling at Naruto's squawk of indignation.**

Jiraiya opened his mouth to say something, but wisely snapped it shut at Tsunade's promising look. He didn't know what it was promising exactly, but he knew it would be nothing good for his health.

"**Well, you've reached a crossroads." Katsu sighed, getting serious now as she leaned her elbows on the table and put her face in her hands. "You could keep being average, but there'd be slip-ups." She looked at him for confirmation, and Naruto shrugged.**

"Ah, you were right!" Rin gasped.

"You doubt us?" Tsunade smirked, gesturing to herself, Minato, and Jiraiya.

"**There might very well be. So, I wonder now . . ." he trailed off, putting his chin on his fist, arm leaning on the table like Katsu. **

"**Does the position of first mean so much to you?" Katsu queried. Naruto shot her a disgruntled look.**

"Another Minato moment!" Obito shouted out, like a game announcer.

"**I couldn't give a rat's ass, -ttebayo." He sneered. **

"In a Kushina-like fashion." Obito grinned, getting laughs from the others.

"**Well then, it's best if you just stay where you are. Still, there's nothing wrong with going up a rank or two, you'll still be in the middle anyways." Katsu commented, and Naruto's brow furrowed as he thought it over.**

"**You're right; it's for the best I stay in the middle of the pack. No need to shake the hierarchy, fake as it is." Naruto said at last, returning to his bowl of rice.**

"**Yes, otherwise, you'd have to be on a team with that Haruno girl." Katsu added slyly, and giggled when Naruto nearly choked.**

"**Don't even joke like that." He said seriously, after gulping down some tea. The rest of dinner passes in a more lively fashion, and Katsu turned off the radio after they had cleaned up the kitchen. They thought it was kind of lame they were going to sleep so soon, it was only ten after all, but they were both tired. They both slumped into their bed, curling up under the covers and quickly falling off into dreamland.**

**Naruto jerked awake in the middle of the night.**

"Did someone break in?" Kushina balked, both worried and angered.

"Did he have a nightmare?" Rin asked sympathetically.

"Does he just want a glass of water?" Obito mocked, shooting playful glances at the now embarrassed girls.

"Can we get back to the story?" Kakashi mocked back at him, earning o growling huff from Obito.

**Without moving around he pushed his senses outward, trying to find what had wakened him. Then he realized that the arm he had put under Katsu's pillow when they were sleeping now felt lighter. Because there was no weight on the pillow.**

"Where would that girl be going so late?" Jiraiya frowned in a parental manner. Tsunade pressed her lips together to stop from smiling, and shared amused glances with the couple next to her.

**Naruto's head popped off the pillow, and he frowned. If she was at the poker games with the rest of those idiots in The Dive Bar in the Red District, he swore . . . **

"What would she be doing at the Red Light District?!" Tsunade demanded, outraged at the recklessness of the act.

"And why are Naruto and her so familiar with the bar there?!" Kushina wanted to know, arms crossed with a dangerous look on her face.

**Naruto stopped himself, sighing and dragging a hand down his face. Grunting, he got up from the bed, blearily shuffling out of the room and heading to the sewing room.**

"She's like Minato when he's working on a seal. The idea will get stuck in his head, and he won't rest until it's sketched out and worked over." Jiraiya chortled, crossing his arms as he relaxed.

**The strip of light coming from under the door calmed him, and he sighed in relief as he opened the door. The sound of the door gently hitting the wall behind it made Katsu pop her head up from behind a pile of fabric and whatever else was there.**

"Pile of papers, empty ink pots, brushes, and foam coffee cups." Obito smirked, bringing back the comparison to Minato. Minato's face clearly conveyed that he decided not to grace that with a response.

**She blinked big eyes at him as he stood in the doorway, and then she got an embarrassed flush on her cheeks as she registered his disapproving frown.**

"**Come back to bed." He sighed, leaning against the doorway.**

"How many times will a lady friend be telling him that in the future." Jiraiya giggled perversely, then cried out girlishly when his face had a reunion with Tsunade's right hook.

" . . . At any rate. Naruto's already found the girl for him, so I doubt it'll be like what you're thinking, sensei." Minato said nervously; sweat dropping at the steaming fist of Tsunade.

**Katsu blinked, looking around at the pile surrounding her, before looking back at him guiltily.**

"**But! I thought of something, and—"**

"**I don't care." Naruto said bluntly. "You won't be losing sleep over this, you always get so quiet after a long night, and it unnerves me. Come back." **

**Katsu suddenly got a challenging look. "I won't." she said stubbornly.**

**Naruto narrowed his eyes and got angry. "**_**Now.**_**" He growled. His voice imbued the special timbre of the alpha (courtesy of the demonic entity inside him), one all Inuzuka could recognize as a dominant, and one Katsu knew as well.**

Tsunade and Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Minato and Kushina. Obito and Rin looked at them with raised eyebrows, going, "_Oooohhhh _. . ."

Kushina blushed, and said incredulously, "I don't know who he got that from!"

All eyes locked on Minato, who looked as cool as a cucumber. "Who's to say he got it from one of us? He's made his own childhood, and picked up his own habits. Plus, it could be another aspect derived from the Kyuubi." He explained in a calm tone.

"That's a nice explanation sensei, but . . ." Kakashi conceded.

"But," Obito continued, "We're your team. We've been with you for a while, seeing sides of you you'd like to keep hidden from the rest of society."

"And you are pretty animalistic yourself, sensei. You command respect, just like any dominant alpha in the Inuzuka pack would." Rin finished. The Sannin and his girlfriend whipped around to ogle at Minato, but he held fast to his composed mask.

"You have no proof." He maintained. Though, that was basically an admission in itself.

**She shied a bit from his voice, looking up at him through her lashes. "Fine." She pouted, dropping her needle on the table and slumping over to him. Naruto gave her a stern glare, and she drooped even more as she got in front of him and walked to their room, him following behind her. **

"Huh." They all turned to Minato slowly, giving him a significant look. Minato's lips twitched for a brief second, but that was the only break in his mask.

**The next morning, Naruto was pleased to find Katsu in the kitchen eating breakfast, albeit in a rushed manner. **

"**If you choke, I will laugh at you." He warned the girl, who just nodded absentmindedly at him as she inhaled her breakfast. Once she was done, she rushed over to the sink and washed the dish, before running up the stairs to get back to work. Naruto looked up the stairs, disgruntled, before blowing out a breath and spooning out his own breakfast, deciding to leave her as is. **

**And so it continued in that fashion. Katsu would spend every moment she could in the sewing room, barring the morning workouts, the lessons, and once or twice she joined in the training sessions they had with Anko.**

"I bet Anko really drilled her on those days for missing so much." Obito reckoned, crossing his arms behind his head and shifting, hearing a stiff pop in his back from being slumped over for so long.

**However, on the last day of break, Katsu's door swung open, and she declared the project complete.**

"**Try it on, try it on!" She cheered, latching onto his arm as soon as she had cleared the last step. Naruto agreed easily, laughing at her excitement. Going up to the sewing room, he stepped in to see a line of the new outfits hanging in a row along the rack in the back of the room. She had added more to the designs than was there originally, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't like it. **

**The outfits were just like they were drawn, some with orange claw marks, and some with red claw marks so close to the original orange that it was hard to tell. Some new additions to the suits were the kanji for victory and nine on the right sleeves, and a couple more pockets on the pants. Also, Katsu had created some scarfs to go with them when he felt like wearing them. They were very long, long enough for him to wrap around his face loosely yet still cover him like a mask while still trailing to his knees, and the ends had that torn and ragged look like that mysterious man's cloak. She had also made some fingerless gloves, black with orange stripes that went up to his elbows and looked very comfortable. Grinning, he quickly changed into the outfit, scarf and all, slipping on the black boots before joining Katsu downstairs.**

"Hot damn!" Obito waggled his eyebrows, and Rin wolf whistled.

Jiraiya was praising the Kamis for someone, he alleged, "Who had the gift of the Kamis and knew what to do with it."

**Katsu squealed euphorically, twirling and bouncing around Naruto as she got in the full effect of the outfit.**

"**A trademark of all famous ninja!" She purred contentedly. "The best had their own styles."**

"Minato and his cool speedy entrances as well as exits." Jiraiya boasted with a grin.

"Not to mention this future coat of his and his girly looks." Kushina added. Minato snorted, jostling the woman in his arms. She squeaked in outrage, and he laughed.

"Tsunade with her super strength, medical prowess, and her . . . beauty." Kushina purposely lingered, showing what she really wanted to say (this narrator will take the liberty of explaining to the still confused readers, and say that Kushina meant Tsunade's huge breasts).

Tsunade stuck her tongue out at the younger woman. "Kushina's red hair and fierceness in battle." She supplied.

"And Jiraiya's white hair and eccentricity." They all groaned in mock embarrassment, prompting a humorous snort from the Toad Sage.

** Naruto smirked, looking at Katsu as she passed his field of vision with each bouncing revolution around him. Katsu whooped, before spinning around and taking his hand to dance. Naruto laughed, allowing her to spin them around the living room before he took over the leading, moving them to the beat of the song.**

"OK! We get it! They're adorable. Now stop your squealing." Jiraiya grumbled, barely making him heard over the nearly shrill squeals.

**They finished dinner, and retreated into the kitchen with their dishes to clean up. Naruto was frying up the last of the dishes when Katsu went back into the living room to change the radio station. **

**He heard her gasp, and before he could even fully register the surprise and slight fear in it, he was shielding her with the butcher knife held in a reverse grip in his right hand.**

"Oh, someone broke in!" Kushina fretted, hands gripping Minato's sleeve.

"Don't worry so much hime, they've trained hard they'll be fine." Minato soothed the worried red head, feeling some worry himself.

"Gah, show some more fear baka! They're just kids!" Kushina chided, grip not loosening.

"**Sorry for dropping in unexpectedly," the cloaked man Naruto met from before was sitting at the table, chin in his palm as he grinned up at the two. His face was still covered to his nose, so all Naruto could see was an apologetic grin. "Well, I didn't want to interrupt your dinner, so that's why I came now."**

The group sighed in relief, slumping back from their tensed positions.

"Stupid, pop-up deities!" Obito growled, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes.

"You think he's a deity?" Rin asked.

"They seem to be the ones pulling all this, so . . ." Obito rationalized, shrugging.

**Naruto scowled, before turning to Katsu and apologizing. "Sorry hime, but remember when I came home late that night before the last day of Academy?" Katsu nodded in remembrance, so he continued.**

"Man, remember that? That was like, _ages ago!_ Ah, first chapter . . . the memories!" Obito sniffled, burying his head in his arms as he fake sobbed loudly. Grinning, Rin slapped his back, telling him to hush.

"**I said that I was held up by some otherworldly dude with—"**

"**A God complex?" Katsu finished. "Yes. So this is him?"**

**Naruto nodded. Katsu peeked over Naruto's shoulder at the man for a moment, before moving past him and bowing to the cloaked figure.**

"Tea Ceremony lessons coming to play. Oba-san was right, they are applicable, even for ninja." Obito commented.

"**It's a pleasure to meet you." Katsu greeted formally. The masked man arose from his seated position and bowed back, murmuring, "The pleasure is all mine, Kuroshio-chan."**

**Katsu looked surprised for a moment, before understanding hit her, and she nodded, moving back to Naruto's side.**

"She picks up on things pretty quick." Tsunade praises.

"Which makes her decision to stay a civilian even more disappointing." Jiraiya sighs.

"So . . . is that something we'll be changing in the future?" Rin asks.

Tsunade and Jiraiya open their mouths, but Kushina nuts in with a, "No. Things are fine this way too. In fact, I feel like . . . it's meant to be this way." But her uncertainty of tone shook the confidence of her words. "Does that make sense?"

Tsunade pauses, thinking it over, before capitulating with a nod. "Yeah, I guess it does."

"**Can I get you anything stranger?" Naruto said with barely strained politeness, really wanting to know why he was here.**

**The cloaked man shook his head. "No, thank you. I just came to give you something, Naruto." He reached into his cloak, and pulled out a scroll, handing it to Naruto. Naruto stepped up to receive it, and glanced at it curiously. "Thank you . . . ?" Naruto hesitated, unsure of what else to say.**

**The stranger smiled patiently, and began to explain. "It's a taijutsu scroll. In there is a very rare yet very good taijutsu style, something not everyone can do. It has nothing to do with how flexible you are, how knowledgeable you are about the body, not anything like that. Rather, it depends on the person's . . . character, in your case, anyway. It's a style suited perfectly for people like you, and the young lady here could learn it too."**

"Sounds interesting." Kakashi speaks up. The others were speaking about it, but Minato was going through the list of taijutsu styles that he knew, or was informed of by that enthusiastic young man, Guy Maito. _I wonder . . . _

**Interest now piqued, Naruto unraveled the scroll, showing a diagram of moves that seemingly had no connection, just random movements, and little notes scribbled besides them. Naruto stared at it for a while, waiting for a connection to be made. His eyes roamed over the scroll, and he grew more unfocused the longer he waited. He wondered just what it— **

_**Wait. **_

"What?!" Kushina, Obito, and Rin cried out, frustrated from their not knowing. Did he get it?

**Naruto suddenly understood. And by Katsu's breathy "Oh!", so did she. His head snapped up to stare hard at the mystery man. "How—"**

**The man held up a hand, and he stopped. "Cool, right?" the man asked.**

"**You got that right. The moves seem random, but only if you over-analyze it! You just have to see it, to feel it . . . and then, just do it!" Katsu piped up, still absorbed in the taijutsu scroll. "You weren't kidding when you said it was perfect for Naruto." She added.**

"Bad ass!" Obito hollered, punching the air in celebration.

"It would be perfect for him, seeing as he's an unpredictable kind of kid." Kakashi observed.

"And the unpredictability of this taijutsu would confuse his enemies, giving him an advantage in most cases, if he gets good at it." Jiraiya put in his two cents.

**Naruto nodded. "Yeah, thank you very much!"**

**Than man waved away the thanks. "I said I'd offer help every now and then right? Well, this is the first bit. So, what will you call it?"**

**Katsu and Naruto looked at the man, confused at the last question. **

"**Call it?" Katsu parroted.**

"It doesn't have a name?" Kushina wondered.

"Oh it has a name . . . about as many names as it does users." Minato informs her, remembering all the information he had learned about the taijutsu style. It was old and seldom used, but only because it was a style that was passed down.

"**It's a taijutsu style right? So it should have an official name." Naruto argued, looking strangely at the man. He was taken aback when the man laughed, head thrown back.**

**Calming down, the man answered the two confused kids. "Yeah, it's got an official name, but there's a special little privilege to those who master it. Kid, I think you've got what it takes to master it. When someone is really good at it, close to master-level, then they give the taijutsu their own nickname. So, I bequeath the privilege to you early."**

"No FAIR! That's _so_ bad ass!" Obito cried.

**Naruto nodded, thinking it over. "So, a name of our very own." He had a thought . . . He looked at Katsu, and she looked at him, and they both grinned wickedly when their thoughts mirrored each other.**

**They turned to the man, and gave him their taijutsu name. "Kung Fu Hustle." They said proudly.**

"You have got to be kidding me." Kakashi muttered, face palming.

"_Brilliant!"_ Obito cried.

"_Genius!"_ Kushina roared.

"Inspired! It gives me ideas for a new book!" Jiraiya added rapturously.

**The cloaked man was silent for a few minutes.**

"**Pfft!" The cloaked man broke and guffawed loudly, holding his stomach.**

"**Yeah, ok . . . better than some others I heard." He chuckled. "Well, that's my business over then. I'll be seeing you Naruto, Kuroshio-chan." He waved, before disappearing in a swirl of white feathers, that mysteriously disappeared to as soon as they touched the ground.**

"**How thoughtful! Now I don't have to sweep again." Katsu giggled.**

**The next morning saw Naruto making his solitary way to the Academy, internally chuckling at the dumbfounded looks his latest outfit (sans scarf but pro gloves) was getting from the civilians.**

"How could a demon be so cute?!" Rin gasped, mocking the villagers. Obito grinned fiercely.

"Huh, that badass outfit makes him resemble our Fourth Hokage . . . kind of." Obito grunted, imitating the villagers like Rin. The adults laughed.

_**Did they really think I would wear that jumpsuit forever? **_**He thought in amusement. He arrived early at the Academy, so early that it was only Hinata and Iruka-sensei in there. Hinata looked shocked at his newest look, before chuckling with a happy blush. Iruka-sensei gawked, not moving even as Naruto sauntered up to the older man.**

"**Fox got your tongue?" Naruto asked in a mockingly concerned tone. Iruka snapped out of his stupor at the boy's voice, and shot him a dirty look. **

"**Though it's still a bit too flashy for ninjas, I have to admit it looks cool." Iruka explained.**

"We agree!" They shouted.

"**So you approve." It was more of a statement, when it was meant as a question, and Iruka chuckled. "Duh." Was all he said. A bark of laughter escaped Naruto as he stomped up the stairs to his seat. He paused by the third row where Hinata sat, sending the girl a foxy smile as he greeted, "Ohaiyou gazaimasu." **

"**Ohaiyou, N-Naruto-kun." Hinata returned the greeting.**

**Naruto smiled wider. "Much better." His voice was soft, referring to the near lack of stuttering. **

"Such a kind boy to his friends." Kushina murmured, happy that her son was so well mannered and caring for his friends.

"Gets it from you, ne, hime?" Minato whispered into her ear, and she smiled as she fought back a shiver.

"No, it's definitely from you." She responded.

"He must get that from the both of you." Rin spoke up, though she had no idea that was exactly what Minato and Kushina had been speaking of before. Minato and Kushina smiled at each other, before grinning at Rin. "You're right." They chirped.

**Hinata smiled at him, and he saluted her before jogging up to claim his seat. They all waited in silence for about fifteen minutes before other students started coming in. The chatter of the students that would come in continued until they died off at the sight of Naruto, before revving back up in heated mutterings. Even Mizuki's glare melted off is face when he caught sight of Naruto's new threads, but it started back again with even greater intensity.**

"Is it so hard to believe that he got a new outfit?" Tsunade muttered, rolling her eyes at the stupidity of the children.

"No, especially if they never saw it in any store they went to. They'll all be asking, _"Where'd he get that?!" _and _"How the hell could he afford something like that?"_ right?" Minato said knowingly.

"I'm more concerned with that teacher's irrationally large hatred for Naruto." Jiraiya frowned.

**Naruto scoffed lightly, shaking his head. **_**Apparently, they DID think I was going to wear it forever. **_**He thought to himself.**

"They're all stupid." Kushina said bluntly.

"No arguments here." The rest of the group backed her up.

**Soon the room was filled, still muttering and sending looks to Naruto. Well, with the exception of Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino and Hinata. Shika and Chouji just complimented the outfit, and jokingly thanked Kami for the ended bet. Shino just gave him a polite nod in greeting, which Naruto returned. **

"Like his father, I'll bet it's just more his nature then any ill feelings toward Naruto." Minato guessed.

"**Shut up and settle down!" Iruka commanded firmly. When the students continued to ignore him and keep talking, a vein popped on his forehead with alarming vividness. Performing his signature Big Head no Jutsu, Iruka bellowed, "SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN NOW!"**

**The room was quickly silenced. Clearing his throat, Iruka restarted. "Ok, now, we're in the last six months of your time here in the Academy, so we'll be focusing more on the practical side of ninja as opposed to all the theoretical stuff I would mix in from before." With that said, Iruka walked over to the classroom door and slid it open, standing beside it. "Let's go!" Iruka prompted, and the kids needed no further telling as they scrambled out of their seats and out the classroom, heading to the Academy Training grounds. **

Jiraiya and Obito whooped together, "Yeah! Forget all those damn tests, it's time to get _physical_!"

**Outside the training ground was a large and sprawling field, dotted with targets for weapons training, and circles that they used for taijutsu matches.**

"**Alright class let's start with target practice!" Mizuki shouted, clapping his hands together. There were three targets set a reasonable distance apart, in case of any mistakes, so three children were called up for each turn. The order wasn't alphabetical, but it still caught Naruto a little by surprise when he was in the second group.**

"**Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Hyuuga!" Mizuki called out, a little sneer on his face. Naruto narrowed icy blue eyes at the man, and smirked in satisfaction at the tell-tale shiver that went through the man as their eyes locked. **

Everyone turned to Minato, smirking. He looked unapologetic, saying, "That guy's a chunnin? It was just a glare from an eleven year-old kid. Even if that eleven year-old kid is pretty intimidating . . . like his tou-chan."

_Just come out and admit it already! _The others thought, sweat dropping.

**Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata took their places before the targets, weapons ready and arms tensed. **

"**Go!" Iruka called.**

**Three arms let loose with their weapons simultaneously, and the **_**'thunk'**_** of weapon meeting wood was heard through the silent clearing. The students and teachers were all silent, caught off guard. They had expected the Uchiha to be a whiz at this, and indeed all shuriken had hit their target, either on the bulls-eye or in the ring outside. But it was the Uzumaki, and even more so the Hyuuga, that had them all speechless . . . **

**Naruto had let loose a little, so instead of his targets peppering the rings of the target, they were now concentrated in an area very close to the bulls-eye. However, his 'improvement' was given a run for its money by the Hyuuga's performance.**

**Usually Hinata would have halted a little more before throwing her shuriken or kunai, making her the last to hit. Because of this hesitance and shyness, sometimes her weapons weren't all in the bulls-eye or close— rare, but it happened when she was too flustered. Today, though, she had thrown her weapons with accuracy and no hesitation, uncharacteristic of the esteem challenged Hyuuga princess. **

They all clapped for Naruto's nice friend. Especially Obito, who could sympathize with the little Hyuuga girl, his applause was the most enthusiastic.

**Coming to from his shock, Iruka clapped and said a little faintly, "That was great guys, you've all improved! Especially you Hinata, very good job!" He gave a warm smile to the girl, who blushed and poked her index fingers together. **

"**Alright, next!" Iruka shouted out, getting the next group of kids.**

**Naruto moved to Hinata's side, watching the other kids. "That was pretty awesome girly. Think you could give me some pointers?" Naruto muttered to her, grinning wickedly.**

**Hinata blushed, but gave Naruto a weak reproving look (the fact that she could look reproving was a blessing anyway, Naruto thought). "W-we both know that you d-d-don't need any pointers, U-Uzumaki." She stuttered reproachfully.**

**Naruto wheeled back in fake hurt, raising his eyebrows. "Well!" he gasped in mock affront, getting a giggle from his lavender-eyed friend. They watched the rest of the kids take their turns among the targets, and Naruto assessing his fellow classmates. The clan children were of course better than the others of civilian or non-clan descent, but even so he was a little disappointed. Ino, due to her fan girl ways, severely hindered her own training and it showed in her below average target accuracy and precision.**

Kushina and Tsunade snorted, shaking their heads in equal parts disapproval and disgust.

**Kiba was better, but not as good as he was prone to boasting. **

"Tsume must have a hard time with him." Minato chuckled, thinking of the fierce Inuzuka woman.

**Shikamaru's targets were laughable, but only because Shika didn't see the need to put energy into such a troublesome thing. Chouji gave a good attempt, but he really needed to practice more. Shino was good, but his clan didn't really deal with weapons to much anyway since they relied on their bugs, so Shino didn't go farther than he needed. **

**Afterwards was taijutsu. Naruto hated this portion because most times he was always partnered with the Uchiha. It was times like these that he really wanted to just show his true strength, just for the pleasure of slowly and methodically rubbing the prick's face in the dirt.**

"We've all felt that way at least once." Obito sighed wistfully, hands flexing as he imagined doing it to some of his more extreme relatives.

**The boy was just so smug— too smug. Plus, he rarely ever spoke, instead just going, "Hn." Whenever spoken too. And people just accepted that! The villagers fed his ego to monstrous heights, leading the Uchiha to take everything for granted, and become obsessed for and with power. **

"Sounds like the Uchiha are _extremely _popular in the village at this point." Tsunade remarked.

"Which is funny, because they aren't this popular even now? The village respects them to be sure, but this idolization?" Jiraiya questioned, pondering heavily on the thought.

Obito sighed wearily, as sigh so full of exhaustion and sadness that he unknowingly drew the attention of everyone in the room.

"Obito-kun?" Kushina prodded the young man, and grew even more concerned when the boy just shook his head and didn't even look at her.

"Obito, what are you thinking of?" he asked gently.

"No doubt it'll be revealed right now." Obito hedged with a wave of his hand to the book. Confused and worried, Rin read.

**Naruto realized that Sasuke was the Last Uchiha and the Massacre hurt him, but limits had to be set before the boy just waltzed off to go seek greater power.**

Rin choked, trembling as she slowly looked at Obito. Everyone was looking at Obito, and he suddenly felt irritated at the stares.

"What are you all staring at?" he snapped, looking around at the group.

"Obito, that's what you were speaking of?" Minato asked. Obito's irritation fell a bit, glad that his sensei was still all cool and collected, instead of emotional like his teammates and Kushina.

"Yeah, but, perhaps it isn't exactly what I'm thinking. If it is then . . . I say good riddance to bad blood. Though I do wonder why the civilians weren't spared." Obito said firmly.

His two teammates gasped, while the adults were either solemn or grimacing.

"You can't mean that Obito. You're going to die in that massacre too . . ." Rin faltered.

Obito shook his head. "There . . . well, I won't say anything until we hear the official reason for the massacre."

The others all nodded, accepting the Uchiha's privacy and deciding he needed some space. Minato and Jiraiya however, gazed sharply at the boy, hearing the hidden meaning in his words.

**Naruto waited with the rest of the class, listening for the first match-up. **

"**Naruto vs. Sasuke, let's go boys!" Naruto resisted the urge to groan, and just sauntered up to the taijutsu circle with Sasuke, and both boys faced off.**

"**Alright, bow to each other at the start, first person to be knocked out the circle is the loser." Iruka announced the rules.**

**Naruto and Sasuke bowed, Naruto's bow a sight more graceful and regal than the Uchiha scion, Iruka noticed with some amusement.**

"**HAJIME!" He shouted, and flew out of the circle. **

**Naruto wasted no time, not wanting the fight to drag on. He flew at Sasuke, going for a palm strike to the sternum. Sasuke bent under the strike, his fist shooting out to his Naruto's face. Naruto's face shot to the side, his whole body twisting to take the pressure off his neck and getting him behind Sasuke. He grabbed the boys arm, bringing him over his shoulder to throw him on the ground. Sasuke hit the dirt with a grunt, and glared at Naruto. Sasuke quickly flipped up, and went back at Naruto. The two exchanged blows, neither seeming to gain any ground over the other. After ten minutes, Naruto had enough, and purposely shot his fist out a little too far to the left, allowing Sasuke to grab his arm and bring him in for a fist to the middle. Grunting, Naruto felt Sasuke shove him, and as he regained his footing, he realized that Sasuke had shoved him out the ring. **

_**Kami, finally, **_**Naruto sighed in relief to himself. **

"**Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!" Iruka called. The squeals of fan girls immediately filled the air, congratulating their Sasuke-kun. Sasuke didn't care about that though, as he walked over to the blonde Uzumaki and faced him.**

"**You've gotten better, dobe?" Sasuke asked, though the uncaring look on his face made it seem like he didn't want an answer.**

"**Perhaps." Naruto answered vaguely, and then walked off, smiling at Sasuke's small irritated growl. **

**And so the next six months continued in the same fashion, a boring whirl of Academy, afterschool lessons, and dodging the inguiries of classmate when Naruto showed some more skill than he usually did. He worked especially hard to avoid Sasuke's. The last thing he needed was for the arrogant Uchiha to declare them eternal rivals, or something.**

"Good boy, just keep doing that." Kakashi said firmly, flushing under his mask when the others sniggered.

**The only highlight was his twelfth birthday, Christmas, and Katsu's birthday. **

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The group in the room cheered, their whistles and cheers bouncing off the walls to almost echo around them.

**And his own birthday wasn't much to begin with.**

"Unacceptable! Everyone should enjoy their birthday!" Obito raged, waving his arms exaggeratedly.

**His birthday, October 10th, was also the day the Kyuubi was "defeated" by the Yondaime Hokage. Or, in actuality, sealed into him.**

"Oh my god, I'm a terrible father. What kind of birthday present is that?" Minato moaned, sighing sadly.

"I doubt you had much of a choice." Kushina cooed, petting his hair.

**Not that he blamed the Fourth, or anything. He probably would have done the same thing, if there was absolutely no other option.**

"See?" Kushina grinned at Minato's look of utter relief.

**Before he met Katsu though, his birthdays were always dismal affairs. Konoha prepared a festival to celebrate the defeat of the Kyuubi each year, and they'd be damned if they would let him, who they considered the demon itself, in to enjoy it too.**

"That's just petty." Rin sighed angrily.

"Temes, all of them." Kushina growled out, cracking her knuckles as if she was about to go into the story and beat them all.

**So, he'd either be hiding in his room, or running from mobs. Pleasant. But, then Katsu came, and along with Nami-baa-chan they made sure each and every birthday was fun. This year was no exception, with Katsu making a chocolate cake and presenting him with a pile of presents on the table.**

"We have to find out where her parents are right now, and make them our best friends." Kushina stated with all determination. "This girl has done too much for us not to take care of her."

"There was never any doubt in my mind about that." Minato told her just as firmly.

"Writing down her spoils on the list . . ." Obito muttered, scribbling notes in frenzy next to Katsu's name.

**Naruto at first balked at the amount of presents, protesting at how much she had spent, but quickly shut up at her teary-eyed pout. Instead, he accepted them with a heavy blush and perfect grace. She had made him that jumpsuit he'd had his eye on the first time, and bought him various things. Gloves, new boots to go with his outfit, new issues of the manga he liked, and couple cool hats and a lot of instant ramen for when he started going on missions. He was so happy he grabbed Katsu to him and planted a big kiss on both her cheeks, her half-heartedly struggling to get away whilst giggling. **

"We know!" Jiraiya said sharply, quickly bringing up a hand to halt the squealing. "We _know_. That they are adorable." He said emphatically. The ladies all looked at each other, quiet for a minute, before squealing anyway.

**Christmas passed in a more exciting whirl, Katsu always loving to go all out in decorations and food. Naruto got Katsu some new bolts of fabric, the DVDs of the complete mangas she loved, a box filled with candy and chocolate, and a necklace (he had to ask Hokage-jiji to buy it for him, since the owner wouldn't allow him in). Katsu practically sang over all the gifts, so he didn't feel quite so bad that it wasn't the best gifts. Katsu gave him a new scarf, some new books (he loved mysteries), and six new wrist cuffs and necklaces that he loved. There were still a pile of gifts by the small tree they had, but those were for their friends. **

**Katsu's birthday was planned all by him. He set up a clearing in the woods with lanterns and fairy lights, setting up a small table that he carefully decorated in her favorite colors, with a pile of presents on one side and the cake ( which he baked himself) in the middle, with places set for the both of them on either side. Katsu was practically floating when she saw the surprise Naruto had set up for her, and her birthday passed with lots of singing, from the birds in the trees, the crickets hopping up from the ankle-length springy grass, and their own voices mixing in with Nature's. Naruto bought her a gold charm bracelet with two charms already. A bowl of ramen to represent him, and a crown to represent her. She also got some new books, and some new accessories. Katsu giggled happily, planting a big kiss in Naruto's cheek. **

"Aw, what nice gifts!" Tsunade smiled.

"It might not be much to some, but gifts between precious people are really special." Rin said happily, a light blush on her cheeks.

"That was very well said Rin-chan!" Kushina enthused, and Minato smiled at his female student.

**Finally though, after all the work of the six months, the moment he had been waiting for had finally come. In the summer heat of Konoha, came . . .**

**The Genin Exams. **

"Whoo! Get ready to read some domination!" Obito whooped, dancing in his seat.

"Calm down dobe!" Kakashi snorted. Turning to Minato, he held out his hand.

"Sensei, can I read next?" he asked.

Minato blinked, surprised at the amount of interaction Kakashi was participating in. Then, he showed his most taciturn student a blinding smile, chuckling as he handed the book to him.

"The floor is yours, Kakashi-kun." Minato invited the young boy.

* * *

**Reviews are like a sweet, fragrant rose! So pure and delicate! So wonderful to recieve for any little reason at any given time, no matter the time! **

**PFFT. That was so lame . . . **


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, i wanted to put this on yesterday, since the chapters came out early, but . . . it wouldn't have been finished before midnight. So, in honor of those new manga chapters, though they usually come out today, i present the fifth chapter of Genesis of the Nindo!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Five_

_Enter Uzumaki Naruto, Ninja of Konoha!_

* * *

**The final morning of Naruto's Academy days dawns an appropriately bright and cheery sort of day, the kind that you decided it was so good you could skip the coffee and be fine. Naruto woke up to a gentle sunshine, mellowed by the opaque polka-dot curtains of the window. It was later than he usually woke up for morning workout, but early enough to give him plenty of time before school. The smell of things delicious and toothsome pervaded his senses, so he knew that Katsu was downstairs, probably making an early celebration breakfast.**

"Perhaps he shouldn't be celebrating so early?" Kakashi mused as he paused in his reading, thinking back on the boy's past two failed attempts.

"He already explained those two past exams, if that's what you're thinking of brat. Besides, he's getting serious now! And he's the child of these two," he jerked a thumb towards Minato and Kushina, "so he'll be just fine."

**Sure enough, he soon heard her running up the stairs, bounding to the half-opened bedroom door. As he rose up to a sitting position, the door swung open and hit the wall with a bang, revealing a beaming Katsu nearly vibrating with energy.**

"I think she's more excited that he's making genin than he is." Rin giggled.

Obito shrugged, "Everyone needs to have a cheer section on genin days. She's just doing what his parents _would_ do, and what the three of us . . . _should_ . . . be doing." Obito started out confident, but then at the end his voice turned confused and weak.

"I know my excuse, but, where the hell are the two of you?!" Obito accused, pointing a judgmental finger at Rin and Kakashi.

"I don't know where I am either." Rin objected, waving her hands in front of her.

"I . . . must be busy, or something. I mean, maybe I'm just leaving him alone to protect him?" Kakashi explained his future self's actions, and felt weird doing it.

"If they see the Yellow Flash's student hanging with some ragamuffin orphan who looks a lot like him, then that cover will be blown to bits." Jiraiya furthered.

"**Up and at 'em Sunshine!" Katsu hollered, skipping to the foot of the bed.**

"**I'm up, right?" Naruto muttered, swinging his legs out the bed. Katsu pouted, bouncing as she stayed in front of him and hauled him up on his feet. Naruto tottered from the unexpected pull, but Katsu balanced him. He ruffled her hair in retaliation, making Katsu whine. Chuckling, he took his clothes from the door and headed to the bathroom.**

"Enough with the small details, let's get straight to the point of this chapter!" Obito cried, frustrated by the too-slow-for-him pace.

"Hush you! The small details are what make the story!" Kushina shushed the boy, mirth bubbling up at his wobbly puppy-dog pout.

"**Hurry and get ready, so you can eat!" Katsu called after him, and then he heard her bounding off down the stairs, humming some little ditty. He rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop the smile from stretching his mouth, and it only got wider when he finally sunk into the bath after a thorough scrub down. After a ten minute soak he reluctantly left the bath, and soon left the bathroom ready to go. Katsu had upgraded from humming to singing, as he went down the stairs and entered the kitchen. **

"I probably wouldn't be singing, but . . ." Kushina joked, rousing laughter, though the sight of Minato's disappointed face garnered even more.

**Katsu lit up like their Christmas tree, rushing over to him and nearly breaking ribs with her bear hug. Too suddenly, she released him and he was left to wobble as blood rushed to his brain, cut off as it was by the hug.**

"We're going to have to think of something really good to embarrass him with on his exam day this time around, hime." Minato told his girlfriend, who smiled wickedly at him.

"I'm thinking family sing-along." She purred, chuckling.

**Katsu took advantage of his instability, pushing him into a chair at the table in the kitchen (funny, they usually just eat at the table in the living room because it's bigger) and setting down a heaping plate of food in front of him. Taking in the smell, he opened his mouth to say thanks, but Katsu had already floated off, and was dancing around—the house, he thinks, because she certainly wasn't in the kitchen anymore— the house as she sang along to the radio. So, he was content to eat his fill and listen to Katsu's adorable voice. **

"I wonder if her voice is really (actually) adorable." Obito snickered.

"You say the biggest lies out of love after all. _'No honey, you don't look fat in that outfit,' 'Yes, dear, those curtains are fantastic,' 'What? I've never read a single page of that Icha Icha crap in my life!'_" Jiraiya added in a jeering tone, and Obito cackled.

"_**Shinobi yoru kage ni**_

_**Boku wa nandomo mayonaka ni me wo samasu**_

_**Nana iro no hikari utsushidasu no wa**_

_**Kaze no nai yoru no kumo**_

"**Oh, I think I remember this band . . ." Naruto mumbled to himself. "Something about kung-Fu . . . and some generation?"**

**Naruto hummed along to the song, the melody soothing any irrational nervousness that threatened to grow in his mind, the food smashing the butterflies in his stomach. Katus's voice suddenly came closer as the song came to an end, and he turned to look at the kitchen entrance.**

_**Kanau koto**_

_**Kanawa nai koto**_

_**Sore yori mo daiji na nanika wo**_

_**Sonna hi no tsunoru kotoba wo**_

_**Kimi ni ate te boku wa kaite ite**_

_**Sore wo kimi ga hibi no kokoro ni**_

_**Kasaneru toki wo tada omotte iru" **_**Katsu slid into the room, arms outspread as she crooned the final words of the song. Naruto clapped and whistled, while Katsu bowed, grinning.**

"They have so much fun." Minato grinned, thinking of his own amusing dealings with a kiddie Habanero, long ago (amusing for him, but irritating for Kushina).

"Let's hope they can keep having such innocent fun for a long time, even though his duties start as a ninja." Tsunade murmured, remembering her own harsh thrust from childhood. They all did . . .

"**Ne, ne, Naru-chan!" Katsu trilled, taking Naruto's hands away from the sink for a moment and holding them in hers, swinging them back and forth. **

"**Ne, ne, Hime-chan!" Naruto mimicked, letting the smaller girl play around for a minute. She was more excited than he was for the exams.**

"Said it." Obito claimed, before Jiraiya could open his mouth. The older man scowled, settling back into his seat.

"Just how much fun is she going to have when their kids enter the Academy?" Rin giggled, already foretelling the marriage and subsequent parenting of the poor as-yet-nonexistent children.

"I'll be right there jumping over the moon with her." Kushina volunteered, grinning sweetly.

"**Mou!" Katsu pouted. "Show some more enthusiasm! It's your **_**Genin Exam**_**!" Katsu chirped, using his hand to spin herself around. Naruto snorted, putting a hand atop the girl to keep steady hold of her.**

"Spoil sport!" Kushina, Rin, and Obito whined, and then laughing at their perfect timing.

"**Did you really just capitalize it?" Naruto snorted, looking incredulous. At her trembling pout, Naruto hurriedly switched tactics. **

"Smart boy, and at such a young age." Jiraiya praised, Minato sending Naruto some silent praise as well.

"**I am enthusiastic!" Naruto insisted. "On the inside, I'm doing cartwheels. Really!" Naruto defended when he saw her face staring to darken.**

"**Baka!" Katsu howled, karate chopping him on the head. Naruto swore violently, crouching down on the balls of his feet as he cradled his abused cranium.**

"Never mind, she might just be as violent as you two." Jiraiya recanted his earlier statement, sighing in mock disappointment.

"No doubt he's as stubborn as I used to be," Kushina said half-regretfully and totally ignoring the others snorts ("_used to be?_"), "so he'll most likely need a couple knocks around the skull . . . like I probably do." Kushina laughed sheepishly.

"Well, if you look back, this is the first time she's hit him in five chapters. So, she's not nearly as violent as you two exceptional ladies, but like all women, she's not above using it." Obito justified, pushing his glasses up in a scholarly manner, the light catching his lenses and hiding his eyes.

**Katsu ignored his pain, and ranted. "You should be bouncing off the walls! I mean, after today, your life changes! You'll be a ninja, with new responsibilities and privileges for only the ninja! You can grow even stronger than before, and you . . . you could be infamous!" **

"Doesn't she mean famous?" Rin asked, looking at the adults.

"I'm not sure I'd want to infamous, makes you sound like a bad guy." Obito stuck his tongue out.

"Actually I can see where she's coming from." Minato admitted, surprising the genin.

**Naruto scowled as he looked up at her. "Don't you mean famous?"**

**Katsu sent him a look. "I meant what I said. Famous is boring, you need to be infamous! When people hate or fear you, they leave you alone a lot better than if you were famous and beloved." **

"Time-out!" Obito made the time-out sign with his arms. "I need clarification, stat."

Minato cleared his throat lightly, going into sensei mode. "Well, you see . . . being famous, is like being right in the center of the public eye. Famous people are actresses, actors, people like that . . . they are expected to be role models for young ones, and people on high moral ground, at least most of the time. No ninja worth their headband wants to be famous, if people in our profession even can be. Ninja don't always do the most heroic thing. So, when you're infamous, you're in the corner of the public eye, kept in just enough for only certain factions to take interest, and usually because they either hate you, or fear you, or both. The more infamous you are, the more dangerous, and the more likely you are to be left alone, until they come up with people good enough to assassinate you without you killing the assassins. For people like the Sannin, that's impossible. So they're infamous, even Tsunade though she has the morally cleaner job of Medic-nin. Get it?" Minato looked at his students, whose brains he fancied to see oozing out of their ears.

Obito blinked, dazed beyond belief. "Ah . . . somewhat, I'm sure it will sink in later on . . . or perhaps when we see Naru-chan become infamous."

"What he said." Rin said dully.

"What they said." Kakashi answered flippantly.

"OK, that took way too long, so no talking for a while! I wanna keep going quickly!" Kushina ordered, glaring at Kakashi to get a move on. Kakashi conceded with a barely concealed shiver.

**Naruto thought about it. "Oh." Rising up, he ruffled Katsu's hair, and she huffed. "Well, I think I should be going now." Naruto said composedly. Katsu disagreed, scurrying around him to block his way.**

"**Katsu?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.**

"**Just . . . you, are you going to be okay in the ninjutsu section? Mizuki-teme, you know . . ." Katsu fumbled her words, searching around for the right phrasing.**

_**Oh, she's worried about my chakra control. **_**Naruto realized. "I'll be fine. Really, learning tree walking so early really helped. If anything, I'll just have to overdo it. Nothing in the rule books against that. If they complain, I'll just tell them that such things are pretty much impossible for someone with high chakra levels like me, and so an exception should be made. Mizuki won't be cheating me out of a headband." Naruto reassured her, putting a hand on her shoulder briefly. **

"**Well, that's fine then." Katsu smiled. Her smile got bigger, and bigger, until she clapped her hands over her mouth, a small squeal leaving her lips. Naruto sweat dropped, practically feeling her excitement levels rise up. **

"**Do your best!" Katsu trilled, giving him another tight hug. This time Naruto returned it just as firmly, starting to feel a little giddy in excitement finally. **

"**Later Kurohime!" he called, leaving the house. She returned his farewell right before the door closed. Naruto turned, facing out to the winding road leading to town. Determination glinted in sapphire depths, and with head held high and shoulders loose, Naruto set forth. **

"Finally!" Obito crowed.

**Naruto went straight through town, not even bothering with the darker back roads as he usually would, since he wasn't walking with Katsu today. The staring was starting to annoy him, and the simultaneous blushes and scowls on the young woman and girls his age was more than a little unsettling.**

"So, they're being fan girls . . . and hate that they're being fan girls for him?" Obito deadpanned. "That's just fucking stupid."

"More like they hate him for making them fan girls." Minato corrected.

Rin sighed, shaking her head. _I'm ashamed . . . _she moaned piteously in her head.

_**What the hell are they mad at me for?! Just keep eye-raping the Uchiha, and look away! **_**Naruto wanted to shout out, but he kept his peace, and not once did any sort of discomfort or any weakness show on the mask of placidness he showed the outside world.**

"Damn you Minato!" The group howled, shaking their fists at the elite jounin.

"Haters gonna hate." He merely shrugged.

**The Academy was half-filled by the time he got there, and though there were stares, none of the muttering of that first month invaded his ears anymore. They had just given up on getting any information from him. Soon the class was filled with students, and in walked Iruka-sensei and Mizuki. **

"**Alright, you guys today is the day you've all been working hard towards." Iruka confirmed, taking a moment to let the kids buzz excitedly about this "Now, first up is the written part of the exam." Iruka announced, and Mizuki started handing out test papers to the rows, each child taking one and passing the rest on. When he got to Naruto's row, he smirked to himself a little as he handed Naruto the paper. Naruto was the only person sitting in that row. Naruto caught that smirk, as well as the smell of smugness on him and wondered what it was about, but then he looked down at his test paper, and smirked too. **

"Don't tell me he tried to switch exams with a harder one." Kushina growled, practically spitting out the words.

"Not that Naruto's going to let him get away with this." Jiraiya smirked.

"My thing is; he can smell emotions?" Rin pressed, barely concerned with the test papers.

"Well, it's not that far-fetched." Kakashi justified.

"What, so when you're happy you smell like roses or something, and when you're mad you smell like . . . ?" Rin questioned. This time Kushina spoke up, surprising the others.

"No, see, it's not like _that_. You know, how when you're nervous or something, you sweat? Well, anyone with my sense of smell could smelt he sweat. But there are other things in that sweat, in your scent . . . hormones that are released, you could, with sharp enough senses, smell them and be able to identify them with emotions with enough practice. Well, not everyone," she admitted. "You have to have enough . . . animal, in you?"

"Could you do that?" Tsunade asked the Kakashi and Kushina, the doctor inside of her thinking of all the possibilities.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, that's more an animal thing. An Inuzuka might, if they trained hard enough. But, for a jinchuuriki, I can see how it would be easier."

Kushina nodded. "Yeah, I can do that, but only to a certain extent. I think Naruto will get farther with it. I repress the instincts from the demon too much."

**Just as Mizuki was about to go down the steps between the rows, Naruto spoke up and stopped Mizuki in his tracks. "Maa, Mizuki-sensei, it flatters me you think I'm ready to handle this, but even I must admit that the Chuunin's written exam is a bit beyond me." Naruto murmured in a silky voice, but that murmur carried throughout the room, garnering a few glances from his fellow students. Mizuki's thunderous looking-face amused Naruto, perhaps a bit more than it should have.**

"Minato's cool yet swift call-out, with Kushina's vindictiveness." Tsunade analyzed.

"The ninja world doesn't stand a chance." Team Minato chorused, getting a short snigger from their sensei.

"**What? Mizuki is that really the Chuunin exam? The office guys gave me all Genin exams, I was sure of it!" Iruka asked his gray-haired friend, confused. Mizuki grit his teeth, but went up and snatched Naruto's test paper anyway.**

"**Yeah, it's the Chuunin Exam. Good thing Naruto caught this mistake early on, or he would have been in a mess of trouble." Mizuki said, smile straining across his face. Naruto smiled all too easily, and all too smugly, something that made a muscle in Mizuki's face twitch. As Mizuki barely restrained himself from stomping down the stairs, Naruto's smirk twisted to a sneer. **_**Stupid bitch, **_**he thought disgustedly. **

"All Kushina at that moment." The room chorused, muffling laughter when Kushina threw pillows at them.

**Naruto finished the test with relative ease, though it took a little longer because he was making sure not to answer everything correctly, or at least partially correct. It wouldn't do to play average all these years, and then hit Rookie-level test scores, he rationalized. He was so into his daydreams, that he was surprised when his attention was brought forcefully back to the present when Mizuki's sour scent of anger and disgust suddenly assaulted his poor nose. He almost flinched . . . almost. **

"Gyah, nasty." Kushina stuck her tongue out.

"**Time for the weapons portion of the exam." Mizuki said, a dark smile twisting his face. Naruto wondered if he realized just how creepy he looked. **

"They never do." Jiraiya lamented shaking his head, his one loyal teammate snorting when she caught the meaning of his words.

"**Thanks for the heads up, sensei!" Naruto smiled far more charmingly than Mizuki, and got up to follow the rest of his year mates outside. Once there, instead of going up in groups they were called out one by one, in alphabetical order. **

"**Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka called his name, right when Naruto was starting to feel a little impatient. Naruto strolled up to his assigned place before the targets. First: kunai. Naruto threw them well enough, though it bordered almost on carelessness. The kunai pierced the bulls-eye, and the first and second rings outside it. Not missing a beat, Naruto walked over to the next target, shuriken already carefully palmed. They were sent flying as soon as his feet were anchored in place, and hit the same areas as the kunai. **

"Ah, he reminds me of Minato-brat way back in the day." Jiraiya sniffled nostalgically, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

"**Excellent Naruto, you pass!" Iruka cheered. Naruto smiled at his sensei, before sauntering back to his place amongst the other students, who were giving him odd looks over the skill he displayed. Sasuke in particular, looked particularly sour at Naruto's score, too close to his own perfect score for him to dismiss it. **

"Get over it little cousin." Obito rolled his eyes, slumping down in his seat. His butt was starting to hurt from sitting so long . . .

**Once all the weapons scores were written down, Iruka looked up from his clipboard and extended an arm back to the Academy building. "We will now be going inside to administer the ninjutsu portion of the exam." He said loudly, though the field was silent. Together, they all trooped back in, though Naruto suddenly found himself flanked by Shikamaru and Chouji.**

"**If I didn't know any **_**better**_** Naruto, I'd say you were **_**skilled**_**." Shikamaru drawled, a lazy smirk stretching his lips.**

"Pssh! _What? No!_" Obito drew out in an exaggerated joking manner.

"I thought sarcasm was too troublesome for Naras." Kushina added, laughing.

**Naruto returned his smirk, with a nonchalant, "The average-dobe, skilled? What did they put in your deer milk this morning Shika?"**

"Huh, Kakashi you're really reading this well. I thought this would be a monotone drone of boredom, but you feign emotions pretty damn well." Obito complimented his silver-haired teammate.

Kakashi flipped him the bird, totally ignoring Minato and Kushina's looks, and words, of warning, before continuing.

"I thought that stuff was beneath him." Rin whispered to Obito, giggling.

**Chouji, taking a break from chowing down on his ever-present bag of chips said, "Well, in the end you'll have to start going all out when you become a genin."**

"**Not until I get a C-rank." Naruto dismissed.**

"**Still, we'll see the real stuff sooner or later, ne?" Shikamaru stated more than asked.**

"**Don't be in such a rush to spoil the fun." Naruto murmured as they returned to their seats, now back in the classroom.**

"**There are three jutsu you have to complete successfully in order to pass this portion. Those three are the Henge no Jutsu, Kawarimi no Jutsu, and the Bushin no Jutsu." Iruka explained. "Mizuki-sensei and I will be calling students in the adjoining room, so pay attention!" Finishing up, Iruka and Mizuki went through the door, closing it behind them. One by one the students were called, and Naruto sat patiently, going over some calligraphy lessons in the book Juu-sensei had given him as a farewell gift. Though he had no brush and ink, he did have a lovely pen that gave out clear and fluid lines, so he copied a story in traditional linings.**

"You used to do that too sometimes." Kushina remembered, looking up at her handsome boyfriend.

"You remember that?" Minato smiled, while his genin team asked, "He did?"

Kushina turned to the genin team. "Yeah, sometimes Minato would stay behind after everyone had gone, and just start writing on the chalkboard in those same traditional lines. Sometimes he just wrote haikus he had memorized, or others he would write an old myth. Sometimes I would just stay behind and read them as he wrote them. I thought it was really cool." She remembered as she spoke, a fond smile lighting her face up.

"No wonder you didn't tell me, I would have thought it was lame." Jiraiya ragged, and then whimpered when Tsunade gave him a hard slap upside the head in punishment for ruining the mood.

**He did three of them, congratulating his friends as they emerged with headbands, before he was called.**

**Shikamaru gave him a heavy-lidded look, also heavy on the curiosity. Naruto smirked, lifting one finger to his smirking lips, before ambling down the stairs and into the testing room. He walked forward until he was a good distance from the table. Iruka and Mizuki sat behind the desk, both holding clipboards and looking at him. Iruka composed his face into a neutral expression, but Naruto saw the worried glint in his deep brown eyes, so he smiled in reassurance.**

"**Alright Naruto, first the Henge." Iruka ordered.**

"Who's that Naruto?!" Rin and Obito shouted together.

"Oh god that stupid thing . . ." Kakashi groaned.

**Naruto obliged, forming the hand seals quickly, before a small plume of smoke erupted and shrouded him. The mist eventually faded away, revealing Naruto henged into the form of the Sandaime, complete with the trademark pipe. Another burst of smoke, and then Naruto reappeared, composed as always.**

"It's Sandaime!" Obito cheered, giving the room thumbs up while giving a cheesy wink.

"**Good. Now the Kawarimi no Jutsu please." Iruka said.**

**Naruto didn't even form hand seals for this one, using it so much to avoid the ninja in the aftermaths of his pranks. All of a sudden, in place where Mizuki sat was Naruto, arms crossed behind his head and feet on the table, and where Naruto had stood was a spluttering Mizuki on his backside. "Oh, I thought you'd have reacted better . . . My bad, sensei." Naruto simpered. **

"Nice!" The genin and their sensei smirked.

"I'm just . . . so proud." Kushina wailed as she fake-sobbed into Minato's shoulders, while he was snickering at his son's Uzumaki-trademark cheek.

"Learning it so much he can do it without seals will really come in handy someday." Tsunade remarked approvingly.

**Mizuki glowered, teeth showing from slightly curled lips as Iruka coughed to poorly hide a laugh. "Alright Naruto, perhaps that was a bit much, but you did it. Extra points for using no hand seals, too. Now, if you would, get back to the front." Naruto complied, getting up from the chair and standing at the front. Mizuki got back to his seat with a scowl.**

"**Now . . . make three bushins." Iruka stated, though his voice was a little fainter than before. Naruto smiled, performing the hand seals, before a blast of smoke larger than before spread across the room. Iruka and Mizuki narrowed their eyes, peering through the smoke, and when it finally cleared up, their eyes widened.**

"Did he pass?!" Kushina muttered, giving into a habit she picked up from Tsunade and biting at the sides of her thumbs. Minato gently lowered her hand from her mouth, keeping it covered with his.

"Hope he didn't tank." Jiraiya said sympathetically, remembering how this particular thing had nearly cost him his headband.

**Naruto had successfully pulled off the Bushin . . . and then some.**

"Whooo!" Kushina whooped, punching the air with both fists in celebration.

"Way to go, kid!" The others cheered.

**Ten Naruto's stood in front of the table, all smiling pleasantly. "It's more than what was required, but there are three here . . . at least. So, I pass, right?" the real Naruto spoke up from the middle of the line.**

"Can't argue with technicalities." Jiraiya said, shrugging.

"Kyaa, my baby passed!" Kushina screamed out in happiness, flinging her arms out in an attempt to alleviate the pressure from the happiness.

"Though we expected it, it's still such a great thing to hear." Minato's calm voice was filled with warmth and an unmistakable love for his future son. Jiraiya smiled, happy at the man he considered to be like a son for his good fortune . . . sort of.

**Mizuki was gearing up to try and fail him on some trifling technicality, but Iruka was already moving on, getting up to congratulate Naruto.**

"**That's great Naruto, I'm glad you overcame your chakra control problem . . . somewhat." He added dryly as the other nine Naruto's popped out of existence. He gestured to the small table beside his table. "Choose your hitai-ate. They come in black, or blue. Anything else you need custom-made."**

"Get one custom made in orange!" Kushina suggested, laughing.

"**The black will be fine for me." Naruto grinned, reaching for the headband Iruka had fished out for him. He led the ends tightly, and had decided to tie it on his forehead when he stopped. **

"Suddenly overcome with emotion, or something?" Rin giggled, remembering how she almost burst into tears when she received her headband, for absolutely no reason too!

'_**Uh, that's nice and all, but you look better without your bangs trapped behind the headband . . . it's kind of dorky.' **_**Katsu would say, he was sure of it . . . as if she as right next to him.**

'_**Oh GOD, she got to me.' **_**Naruto thought, horrified. He looked at Iruka with a tortured expression. Iruka looked at him blankly, and then caught on when he saw the mixture of fondness in the anguish.**

The males in the room burst into laughter, ranging from Jiraiya's booming laughter to Kakashi's quiet chuckles. The fact alone that Kakashi was laughing was enough, so no teasing.

"**You know, tying it around your neck is good for blocking decapitation or throat slashes, and it looks pretty cool." Iruka said, shoulders shaking in suppressed mirth. Naruto gave him an irritated glare, but tied the headband around his neck. It didn't feel bad, felt just as natural as having it on his forehead, so he stuck with it.**

"**Later, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto walked out the room, grinning wickedly at the not-so-quiet whispers of the other kids who were surprised he graduated. Honestly, what were they surprised for? Shikamaru was the dead last of the Academy; he was nowhere near that level. **

"All they know is their parent's reactions, and they base their opinions of him off that. Their only half at fault here." Tsunade said in a grudging tone of voice.

"To me, that's no excuse." Kushina sniffed.

"Well, of course not, that's your baby." Obito told her, like she was strange for even saying that.

**No matter, Naruto shrugged it off; in the end all that mattered was then end result. Content, Naruto walked out of the Academy, the day ending already. He didn't want to go home just yet, he felt like having a final swing on the old swing in front of the Academy, a favorite spot of his. All around him as he slowly swayed on the old seat were happy and proud parents congratulating their brood on making it in. Nobody looked at him, nobody paid any attention to him, save to give him a cold stare. To glare at him, as if daring him to try and be a part of the warm atmosphere. **

Growls erupted through the room, but Minato said spoke up to put an end to that.

"We know already that he's not liked, at all, but continuing to react like that this far in the book is kind of pointless. We can change it; he won't be subjected to that this time around." Minato sighed, rubbing the tense shoulders of his Uzumaki princess. Kushina growled under her breath, but obliged and relaxed against Minato.

The others relented as well, but still had hard looks on their faces.

**Naruto gave no indication that he noticed their frigid manners, just swayed with the small breeze. He had his own happiness waiting for him at home. He was sure, that if his parents were alive, they'd be happy too. He wasn't sure how he knew this, just a gut feeling he supposed.**

"So our love managed to reach him, somehow." Kushina smiled, eyes prickling at the tears she'd soon have to fight off if the sentimentality persisted.

"As long as he knows that, even if he doesn't know who we are, then things will be alright." Minato said, smiling softly. Suddenly, his smile fell off and he gave his sensei a suspicious look. "You're still not off the hook."

Jiraiya raised his hands in surrender, chuckling sheepishly.

**As he swayed, and the kids and parents ignored him, Mizuki slinked up from behind, hiding in the shadows of the tree.**

"**Hey there Naruto, congratulations on passing!" Mizuki praised him, feeling himself throw up in a little in his mouth as he lied. **

"Fucker." Obito spat under his breath, all for naught though as his sensei heard him.

"Obito! Language." The blonde snapped. The seldom used sharpness in his voice made the young man flinch, before nodding warily in consent.

"**Thanks." Naruto said curtly. School was out— he no longer needed to pretend to like Mizuki. What was the man bothering him for anyway?**

"**Well, you know I was impressed with your skills Naruto. So impressed that I'm going to offer you a special test, an extra so to speak. It'll increase your chances of hitting Chuunin by quite a lot." Mizuki said cheerily, smiling down at the whiskered boy.**

"This guy is a fucking idiot." Kushina muttered with a roll of her violet eyes. Minato growled in exasperation, before pinching her side. Kushina yelped, hand immediately flying to the pinched area.

"What did I just tell Obito?" Minato said.

**Naruto just looked at the man. This guy was a fucking idiot. "Oh, really Mizuki-sensei? Sounds almost too good to be true." Naruto awed.**

"Kushina moment!" The room hollered, even said red head herself, grinning hugely.

**Mizuki smiled, feeling pleased that the demon was so gullible. "Yeah, see, you need to take a certain scroll from the vault in the Hokage's Office, and bring it to me at the Old Shed in the forest. I think you know where right? Good. Bring it to me by midnight, and consider yourself a Chuunin!"**

"The fact that he became a chuunin is astounding to me, he's such an idiot." Kakashi sneered, gaining an approving nod from his spiky-haired teammate. Instead of feeling irritation at the dobe as he usually did, he only felt a small bit of contentment at the dobe's approval . . . what the hell was up with that? Kakashi shook his head and kept reading.

"I'll have to work on changing Academy curriculum and standards when I get the Hat." Minato mused mostly to himself.

**God, this guy was pathetic, but Naruto wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. "Sure thing Mizuki-sensei! Dattebayo!" Naruto bared his teeth at the man threateningly, but to Mizuki and anyone else, it would just look like a monstrous grin. Mizuki smirked, bidding a farewell to Naruto before departing. As soon as Mizuki was gone, the grin slid off Naruto's face. He just stared in Mizuki's direction, barely noticing the parents and children starting to trickle away. Slowly, a cold smile grew on his face, eyes hooded in satisfaction.**

They shivered from the description. They practically felt that coldness too. "Minato!" they muttered.

"Whoa, wait, why did he agree?!" Obito shouted, grabbing his hair in frustration from all the confusion.

"You'll see." Kushina smirked, not even a little offended at Obito's lack of faith in her baby. The adults all mirrored her smirk.

**Out of nowhere, a pair of arms encircled his neck, and his eyes widened as the force which her body hit against him nearly threw them both back on the ground.**

"Katsuhime-chan!" The room whooped.

"**Well, I knew you'd do it, but I'm still so happy!" Katsu cried happily, eyes shining with a near overload of happiness. Naruto steadied himself and circled Katsu's waist with his own arms.**

"Is that something we'll be changing too?" Rin asked.

The adults suddenly paused, looking at each other uncertainly. "Uh . . ." they all said uncertainly

Tsunade took control of the situation. "Most likely his propensity to touch her comes from having a childhood where others rarely touched him, for positive reasons at any rate. He just clung to the one who would and could give him touch in an affectionate way once he had that person. So, since we'll all be there . . . he might not need to do that."

"**Katsu!" he hissed, voice turning harsher than he meant with the combination of fear and frustration. "What are you doing here?!"**

"Oh right, she's not supposed to be seen with him." Obito recalled.

**Katsu didn't care about his negativity, instead trilling out, "You're a ninja now! So no more hiding!"**

**Naruto opened his mouth to reprimand her, but stopped when he realized that he had no argument. Those were his words, and he never went back on his word. Sighing, he suddenly trapped her in a bear hug, lifting her off the floor from the force and squeezing a squeak out of her. Naruto saw the remaining children and adults looking at the two of them with shock and surprise, and though the wariness of the new situation was still here, it was less than the first initial shock. He turned his attention away from the villagers, and back where it should be.**

"Good boy." Minato and Jiraiya said firmly, glad Naruto was growing up to be a good man, even without a constant male role model in his life.

"**Come on; let's get out of here Hime." He said happily, holding onto her hand gently as they walked home. The entire walk home Katsu demanded to be regaled with the entirety of his Genin Exam, and so he told her in as much detail as he cared to recall, without revealing too much in front of others. She caught on quickly, clever kid.**

"Of course he'd tell her everything." Obito drawled.

"You know, when he starts doing high-profile missions and such, he really won't be able to tell her everything." Tsunade worried.

Kushina sniggered. "That's more a suggestion than anything else, isn't it?"

"What is this _secrecy_ you speak of? What does it have to do with being a ninja?" Jiraiya muttered jokingly.

"**So, I'll just be staying home today." She sighed, expecting that answer and nothings else.**

**So she was surprised when he said, "No, as soon as we finish dinner, go to jiji's and stay there. Tell him I sent you there, and I'll get you after I'm finished with something. He won't question it, and you'll get to be spoiled by that nice old maid, Haruka-san, ne?" **

"Why can't she just stay home?" Rin turned to her two teammates. They just shrugged, not having the faintest clue.

**All around the two chatterboxes, people were looking on in shock, and some indignation. They were paying particular attention to Katsu, whom they had never seen before. **

_**Probably think she's a foreigner, no true blue villager would hang out with the likes of me, is that it? **_**Naruto mused silently. **

**While it was true that they would never have seen Katsu before, it's only because Naruto planned it that way. They lived in the farther part of West Konoha, and she mainly stayed there, except for school where she moved further into Central Konoha. So, they wouldn't have placed her immediately, save for a very few people who might see her pass their shops on her way to school.**

"Overprotective much?" Obito snorted.

"It's cute . . . when it's not you." Kushina said, shrugging. The others looked at her incredulously. "Oh, whatever." She growled. Minato whistled innocently.

"**Alright, well, what do you want for dinner? Your graduation, your choice!" Katsu changed subjects, smiling up at him.**

"**Oh, the list I have . . ." Naruto said dreamily, clearly far away in another dimension. Katsu sighed, putting a hand to her cheek thoughtfully.**

"**It's a good thing I went shopping today." She sighed wearily, scowling half-heartedly when he slung a heavy arm around her shoulders.**

"**Ah, but I have my own good news too!" She chirped, twirling before skipping a step to catch up to Naruto. The blonde in question was hit with a pang of guilt. He wouldn't have even known about her day if she hadn't said something. Katsu saw the guilt on his face, and smiled.**

"**You've got a lot to think about yourself." She said.**

"**That's no excuse. Regardless, what is this good news?" Naruto asked.**

"**Well, as you know, civilian kids usually keep up their schooling until the age of sixteen, providing they can pay for it. I planned on doing the same thing . . . until Houshi-sensei gave me another option." She informed Naruto.**

"Huh, I never really thought about civilians and their schooling." Obito thought out loud, saying the thing everyone else was thinking.

"**And? What was the option?!" Naruto demanded, eager to know.**

"**He knows I'm interested in owning a business of my own when I'm older. I want to own a café/bakery, right?" Naruto nodded, her dream was as dear to him as it was to her. **

"So she doesn't want to be a seamstress?!" Kushina was surprised.

"Eh?! But she's so good at it too!" Obito whined, confused.

"Meh, she's also good at making pastries, as we've read." Rin pointed out.

"**So, Houshi-sensei told me that since I'm so far ahead of my year mats in my schooling, that I can do this sort of intern thing! I'd be going to school from morning to noon, and from after lunch until five or six in the evening, from Monday to Friday, I'd be working with this lady, Haruhi-san, who owns a café!" Katsu squealed, bouncing around Naruto, who was grinning like a loon.**

"**That's incredible! I'm happy for you Kurohime!" Naruto crowed, taking Katsu's hand and swinging it back and forth as she bounced beside him. The two best friends chatted about this new development all the way home.**

"What he found at six it takes men decades to find. To even glimpse!" Jiraiya waxed poetic.

**The sky was dark, covered in clouds, covering the beautiful village in inky black shadows. Perfect for his self-appointed mission, Naruto thought. It took him little time at all to traverse the distance to the large Hokage's Tower in the middle of Konoha, even dodging ANBU sentinels. It was far too easy, even for him, once he got into the Tower. Naruto knew for a fact that there were more guards, and better prepared. Mizuki's treachery stretched even deeper than he thought. **

"Just who is this Mizuki-teme working for?" Jiraiya puzzled, frowning fiercely.

"It does seem unlikely that he's a free agent . . . but you get those." Tsunade said.

**Naruto crept silently into the Scroll Vault, scanning the room with a quick glance and immediately tagging the Forbidden Scroll. Hoisting it carefully into his arms, almost cradling it like a child, Naruto went out the way he came.**

"Like a _boss_." Obito and Rin whispered, bumping knuckles.

**Naruto paused. "Evening, jiji. Couldn't sleep?"**

"Busted!" Obito grunted.

"Please, sensei is totally in on this." Tsunade snorted.

"**I often find myself partaking in these midnight strolls. I trust that the scroll will be returned safely?" The Sandaime Hokage's question was more of an order.**

"**I trust you'll be watching in that crystal ball of yours, so that question wasn't even needed. Give me about fifteen minutes until you call searchers." Naruto assured.**

"**Very well." Hiruzen answered.**

"**Ah, jiji . . . Katsu?" Naruto called.**

"**Sleeping soundly. She is worried, but trusts you. I'll wake her and bring her up when you return. In other news, my grandson might just be a rival for her hand." Hiruzen said calmly. Naruto snorted at the last bit, but said nothing.**

"**Thanks. There's something else though . . . it'll be suspicious if you just say that you couldn't catch me. You'll have to show some proof that I stopped you . . ." Naruto added.**

"Getting a little ahead of himself there?" Kakashi muttered, chin on his fist.

**Hiruzen snorted. "Oh? Well what can you do—?"**

"**OROIKE NO JUTSU." Naruto growled, before a puff of smoke obscured him from Hiruzen's vision.**

"_Sexy Jutsu?!_" Kushina growled out.

"He is one with his inner pervert." Jiraiya hummed out like a monk with a mantra, hands together like in prayer.

_**Oroike . . . ? What could— FFFFUUUUUUUU—! **_**The smoke cleared away to reveal a buxom, curvaceous and extremely beautiful blonde female Naruto, naked as a newborn with some strategic wisps of smoke covering the important bits. It was a little creation of Naruto's, and the Sandaime's worst enemy as well as sweetest dream. **

**Hiruzen fell with the force of his nose bleed, hitting the ground with a hard 'thud.' **

"What?! How can the Sandaime be such a pervert?!" Rin cried curtly, hands slashing the air in an 'X' formation. Jiraiya looked away from the group, casually rubbing the back of his head.

"Dude." Obito said in a monotone.

**Naruto snickered, returning back to his original form, and then disappearing into the shadows. He made good time to the Old Shed, and decided not to waste this golden opportunity. He crouched on the forest floor, unraveling the scroll and revealing the forbidden techniques of Konoha. Humming thoughtfully, he whipped out a notebook and pen from his pocket, pen poised over the blank page to take notes.**

"Good boy." Kushina said proudly, wiping away fake tears from the corners of her eyes.

_**Kage Bushin no Jutsu huh? **_**Naruto examined the first jutsu, interest piqued. **_**Corporeal clones, memory transfer . . . sweet, oh and its compliment the Bushin Daibakuha . . . ooh! Explosions! **_**Naruto was having a blast writing down these jutsu, before he closed the notebook shut with a snap.**

"Dear Kami he has explosions!" Minato moaned in almost horror, laughing helplessly.

"Sweet!" Everyone else crowed.

"**Practice time!" He sang under his breathe. Taking a deep breath, he set his fingers into the hand seals for the Kage Bushine. For the next two hours, the sound of clones popping in and out of existence filled the clearing. Eventually, Naruto, kneeling on the floor in exhaustion as he panted for breath, mastered the Kage Bushin. "Oh yes." He muttered, grinning.**

"Two hours?!" Obito choked.

"That's impressive." Minato whistled.

"That's our boy!" Kushina cooed, wicked grin at odds with the sweet tone.

**Then his ears twitched, and his head turned in the direction of an approaching sound and chakra signature. Iruka burst through the foliage, panting and glaring.**

"**That's just sad Iruka-sensei, you're out of shape." Naruto shook his head sadly.**

**Iruka glared. "Naruto! What were you thinking taking that scroll?!"**

"**I'll explain later sensei, for now, heads up." Naruto dismissed his sensei, deftly rolling the scroll back up and standing by it in a guarding position. Iruka opened his mouth to retort, before his instincts alerted him to oncoming danger, and he dodged out the way of the shuriken. However he wasn't fast enough, because some caught his arm and stuck him to the shed. Naruto dodged a brace of kunai aimed for him as well, landing side by side of Iruka.**

Kushina hissed as Tsunade growled, "That fool."

**Mizuki stood on top of a branch across from them, smirking smugly. "Good job Naruto. What do you say to handing that scroll over to me?"**

**Iruka growled. "Mizuki?! I don't understand, what—?!"**

"**Power. That's what I want, nothing more and nothing less." Mizuki interrupted him, before turning back to Naruto. "The scroll Naruto, now."**

"**No Naruto, don't do it!" Iruka ordered the blonde as he tried desperately to release himself from the shed, seething at Mizuki's treachery and attempt to pin the blame on his student.**

"Yeah, kick his ass Iruka!" Obito whooped.

"**Naruto . . . do you wonder why everybody hates you?" Mizuki said in a sweet tone, smiling cruelly at the boy.**

**Naruto raised an eyebrow, indifferent to the man before him. "No, but no doubt you'll tell me."**

"**It's because . . ." Mizuki drawled, ignoring Iruka's cries to stop, "You're the Kyuubi! Twelve years ago the Yondaime sealed the beast away into a baby, that baby being you! You hold the murderer of thousands of families, the killer of Iruka's parents!" Mizuki's crazed laugh echoed throughout the clearing.**

"It is entirely unfair to pin all that on a young boy! If Naruto didn't have all his precious people, that'd be a real blow!" Rin cried out, horrified at the depravity of the man.

"That's just human nature." Minato said heavily, eyes darkening.

**Naruto stilled, head bowed down so that his hair covered his face as his whole body shook. Iruka was immediately hit with a pang of concern, and opened his mouth to soothe the young boy, before gaping for an entirely different reason. Naruto's face rose and revealed that the reason for his shaking wasn't from sadness, but laughter. Suddenly, Naruto couldn't help himself, and he burst into near hysterical laughter. Naruto's laughter eventually started to slow down, and the boy gave the gray-haired chuunin with an amused stare.**

"**Haters gonna hate." He shrugged carelessly.**

"Minato, booyah!" Jiraiya, Kushina, and Obito hollered, flinging their hands up in the air.

"A son in my own image . . . God I've never been so proud." Minato sighed blissfully, hugging his girlfriend to him, nearly plastering her body to his.

**Mizuki glared at the uncaring demon before him. "DIE you piece of shit!" he spat, hurling a fuuma shuriken at the boy. Iruka, at the sight of the weapon, lurched his arm free finally, lunging for the student he considered a little brother. He managed to get in front of the boy, and was shielding him with his own body, bracing for the blow. **

Kushina gasped. "Oh, Kami!" she whispered faintly, hands wringing together.

"He just _jumped_ in there without a plan! Great, now they'll both be skewered!" Kakashi ranted— to himself of course. That didn't stop some of the others from hearing though.

"Don't say that!" Rin wailed, hands over her eyes.

**Suddenly he felt the air whip around him for a short moment before his feet was on solid ground again. Looking around, he realized they had moved out of the way of the shuriken, which was imbedded deeply into a tree now. Stunned, he whipped around to look at Naruto, who was detaching himself from the Chuunin's arms. He was no longer amused, and gave the Chuunin a dead stare.**

"Good, show him how we handle assholes like that Naru-chan!" Tsunade cheered, grinning savagely. Jiraiya shivered, but laughed as well, cheering Tsunade's bloodlust along.

"**My turn." He said darkly. He made the hand seals, and in a sea of smoke, about a thousand Naruto's popped up around the forest. Mizuki had time to only choke out some garbled sound in horror before they all descended upon him.**

"A thousand clones?! That's totally insane dattebane!" Kushina cried out in shock, Minato himself speechless.

**Naruto listened to the cracking of various bones and screaming coming from Mizuki, before dispelling the clones. He winced at the rush of memories, but shook it off and wandered over to Mizuki, overlooking the damage the now fleshy pulp of a man incurred. He was pleased.**

"Totally scary . . ." The genin whispered between them.

"**Naruto . . . did you know all along . . . ?" Iruka asked hesitantly, walking up to his student's shoulder. Naruto nodded, before hitching the scroll up higher, turning to walk in the direction of the village.**

"**Come on, sensei, let's get you to the hospital, those shuriken went clean through your arm, ne?" Naruto said as he kept walking. Iruka chuckled joining his most unpredictable student. **

**When they returned to the Tower, the search for the genin was called off, and the Hokage commended Naruto and Iruka for stopping the treacherous Mizuki from making off with the Forbidden Scroll. Naruto was awarded a B-Rank mission on his record, as well as B-rank mission pay. After thanking his jiji, Naruto plucked a still half-asleep Katsu away from Iruka's snuggling embrace (her cute princess- like pajamas nearly sent Iruka over the edge with its cuteness) and carried her off back home.**

**The next day, Naruto and Katsu were walking together to the Academy. Naruto in his new usual, and Katsu with an inverted color scheme, She wore a three-quarter sleeved white hoodie, orange locks tumbling over her shoulders and wildly down her back, with orange short-shorts and white flat-soled boots with orange straps and buckles.**

"Squeal. One. More. Time." Jiraiya warned stonily.

Kushina and Tsunade cleared their throats, a light blush on their cheeks, while Rin physically restrained herself.

**They walked together, chatting about this and that, as they walked to the Academy together, ignoring the gawking people around them.**

"**You think Iruka will show up?" Katsu asked Naruto.**

"**Yeah, his injuries weren't that serious." Naruto said.**

**They were the first two in the room, and Naruto escorted Katsu up to his seat, where they sat together, waiting for others to come in. As more and more kids trickled in, their eyes automatically glanced in Naruto's direction, as they had been doing since after their break. However, they all gawked, and physically stopped in their tracks when looking at Katsu.**

"Because she's so pretty?" Obito asked.

"Or because she's with Naruto?" Kakashi countered, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

**The girl in question wasn't even paying attention to them, but looking eagerly at the door, waiting for someone. Naruto allowed the stares, until he felt that they were staring too long, and sent them scurrying off with a glacial glare. The funniest time was when Kiba came strutting in, Akamaru sniffling on top of his hood-covered head. When he saw Katsu, his jaw dropped, and his incredulous stare turned to Naruto. He was about to glare at the thick-headed boy, when Kiba smirked and started making his way up to their area. Naruto bared his teeth in an angry snarl, and growled, "**_**Down, pup**_**."**

"Competition everywhere." Minato sighed, recalling his own efforts to keep Kushina for himself. Kushina blushed, and looked everywhere but Minato.

**Kiba immediately froze up, eyes snapping to Naruto in surprise. Kiba and Naruto knew very well who the alpha position belonged to here, but Naruto usually never made too much of a fuss when Kiba overstepped his bounds as a subordinate.**

"Rare that an Inuzuka will recognize someone not of their own whose an alpha. Either Kiba-kun is weak, or Naruto is just that strong. Probably the latter." Rin informed everyone else.

"Well, yeah." Kushina said, not finding anything Rin said to be new.

**With a dark glare and a heavy blush covering his face, Kiba scowled and stomped away to his original seat. Naruto was pleased at the boy's quick reaction time, and was about to close his eyes for a bit, when he heard Katsu gasp. Upon seeing the object of her surprise, he barked out a laugh, slumping forward on the desk to get a good view.**

**Hinata also gasped; face for once completely pale, as her lavender-tinted eyes locked onto golden ones. They stayed in that position for what, to them, seemed like ages. Then, in the ultimate shocker, Hinata squealed like a fan girl.**

"Best friends forever!" Kushina and Obito sang out, waving their arms in the air.

"**Katsu-chan!" Hinata quickly bounded up the stairs to them.**

"**Hinata-chan!" Katsu's return squeal was cut off when the two embraced each other like long-lost friends. Ignoring everyone else's surprised and shocked looks, the two sat down on either side of Naruto and started speaking, chatting away like the best of friends. Naruto smiled wryly, wondering why he was in the middle if they were just going to talk over him. Half-lidded blue eyes wandered over to the door when it opened for the final time, revealing Iruka, with dark circles under his eyes and bandages on his arms. **

"**Ohaiyou gozaimasu class!" Iruka hollered, getting their attention. **

"**Ohaiyou!" they returned, paying attention to their teacher.**

"**Alright, you guys are now officially ninja of Konoha! However!" he said sharply, seeing the signs of a celebration, "You are the lowest of the low. You'll have to work hard to climb the ranks, ad earn yourself a title, or even any respect at all. I won't lie and say you'll all live to achieve your goals, but I want you all to do your best, and represent Konohagakure no Sato proudly! Now, I'll call out your teams." Iruka picked up a clipboard from his desk, and clearing his throat, began.**

"That was a good introduction into their ninja lives." Tsunade complimented the young Chuunin in the story.

"Yeah, softer than our own, but definitely tough enough to get through to the serious ones." Jiraiya said, recalling their Academy teacher's speech.

"**Team One is . . ." Naruto tuned him out, instead paying attention to the conversation between Hinata and Katsu that he found himself suddenly brought into.**

"**Team Seven is Uzumaki Naruto," all three friends paused their conversation, curious to who the blonde's team mate would be. **

"**Haruno Sakura," a shriek from said pink head nearly burst eardrums, but it was Naruto's loud exclamation of "Fuck!" followed by his head abusing the desk surface that caught everyone's attention.**

"I know having a team mate you don't like is pretty bad, but—" Minato started out severely.

"Language!" Kushina finished, growling.

**Most even felt sorry for the poor bastard, despite not liking him. No one deserved such a banshee for a teammate. Better him than them though.**

" **. . . and Uchiha Sasuke, your sensei is Hatake Kakashi." Iruka finished. Sakura suddenly jumped up with a victorious shout, turning to her rival Ino and gloating. Sasuke gave no visible reaction, as per usual, but the usual aura of doom and gloom became even **_**darker**_** and **_**gloomier**_**. Naruto was in his corner, repeatedly banging his head against the desk muttering, "Fuck. Me. Fuck. Me . . ." Katsu patted is back sympathetically, while Hinata tried to cheer the young Uzumaki up.**

"Who has he been around to get a mouth like that?!" Kushina demanded to know, glaring horribly at the book.

"I don't even blame the kid. In terms of team mates he's just been fucked over seven ways to Sunday, and it'll only get worse." Obito cursed unapologetically, ignoring Minato's wintry glare as best as he could. The sweat on his face indicated his failure in that area.

**Iruka sweat dropped.**

"**Team Eight is Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino, your sensei is Yuuhi Kurenai." Katsu turned to Hinata while still patting Naruto's back, and smiled cheerily at the girl. Congratulation Hinata-chan, your team mates aren't too bad."**

"**Yeah . . ." Hinata agreed, blush lighting up her face in its familiar rosy hue.**

"**Team Nine is still in rotation, so Team Ten is Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akamichi Chouji, your sensei is Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka finished up. Ino was lamenting her fate of being stuck with those two, and Shikamaru and Chouji would have done the same, if it weren't so troublesome/they weren't preoccupied with their food.**

"Of course, the next Ino-Shika-Cho generation." Jiraiya hummed thoughtfully.

**Suddenly, Naruto popped up, surprising his two seat mates. "NO! Fuck this, Iruka-sensei, the Rookie of the Year and the Kunoichi of the Year are supposed to be paired with the dead last! The dead last, **_**is SHIKAMARU**_**! I have done nothing to deserve this— this— **_**this punishment**_**!" Naruto was frantic, composure slipping for the first time that his classmates and Iruka could remember. Iruka was suddenly hit with a block of guilt, even though he had no choice in the teams either. **

"Wow, he feels really strongly about this." Rin was shocked at the usually composed boy's breakdown.

"Wow. Just . . . my reaction wasn't even that bad." Obito shook his head, dazed.

**Iruka sighed, "I'm sorry Naruto. While that is usually the case, the rules were changed around a bit. You'll have to see the Hokage about the teams."**

"**I intend to!" Naruto spat. Bodily lifting Katsu up into his arms, before she even had time to squeak, he was out the window and making a beeline to the Hokage's Tower. Those left behind in the classroom all sweat dropped. **

"He's dead serious . . ." They muttered, sweat dropping nervously.

_**He's dead serious . . . **_**they realized. The event not quite leaving their minds, they all resettled anxiously, either awaiting the return of the frantic blonde and his friend, or their own sensei's. The senseis were first, gathering their teams up. Team Ten left rather reluctantly, Ino because of Sasuke and the other two because they wanted to meet Katsu properly. Team Eight left after, with Hinata nervously looking back at the window. Eventually, the only Team left was Team Seven, even Iruka having left after a summons from the Hokage Tower to help in defusing a certain situation.**

"Naruto must be giving the old man hell." Jiraiya was impressed.

"He'll just have to learn to accept it. The only thing that counts is the mission and getting it done, no matter your own personal feelings." Minato said sympathetically, yet firmly.

**Sakura and Sasuke were sitting next to each other, though Sasuke's stiff position let his feelings about the arrangement be known. Sakura was blushing profusely, daydreaming about the boy next to her, or trying to talk to 'Sasuke-kun.' After two hours, even that stopped, and the two genin were left feeling extremely irritated at their tardy sensei.**

"Hatake Kakashi? Tardy?" Obito ogled the silver-haired boy, extremely surprised.

"What the hell?" Kakashi answered Obito's stare with a question of his own.

"The future is sounding extremely interesting." Tsunade purred, smirking at the boy's stunned face.

'**SHANNARO! Where the hell is our sensei?!' Inner Sakura howled, punching the air. Outwardly, of course, Sakura did no such thing, just kept blushing at the Uchiha. They were both startled though when the door was suddenly opened with a snap, revealing their sensei, with Naruto behind him.**

"Yes! What the hell is up with Kakashi?!" Obito hissed, leaning forward so much he nearly toppled of his cushion.

"I wonder how much you've changed Kakashi-kun." Minato told his student, smiling.

"I've got a bad— OH GOD." Kakashi shouted, having read ahead.

"What?!" Kushina and Minato demanded when Kakashi leaned from the book, pale as a corpse.

"Read boy, or so help me . . . !" Tsunade warned. Gulping, Kakashi read.

**Their sensei was a tall, lanky man, easily six feet. **

"Congrats!" Minato and Jiraiya smiled at the young boy.

**His face was covered by a mask that went up the bridge of his nose, and his headband that was slanted over his right eye, leaving only the left obsidian eye and a little pale skin uncovered. His silver gravity defying hair looked like it had never known the touch of a brush. He was fitted in the standard jounin attire, with one hand in his pocket and the other holding up an orange book, which his attention was still on.**

"Orange book?!" Minato choked.

"It can't be!" Kushina shrieked, horrified.

"WHOOO! Another convert!" Jiraiya whooped, leaning over to Kakashi and ruffling his hair. Kakashi didn't even respond, still looking at the book with horror in his eyes.

"Oh my god." Rin whispered, totally floored. Obito wasn't saying anything— he couldn't, his face was pressed into the carpet to muffle his hysterical, raucous laughter.

" . . ." Tsunade cleared her throat. "Keep reading Kakashi."

**Kakashi looked up to see the two staring at him. "My first impression of you two is . . . I hate you. Meet me up at the roof in five minutes." Naruto grabbed on to the back of his flak jacket as Kakashi used Shunshin, and they both disappeared in a swirl of leaves.**

**Blinking at the rather rapid pace of their introduction with their sensei, Sakura scrambled up when Sasuke started walking briskly up to the roof, scampering after him.**

Tsunade grunted, "Pathetic."

Rin put her face in her hands, shaking it back and forth. "Pitiful . . . we are so pitiful." She muttered.

Obito caught her words, and leaned over as he muttered, "Oh, you are nowhere near her level." Rin looked up and smiled weakly at Obito, but still wasn't totally convinced.

**Sakura and Sasuke arrived at the roof in three minutes, and saw Kakahi leaning against the railing, again reading his orange book. Naruto was sitting down by Kakashi, one leg stretched out and the other kicked up so his elbow rested on his knee. They both sat where Naruto was, though farther from Naruto and Sensei as their seats would allow.**

"That's petty." Tsunade muttered crossly.

"**Where's that girl you were with?" Sakura asked Naruto suspiciously, wondering if he perhaps paid the girl to look like his friend.**

"**She went to find Hinata and a couple others, we'll be eating lunch with." Naruto answered shortly.**

**Without looking up from his book, Kakashi started talking to his potential team. "Let's start with an introduction. Likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams all that sort of thing."**

"**Why don't you go first sensei, since we don't know you?" Sakura spoke up meekly. Kakashi paused a moment, before nodding. **

"**Right, then. My name is Hatake Kakashi. Likes, dislikes . . . don't feel like telling you. Hobbies . . . they're not for young ears. As for my dream . . . never really thought about it." Kakashi said simply.**

"Kakashi . . . I really want to know what happened to you." Minato said in a deadpan.

"You and me both!" Kakashi cried in exasperation.

'_**All we learned was his name.' **_**Sasuke and Sakura thought. Naruto however, had demanded a profile of his sensei when the Hokage was getting him to accept his team, so he knew a lot about the man . . . but he wouldn't ruin his sensei's cool introduction. Kakashi looked up from his book, snapping it shut and depositing it in his weapon's pouch.**

"**You're next blondie." Kakashi said, looking at Naruto. Naruto flicked sky blue eyes to the older man, starting his introduction. **

"**Names' Uzumaki Naruto. I like my Kurohime, my other precious people, ramen, music, manga, and training. I dislike idiots who look down on others for their own petty reasons. My hobbies are training, and other assorted things, depending on the circumstances. My dream, is to be the best."**

**Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the relaxed genin. **_**You certainly grew up interesting, Naru-chan . . .**_

"Aw, you were looking out for my baby." Kushina cooed.

"Not very well, it seems." Kakashi grouched, thinking back on the mobs Naruto told the masked man about.

"**You're up Pinky."**

**Sakura glared at the nickname, but said, "My name is Haruno Sakura! I like . . ." she sent a shy, blushing glance at Sasuke, "I dislike Ino-pig, and Naruto!" she shouted out, not seeing Naruto flip her the bird from behind. Kakashi did though, letting out a tiny snort that Naruto heard, as he turned to grin at the man. "My hobbies are . . ." another blushing look at the rven-haired boy, "and my dream is . . ." she squealed a little, looking at Sasuke. Naruto threw up a little in his mouth.**

"Whoa." Minato whistled.

"That's dedication." Rin observed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"That's . . . she's a freaking stalker!" Jiraiya spluttered, holding his stomach from the pain of laughing so much.

"Oh joy. Oh bliss." Kakashi ground out.

"**how about you brooder?" Kakashi prompted the silent Uchiha, whose elbows were on his knees, hands clasped together and covering his mouth.**

**Said Uchiha glared at the man, but spoke up anyway. "My name, is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't have many likes, and many dislikes. My hobbies are training to get stronger; anything else is stupid and pointless. My dream . . . it's more of a goal. I will kill the man who massacred my family, and restore my clan."**

"That's not healthy at all!" Tsunade thundered. Rin was just as angry, as a medic-nin, she was also concerned about the health of this boy, and how he could harm his team mates.

"How did he pass the Academy psych evaluation?!" Rin cried shrilly.

**Sakura squealed, thinking, **_**he's so aswesome!**_

_**Does he know that to restore a clan, he needs a woman? And to get a woman, he needs personality? **_**Naruto thought idly.**

"Probably think his name will get him everything. It has so far." Obito groused.

_**So . . . a fangirl, an avenger, and . . . Naruto. Well. **_**Kakashi decided to hold any further comments for later.**

"**Well that was enlightening!" Kakashi smiled . . . well they think he did anyway, his eyes sort of curved up like it does when you smile. **

"Dude, you're joking without any problems!" Obito shouted out, pointing at Kakashi.

"Maybe I changed, but it wasn't all bad?" Kakashi guessed uncomfortably. When Obito choked, he scowled and read on.

"**So, tomorrow, we'll be meeting at five a.m. for a test!" he continued.**

"Oh, that." Everyone chuckled.

"**Test? What kind of test, sensei?" Sakura asked politely, ever the teacher's pet.**

"**A survival test." Kakashi answered, and gave nothing else away.**

"**But we've already one survival tests in the Academy!" Sakura argued, and Sasuke said, "Hn." In agreement . . . maybe.**

"**Well, this is a different test. See, this test is to actually see if you make it to genin." Kakashi said, cruelly enjoying their looks of horror and shock . . . well, Sakura's anyway. Sasuke just look angered, and Naruto already knew this from Hokage-sama.**

"You're enjoying things?" Rin gasped, as if it was some scandalous gossip. Kakashi glared at the giggling girl who was high-fived by Obito.

"I liked you better when you didn't make fun of me." Kakashi growled out, making Rin laugh harder.

"You're joking!" Obito gasped.

"No, I'm serious." Kakashi countered, smirking at the Uchiha's gaping face. He didn't notice the adults looking at him with find amusement, happy that he was getting out from behind his mask . . . so to speak.

"**But—!" Sakura spluttered. Naruto, growing impatient, explained it for Sakura.**

"**Sakura, that test in the Academy was just to see if we had the potential. Now we're really going to be tested to see if we're fit to be shinobi." Naruto explained airily.**

"**Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura spat, glaring at the blonde. He ignored her, making her angrier.**

"Bitch." Kushina spat, glaring at the book.

"These kids are out of control." Jiraiya shook his head in confusion.

"**Naruto's right. This test has a 66% rate of failure, so only nine of you guys will pass. We meet at training ground seven, so I suggest you don't eat breakfast unless you want to throw up." Then Kakashi performed a shunshin and vanished.**

"Purposely misleading them, eh, Kakashi?" Minato smirked. Kakashi shook his head, shrugging.

"I don't know what future me is doing. He's had a whole set of experiences I've yet to, so his reasoning is strange to me." He admitted.

**While Sakura and Sasuke were both still sitting in shock, Naruto was up and sauntering to the railing. Hopping up he prepared to jump, before stopping and turning to his two teammates. "I told you guys I was going to lunch with some others. Want to come along, get to know each other since we're team mates?" **

"Good, set aside all your previous notions about the two and try to get along as team mates. It makes things easier." Jiraiya stated, gruff approval in his voice.

"That's the responsible thing to do." Kushina nodded along, proud of her son.

**Sasuke snorted in disdain, turning away from the other two and walking away with a superior air. Sakura, taking Sasuke's lead, turned to Naruto and shouted, "Yeah right, like we'd want to eat with you!" She ran off in Sasuke's direction, intent on asking the boy for a date. **

"Oh those two fucking idiots." Rin snorted, falling back against the couch in a huffy manner. She blushed, but grinned wickedly when everyone looked at her in shock; she had never cursed before. Minato was at a loss of words, he couldn't even form the words to scold his usually better behaved student.

**Naruto shrugged. "Whatever, I tried." He muttered, before jumping off and down to the roofs, hopping off in the direction of Katsu's chakra signature. **

"Yes, next chapter!" Kushina cheered.

"That was certainly interesting." Kakashi muttered. Obito snorted, laughing.

* * *

**So hey, you know . . . i like reviews. You like this story . . . why not . . . just click that button you know? Click it, send a review . . . or not, it's cool. Totally ok . . . but i'd really like a review *wink***


	6. Chapter 6

**Wooyah . . . man, this was exhausting to right. I actually got SO into it that i was cursing myself out the last two-three pages for not typig faster and getting this out sooner. I'm a bit too invested in this story, perhaps? Ah well, it's something to do, and i like it. And i hope you like this as well! Shame there are no new manga chapters to dedicate this too, but, well.**

**_DISCLAIMER: _I do not own Naruto. Not one bit. Nor do i own any songs, english or japanese, in this story. I only own my OC, what a cutie, huh?**

* * *

_Chapter Six_

_Welcome to Team Seven, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

A new morning dawned bright and early for the group from the past. There was something changing inside them all as they read . . . some changes were more obvious than others. Conversations now were more about the book, and their hopes and predictions for the people in them. At some point, the futures of the people, all of them whom they had read about in the book, became important to them.

After a light breakfast, they were all cleaning up the kitchen together, sometimes talking, and sometimes sharing a joke. There was a feeling of lightness in the air, mixed in however with a bit of awkward warmth.

"Hey, can we bring in like a tray of snacks while we read? And some drinks too? I don't know about you guys, but putting so much energy into these books gets me hungry." He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's a good idea! Let's put some of everything we like on the tray." Kushina enthused, walking towards the cupboards to look for a tray. Everyone picked one or two things to eat on the tray, filling it up and bringing along some decanters of sake and lemonade, into the living room. Setting the tray and drinks on the table, while someone else put the dishware next to it, they all sat down.

"Who will read this time?" Kushina asked.

Tsunade brushed a pigtail behind her shoulder and spoke up, "I'll give it a try." She stretched out her hand, making 'give me' motions with her fingers. Giggling, Kushina picked up the book and put it in Tsunade's hands. Smiling, Tsunade flipped the pages of the book quickly, and stopped at the newest chapter.

Clearing her throat, Tsunade began.

**The lunch with his friends went pretty well, he thought as he lay in bed waiting to fall asleep. Chouji and Hinata were very friendly to Katsu, and they all got along well . . . even if Katsu and Shikamaru had now made it a game to get under each other's' skins, he thought wryly. Somewhere under the light jabs, and wicked, witty humor, there was an evil. He resolved to never let those two get drunk together . . . it'd only end badly for the others around them. The day of his official test with his new sensei, Naruto made sure to eat a good breakfast. Hi sensei was crazy to think that he would actually try and do survivals test on an empty stomach. **

"Yeah, you guys weren't so about looking underneath the underneath for your test." Minato recalled with no small amusement, gaining disgruntled looks from his genin team.

**Today he decided to make breakfast an extra special affair, since not only was this the day of his test, but it was also the first day of Katsu's time working at the café. He woke up at seven in the morning and got ready for the day with a quick bath, totally disregarding Kakashi-sensei's orders to be at the training grounds at five in the morning. The man was notorious for his tardiness, even to meetings with his Hokage, so Naruto had no illusions that the man wouldn't make three no-name genin wait for hours.**

"_Notorious_ for my _tardiness_?" Kakashi echoed hollowly.

"What, following in my footsteps Kakashi?" Obito teased as he nibbled on a snack, snickering at the other boy's pale— well pal_er_— face.

"You were going to make my baby wait all that long time?" Kushina's voice was dangerously low, making Kakashi's skin prickle.

"Consider it part of the test. Konoha doesn't need mindless tools that do as they're told; they need new blood with ideas and a mind of their own, willing to work for the good of Konoha." Jiraiya justified the future Kakashi's actions, and Kakashi felt weird hearing it.

**As Katsu slumbered on, Naruto slunk down to the kitchens, and prepared a large and delicious spread of breakfast, nearly covering the entire long table in the living room. The smells of breakfast permeated the air of the whole household, and Naruto saw Katsu stumble down the stairs, blinking owlishly at him from behind wild orange air in the entryway of the kitchen.**

"**Ohaiyou . . . Something special going on?" Katsu asked, yawning a little.**

"**Ohaiyou! There's something special for the both of us." Naruto reminded her, putting the last of the food on the table. Katsu's eyes lit up, and she nodded as she remembered their respective duties for today.**

"**This is a lot of food . . ." Katsu mumbled, moving to Naruto's side and giving him a hug. Releasing Naruto, her eyes widened at the sound of knocks on the front door. Looking up at Naruto, her eyes easily conveyed the question she wanted to ask.**

"**I invited some people over or breakfast. Go on and take a bath." Naruto told her, gently pushing her up the stairs. **

"They're such a married couple." Rin chuckled, playing with a strand of hair by her ear.

"I wonder just when they're going to stop playing around and just make it official?" Obito snickered, Rin joining him.

**Katsu complied without complaint, and Naruto turned to answer the door as he heard her enter the bedroom to get her clothes. Opening the door, he smiled at the Sandaime Hokage, and his little tag-along, his grandson Sarutobi Konohamaru. The boy looked up at him with poorly hidden curiosity. He wore a strange helmet-type hat with a far too long green scarf, yellow shirt and grey shorts. **

"So the old coot lived long enough to see his grandkid, good for him." Jiraiya smirked.

"Sensei really has to be the oldest living shinobi in the history of Konoha." Tsunade remarked, thinking back on it.

"**Ohaiyou, it's been a while since you've graced our doorstep jiji." Naruto greeted, moving out the way for the two to walk in.**

**Hiruzen took in a deep, appreciative breath of the wonderful smells of the house with a smile on his aged face. "Far too long, Naruto-kun. Tell me, who made breakfast this time?"**

"**I did." Naruto said proudly. He wasn't as good as Katsu, but he didn't consider himself a slouch either. **

"You should be proud." Kushina cooed.

"**Excellent, I can't wait to try it." Hiruzen smiled warmly, before remembering that he had yet to do introductions. "Naruto this is, as you might already know, my grandson. Konohamaru, this is Uzumaki Naruto, remember Katsu mentioned him last night?"**

**Konohamaru nodded, looking up at the boy with a half-suspicious look. "Yeah, uh . . . nice to meet you."**

"He doesn't seem too friendly." Tsunade frowned as she filled up a saucer with sake.

"Well, I bet it can't be too easy being the grandson of the Hokage." Obito reasoned.

"**Yo, Konohamaru!" Naruto greeted, feeling a brief bit of curiosity when the boy's eyes widened at his name. Brushing it off, he continued, "Why don't you guys take a seat? There are a few others coming over, and Katsu will be down shortly." Hiruzen went on to the living room, not needing a guide with little Konohamaru following him. There was another series of knocks on the door, and Katsu came skipping down the stairs and past him, singing, "I've got it!"**

**Naruto snorted when the squeals erupted as soon as the door opened. Turning around, he saw Iruka-sensei blushing and trying to edge away from Anko as she flustered him with her seductive charms, and Hinata and Katsu walking arm in arm to the table as they chattered animatedly. **

"Aww, family breakfast!" Rin and Obito squealed together.

"Dude, that squeal." Kakashi said in an especially flat monotone. Obito stuck his tongue out at the silver-haired boy.

"Well now we know what all the food was for." Minato chuckled.

"**Now I know what all the food was for." Katsu murmured, taking a seat by the Hokage with Hinata right next to her, blushing profusely at being so close to such a respected man. Naruto walked up to Iruka and Anko, breaking them apart as he clucked his tongue at Anko.**

"**Anko-nee-chan, really, this isn't how you make new friends." Naruto chided her like a small and mischievous child. Anko pouted at the loss of her new toy, but went to sit down on the opposite side of the Hokage, ruffling Naruto's hair a she bounced past.**

"So they finally admitted it to each other!" Obito caught, face lighting up.

"Well, we can certainly make sure she's provided a safe environment and our back-up when Rochi-teme defects." Jiraiya reflected almost loftily, earning a hard punch from his blonde teammate, though it was softened by her sheepish smile.

**Naruto patted a still flustered Iruka on the back with a sympathetic expression. "I'll sit between you two, so she doesn't try anything." He reassured the chuunin as they moved to the table. The clinking of silverware against plates, appreciative sounds and murmurs for the food, as well as soft laughter filled the air as well as any lulls— though comfortable— in talk.**

"I wonder if that will be all of us and them too in the future." Obito murmured wistfully.

"Wouldn't that be nice? It sounds like so much fun." Tsunade admitted just as softly.

"**Delicious!" Anko moaned delightedly as she swallowed a bite of strawberry waffle. "Brats of mine, I might just make myself a permanent staple at your dinner table."**

"**You're welcome anytime Anko-nee." Katsu promised happily, smiling softly as she enjoyed her own food, basking in the full and happy atmosphere. **

"**My, my Anko-nee, how articulate. I guess you can teach old dog new tricks . . . when you feed them enough." Naruto remarked, almost to himself, but tilted his head back to avoid the knife that whizzed past his nose courtesy of Anko.**

Obito sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, then let it go in an exploding, "BURN!" and then laughing freely.

"Oh now that . . . I don't even know where that came from." Minato laughed helplessly.

"I'm too abrasive with my insults, and you're too polite." Kushina tacked on. "Nice reflexes though." She added on as an afterthought.

"**Really, Naruto, be more of a credit to your senseis. I know they taught you manners and diplomacy." Hiruzen chided, coughing lightly to hide his chuckles.**

"**Speaking of senseis, Naruto, I know Kakashi told you guys to be there early." Iruka asserted suspiciously. Naruto nodded.**

"**Oh yes, he told us. Though I doubt very much he told himself." Naruto divulged. Hiruzen coughed, though it didn't do much to hide his bark of laughter at Iruka's stunned face, while Anko had no such qualms with her laughter. **

"Should I be ashamed?" Kakashi asked the room in general, though the people in it snorted with laughter.

"**More juice, Konohamaru?" Katsu offered the young boy, who for his part blushed and blustered through a denial.**

"**Eat your fill Konohamaru— Kami, jiji how could you give a kid a mouthful of a name like that? Kid, you don't mind if I give you a nickname do you?" Naruto turned to said child, who balked, looking like a deer in the headlights.**

"**Uh—I— guess not, but . . . I already have one it's—"**

"**Kono, am I right?" Katsu smirked at the child's shocked expression.**

"**You usually are." Naruto confirmed. "But I can't give you such a commonplace nickname, that won't do. How about . . . Naegi?" **

"Sapling? No way, leave the kid where he is, a baby leaf!" Obito cried.

"**Sapling?" Konohamaru uttered, confused.**

"**Yes, you're more than just a leaf. You are the future. When the old tree dies away in winter, the new trees shoot up from the ground in spring. You are a sapling, waiting to claim your place in the Great Forest." Naruto informed the Konohamaru.**

"Remarkable! It usually takes adults even longer to discover the true King!" Jiraiya proclaimed, smiling.

"Yeah, though I don't think he's truly connected his observations to the old saying. I doubt he's even heard of it." Minato quietly countered.

"What? What king? That kid ain't Hokage." Obito refuted their confusing old-man wise speak.

"My point exactly." Jiraiya grinned at the clearly agitated genin, who huffed and looked away with a pout.

"**I like it! Henceforth, you shall be known as Naegi-kun!" Anko shouted with fanfare.**

"**A wonderful name, don't you think so, **_**Naegi**_**?" Hiruzen smiled down at his grandchild. Konohamaru— now referred to as Naegi— blushed furiously, hiding his burning face in his scarf as he merely nodded, unable to say anything.**

"The boy seems inordinately happy to get away from his name." Kushina noted.

"No, I think he's happy that he's _connecting_ with his name." Tsunade argued thoughtfully.

"**Naruto, you're sensei will probably show up soon, and the training ground isn't close." Katsu warned the lounging blonde, who perked up at her words.**

"**Yeah, you're right, so let's hurry up and clean!" Naruto announced, getting up to pick up his own plate. He was stopped by a wadded up paper napkin lobbed at his face. Wincing in surprise, he looked up at the offender, Katsu.**

"**Katsu . . . ?" he trailed off, question not needing to be verbalized.**

"**Go! I'll clean up. Sensei told me I could have today off from classes anyway, to get ready for the café." Katsu told him, getting up far quicker than Naruto did and gathering up not only hers, but Hiruzen's and Hinata's plates in a stack. "See? Training." Katsu winked.**

**Iruka, seeing Naruto's furrowed brow, stepped in and said, "Don't worry; it's my duty as the guest to offer my services. So I'll be helping Katsu. I don't have to be in to work, since it's a school holiday after a class graduates. Mitarashi-san will also be helping, **_**won't you?**_**" The last words were delivered sharply, with a glare that pinned the young woman to her seat on the floor. She pouted rebelliously, but nodded in reluctant agreement anyway.**

**Hiruzen was about to offer his services, but Katsu beat him to the punch. "Oh no jiji! You have far more important tasks awaiting you in the office. Off with you!" she softened her words with a kiss on the cheek of the elder man. Hiruzen for his part, accepted defeat gracefully, departing with a respectful bow that his grandson emulated as both walked out of the house.**

**Turning to Hinata, Katsu inquired, "And Hinata-chan, isn't your test in forty-five minutes? You better start off, too." Hinata acquiesced, giving Naruto and Katsu a hug goodbye as she quickly jogged off.**

"**By Naegi! See you later jiji! You too Hinata-chan!" Naruto called out to the retreating figures, which turned around and waved goodbye, the youngest of the group being far more energetic with his farewell than his elder. **

**Turning, he strode into the living room and got all his kit, either putting it in his weapons pouch or attaching it to his belt. Grabbing his Bo staff from the wall, he sealed it into a scroll that hung off his belt like the others. He bid his own farewells to the remaining three people who were now working diligently in the kitchen. "I'm off guys! Katsu, make that café owner fall in love with you, alright?" Hearing Katsu's confirmation, he grinned and took off, setting a decent yet swift pace to Training Ground Seven. **

**Deciding to let loose a bit, Naruto took to the trees instead of taking the usual route through the town. He practically gulped in the fresh, crisp air as he bounded through treetops, tilting and adjusting himself ever so slightly to avoid protruding branches and wayward leaves. Naruto loved speed.**

"Yes! Speed is staying in the family." Minato cheered.

**And he knew that as he grew stronger, as he learned more, he would grow faster. He wanted to one day be able to go speeds that no one else thought imaginable. Perhaps, one day . . . he would try to recreate the Fourth Hokage's famed Hiraishin?**

"Hiraishin? What the heck is that Minato?" Kushina asked her boyfriend, surprised at the mild shell shocked expression on not only his, but Jiraiya's faces.

Shaking his head to clear it, Minato answered his lover. "Well, it's a new jutsu I've been working on to help with the war. And apparently, it works."

"Something to do with high speed?" Tsunade prodded, raising a slim eyebrow elegantly.

"Yes . . . but I don't want to spoil it. Moving back to the story, I would be happier than I could say if Naruto recreated it, especially seeing as I don't think I would have had time to hide away any notes for him on my techniques." Minato dodged the inquiries from his friends.

_**Less distraction, more focus. **_**Naruto reminded himself, breaking away from the trees to hop the rooftops of the buildings as he traversed the marketplace in the direction of the training ground. Underneath him, the town was awake and chipper. Naruto paused in his rooftop journey as he passed a small cart selling snacks. **

"What would he want those for? He just had an awesome breakfast." Obito wondered.

Tsunade snorted, a little irritated. "Let's read on and find out, shall we?" She gently rebuked the young boy, who nodded sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

**He thought about his two teammates who undoubtedly didn't eat breakfast, probably thinking that their obedience would be rewarded by their sensei. Naruto supposed that leaving them to their hunger would be a good lesson in thinking for yourself, but then again . . .**

"Oh, be the better man honey." Kushina urged, though a bit reluctantly. Minato picked up on that, and commented shrewdly, "You don't really sound like you believe that though."

**His last attempt at camaraderie was met coldly, but now that they were both at a disadvantage . . . and he had the means to bring them back to an advantage, maybe . . . **

"That's right, nothing wrong with bribing your teammate to actually act like teammates, as long as you get the job done properly." Jiraiya said.

"The real growth can begin when they realize they're being pricks to such a nice young man." Tsunade said in what could almost be taken as a coo. Jiraiya snorted, coughing afterwards quickly to hide his amusement from his teammate.

"How . . . motherly of you." Kushina grinned cheekily. Tsunade snorted, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, i'll leave most of the coddling to you." She teased the younger woman.

**Sighing, he jumped down to land in front of the cart, startling the middle-aged man who owned it. Upon seeing who exactly it was that surprised him, the man scowled blackly, and was about to give the demon-child a piece of his mind, when the boy cut him off briskly. **

"**Ohaiyou gozaimasu! I do not wish to trouble you sir, but I wish to buy some of your food for my two no-doubt hungry friends." Naruto greeted the man respectfully; tone carefully measured and composed as he stared the man dead in the eye.**

"Those lessons are so paying off." Rin said, congratulating the young boy.

"It's the best way to get under the skin of the people who hate him. Be nice to them, no matter what they try and throw at you, it messes with them so bad!" Obito revealed gleefully.

**Though more than a little unnerved by those seemingly bottomless ocean-like eyes, the man made an attempt at cruel bravado. "Listen here you little monster, I won't allow you to—"**

"**Please be at ease, I do not wish to taste your . . . concoctions." Before the man could think through the concealed insult, Naruto powered on and continued, "Merely, it is my teammates who are in need. They weren't able to have breakfast. You might know of them, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sa—"**

"**The Uchiha-sama?" the man gasped, hand clutching at his heart.**

"Oh, of course, hear that name and nearly cream yourself." Obito snorted out the crude statement, prompting Jiraiya to burst into laughter and Tsunade to choke on her surprised mirth. Minato, moving so fast he was a blur, moved Kushina off his lap and to the couch as he shot forward and gave the younger boy a sharp slap to the back of the head, before moving back and repositioning Kushina back on his lap.

Obito blinked, as it took a few seconds for the fast hit to register to his nerves, before crying out in pain and clutching the back of his head.

"Obito, there is no call for such crassness." Minato warned the whimpering boy.

"Ouch! Geez, sorry, sensei." Obito muttered, rubbing his head.

"**The poor misfortune of that boy to be stuck with a monstrous teammate such as yourself. It seems you know you're place though, as a servant for Uchiha-sama and nothing more!" he sneered, showing off yellowed teeth. **

"Sorry to say this Obito, but your cousin is probably the one who needs to be serving, not Naruto." Rin said playfully, hoping— for reasons she wouldn't go into quite yet, even to herself— to get the young boy's cheer up after the reprimand.

"Hell, I'd probably be serving him too! The awestruck underling to an awesome boss." Obito played along, cheerful smile quirking up his lips again. Rin grinned at him, happy for his quick recovery.

**Naruto wisely said nothing, merely held out the money for the man to take. The vendor snatched the money out of his hand, and roughly shoved the bag in Naruto's face. Smiling, Naruto gently extracted the bag handles from the man's hand, and with a bow, darted back onto the rooftops to continue his trek.**

"He's a better man than I am." Kakashi and Obito sighed in tandem, before whipping around in their seats to stare at each other in shock and mild horror.

"Oh, this just gets better and better." Minato smiled innocently as his two male genin glared at him.

**Once the roofs stopped, Naruto hopped down and jogged the rest of the way to the meeting place. Upon arriving at the training ground, Naruto saw an irate Sakura pacing back and forth, though still taking a moment to gaze amorously at the Uchiha, who for his part was leaning against one of the three wooden posts with a face he could tell was straining to stay aloof. Naruto allowed a brief smile to flit across his face, before calming his amusement down and pasting a patient and open smile on his face as he brought a hand up in greeting.**

"**Ohaiyou gozaimasu Sakura, Sasuke." He said in a friendly manner. Sasuke ignored the boy with a quiet scoff. Sakura however, took offence to his cheeriness, and rounded on him with eyes that he fancied might emit sparks at any moment. **

"Oh, I swear . . ." Kushina growled angrily at the treatment her boy had to endure from his ignorant teammates.

"**Naruto-baka, you're LATE!" She screamed irately, releasing some of her frustration onto the innocent boy in front of her.**

"How did this little horror get to be a ninja?" Rin shrieked, tugging her hair. Obito yelped at her harsh self-abuse, covering her hands with his as he tried to gently untangle her fingers from her hair.

"Well, as we read, that ninja test wasn't very hard. The true test comes with the jounin-sensei, but even then it doesn't weed out every weak link." Jiraiya explained.

Shrugging, Tsunade said, "Sometimes even the weakest ones can grow and flourish under their jounin-sensei, so we shouldn't be too harsh . . . skill-wise. As a person though, she's atrocious."

**Though his head was screaming in pain from the assault to his sensitive ears, Naruto never lost his smile though he did flinch. "Well sensei is even later it seems, so I figure no harm done."**

"**And what if he had shown up on time?" Sakura demanded, putting her hands on her hips.**

"Unlikely." Kakashi said immediately.

"Why do you say that?" Minato asked him curiously.

Kakashi shrugged. "I'm nothing if not consistent."

"**Sakura, the man was two hours late to our first meeting yesterday. What made you think he wouldn't do the same thing again when he knew it would get a rise out of . . . some of us?" Naruto pointed out logically to the rosette, who merely blinked at him, stupefied. Not having anything to say about that, Sakura merely huffed and turned away from him agitatedly as she resumed her pacing (stomping).**

"Well, she's going to need a lot of work." Tsunade sighed exasperatedly. "I just hope she doesn't drag her teammates down, she could be a dangerous liability on C-rank missions and above."

**Sasuke didn't show any sign of having paid attention to the conversation, but he was, wondering how the dobe could have concluded that faster than him or Sakura. The girl may be useless, but she was the smartest girl in the class . . . **

"What will brains do for you in the field if you haven't the means to carry out any strategy you could think of?" Rin huffed in a lecturing tone she had unknowingly adopted from her sensei.

"Well she doesn't even need to be a front-liner like the other two will undoubtedly be. But, I doubt she has even a rudimentary grasp of medical aid skills." Kushina shook her head in dismay. "Just what is Sarutobi thinking putting these three together?"

"Well, it's always been said that Team Seven was cursed . . ." Kakashi murmured.

**A tiny grumbling sound made all three kids pause, before Sasuke and Naruto stared at the blushing Sakura who had a hand to her stomach. Sasuke scoffed at the girl's weakness— couldn't she last without her precious breakfast? To be so hampered by the loss of her creature comforts was unbefitting of a strong ninja. **

"Not everyone is as obsessed as you, little cousin." Obito sighed, shaking his head in disapproval.

**Naruto was thinking no such malicious thoughts, but he was quick to capitalize on her weakness.**

"**Sakura, did you not eat breakfast this morning?" Naruto asked— face and voice perfectly set to show the appropriate amount of concern for his kunoichi teammate. Sakura scowled through her blush, cursing the blonde in front of her for an idiot.**

"What the hell, he was being concerned like a good teammate?" Obito insisted, throwing his hands out in front of him.

"Something tells me the poor kid and the poor sensei is going to have an uphill battle on their hands with this one." Jiraiya said regretfully, sending a sympathetic yet thinly amused look to the silver-haired prodigy. Kakashi just hung his head, sighing heavily.

"Why would they even make me a sensei? That's one thing I know I would never volunteer for." Kakashi complained.

"You sure about that? Time changes people." Minato looked closely at his student.

"Oh no, I'm positive about this one. I've always felt better being a loner." Kakashi was adamant. His two teammates looked like they wanted to argue, but Tsunade went on.

"**Baka! Kakashi-sensei told us not to eat breakfast!" Sakura spat, fists clenched as she prepared to hit the blonde for another stupid comment. **

**Naruto shook his head, the very definition of patience. "As I recall, he suggested we don't eat breakfast for fear of us hurling. However, Sakura, did you not remember that today was a survival test? Don't you think we'd need to be at full strength for this? What better way to get that strength in the early morning, than to eat a fortified breakfast." Though he wondered if it might be overkill, Naruto once again plastered an expression of utter concern directed to the girl.**

"Smooth, boy. But yeah, it might have been overkill." Jiraiya commented.

Rin shook her head with a huff of laughter. "No, theatrics are like candy to fan girls."

Minato looked at her in concern. "Rin . . ." the brunette teen put a hand up to stop any protests, and motioned for Tsunade to continue.

**Sakura was merely stunned that Naruto had outthought her on this, and that his reasoning was perfectly sound. A sudden surge of anger ran through her at being called out on her lack of foresight in front of Sasuke-kun hit her, and she cocked back her fist to swing at Naruto.**

"Oh, I better not see any Haruno when we get back to the village!" Kushina snarled, hands curled as if she was strangling someone invisible.

**Naruto saw the fist coming at him in slow motion, so he easily dodged the fist by tilting his head to the side before his hand shot up lightning fast to catch Sakura's fist by his ear. Moving her fist to the side a bit more, Naruto straightened his neck and gave Sakura a look that said he was not amused. In the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke straighten up and look at the both of them with a spark of interest lighting in those black eyes. His attention returned to the frozen rosette in front of him.**

"**How rude, Sakura! I merely wanted to help you out." He said coldly, a smile stretched his lips giving him a dangerous look.**

"Minato, you have more problems than I realized." Jiraiya stated bluntly.

Minato flinched in shock, turning to his sensei. "What?" he croaked.

"Here I thought you were just a good actor, but all that dangerous aura of yours is really natural isn't it? Man you are a closet psychopath." Despite Minato's numerous protests to that statement, Jiraiya would not budge from his opinion.

"We support you sensei!" his genin piped up with deadpan expressions.

"Brats." He said sullenly, while his girlfriends giggled in his arms.

**Sakura shivered in slight fear of the boy, before her attention was brought to Naruto's other hand now lifting itself up, showcasing a bag from which a delicious smell was emanating.**

"**What . . . ?" she asked confused. Naruto chuckled, dangerous look falling apart to his more natural grin as he dropped her fist. Taking the bag in both hands, he held it out opened for Sakura to see inside the bag. Sakura leaned over and peered in curiously, to see two small white boxes.**

"**Go on and take one." She looked up to see Naruto smiling at her. "I figured you two wouldn't have eaten breakfast, so I bought you something."**

"That's right, play the part of earnest and concerned teammate . . ." Kushina and Jiraiya muttered together, and it was creeping everyone else out a little.

**Sakura looked back down into the bag, before hesitantly taking a box out. She nearly cradled the box in her hands, feeling surprise and a strange guilt taking hold of her. She didn't even register Sasuke's presence next to her as he also took a box. She opened the take-out box, and inside were several pieces of tamagoyaki along with a small container of miso soup. She looked up at Naruto, guilt now gnawing at her.**

"Better be." Rin snorted.

"**Thank you so much, Naruto. I'm sorry, just tell me how much it was and I'll pay you back for it." She said softly, peering at him through her light pink bangs, the only pieces of hair she allowed out from under her headband-turned-hairband. **

"She used her headband as an accessory for her hair?" Rin choked, before getting up and throwing her arms out hopelessly. "Come on, even I don't do that!"

"you're not a fan girl like her." Minato pointed out firmly, wanting to nip any ideas the girl had about being useless or anything like that in the bud.

**Naruto smiled and waved off her concern. "You'll do no such thing. What's a little breakfast between teammates, ne?" he smiled disarmingly, and Sakura was shocked to feel a little bubble of warmth erupt in her from the smile before she shook it off. 'CHA! Our love is for Sasuke-kun, and Sasuke-kun only!' Inner Sakura roared with fists set on her hips.**

"The boy just can't help it! He's irresistible to the female populace! Minato, good job!" Jiraiya crowed, shooting his student thumbs-up and a lecherous grin. Tsunade bashed him in the jaw without even looking up from the book. Minato also threw a pillow at his sensei in mild annoyance.

**Sakura didn't let on to her internal struggle, merely popping the pieces of rolled omelet into her mouth, with a sip of miso in between.**

**Sasuke gave no verbal response to Naruto's generosity, merely gave the boy a nod of the closest thing to respect he had ever done for anyone. Naruto was a little disgruntled at the boy's attitude, but let it pass.**

"Oh, maybe that's why I'm his sensei. He's exactly like me. Or, I guess, like I _was_." Kakashi sighed.

"I don't know Kakashi . . . he sounds worse than you, even on your worst day." Rin picked up for the young boy. Even Obito nodded in agreement. Minato smiled at seeing his usually at-odds team truly bonding and sticking together.

"**So, how long have you guy's been waiting?" Naruto prompted the other two into a conversation, hoping to establish some more camaraderie before their sensei appeared.**

**Sakura's face pinched in annoyance again, but rather than shrieking again she just swallowed her food and muttered crossly, "We got here at five a.m. just like sensei told us too. We've been here ever since." **

"**Hn." **_**Oh, thanks for that input, **_**Naruto thought annoyed, but it never showed on his face. All three meandered back to the training posts, sitting down on the ground and resting their backs against them. Whilst Sakura and Sasuke chowed down, Naruto merely relaxed himself. His eyes popped open, and all three started up when a puff of smoke disrupted the silence of the field, revealing their incredibly late sensei. Without looking up from the same orange book they saw yesterday, he waved a hand at them lazily, saying, "Yo."**

**Sakura at first was going to crack open her jaws to burst her sensei's (and her two teammates) eardrums with her accusations, but remembered just in time that her mouth was full of half-chewed food— not a very good look. So, she merely settled for glaring at him with her hottest, darkest glare. Kakashi looked up for a brief instant, looking her straight in the eye, before returning back to his book. He had seen far worse looks from far more frightening kunoichis.**

"I hope you meant me, Kakashi-kun." Kushina grinned evilly. Kakashi shivered briefly, before muttering, "No doubt Kushina-san."

**Sasuke's glare was far better than Sakura's— the Uchiha glare was almost an art form, and they were notorious for conveying more with their eyes than even the stoic Hyuugas— but Kakashi was still unperturbed. It was Naruto who spoke up with an amused grin playing on his lips.**

"**Ohaiyou gozaimasu Kakashi-sensei, no trouble this morning I hope?" Naruto grinned, knowing full well that Kakashi was just late because he felt like it. Kakashi smiled at the boy (well, Naruto thought he was at least, his eyes was curved up like he might be smiling), and said lightly, "No trouble that I couldn't handle. You see, I had to help this old lady cross the street, but turning around after that good deed was done I saw a black cat and so had to go across town to avoid bad luck."**

"I think I'm going to throw up." Kakashi said weakly as he lowered his head between his knees, taking deep breaths. Rin was simultaneously cackling and pounding a choking Obito on the back**.**

"Did Obito's death have that much of an impact on you Kakashi?" Minato asked the struggling boy.

Obito, now panting after that near lame brush with death, struggled out his own feelings. "I'm . . . touched . . . you feel that way." He took a deep breath and tacked on more normally, "But really, at least my excuses had a touch of truth in them. Still, you're right though, they do sound stupid."

**Naruto laughed at the horrible lie, while Sakura shouted, "Liar!"**

**Kakashi waved her off, before his eye roved the three kids sitting on the ground, taking in everything. "Didn't I tell you guys not to eat breakfast?"**

**Naruto smiled. "No, but you did suggest it."**

**Kakashi made an 'hmm' sound, before walking over to a stone monument and placing three bentos down. The three kids were confused, **_**'When did he have those bentos?' **_

**The man turned around to face the three not-yet-genin, putting his book away in his weapon's pouch for a moment to address the three. Slouching the tiniest bit, he put his left hand in his pocket, with the right hand rummaging in his pocket before retreating and holding a pair of bells by their strings.**

"The bell test? How interesting Kakashi." Minato smiled. Kakashi shrugged, his head now lifting to be supported by his hands, elbows on his legs.

"No better way to test teamwork." He said easily.

"**See these bells? You have until noon to take them from me. Come at me with the intent to kill me, otherwise you'll definitely fail this test before it even gets started." Kakashi told the three kids in front of him, tying the bells to his belt loop. He placed a timer next to the bentos and winded it up, putting it to ring in a few hours' time. **

"**But won't you be killed?" Sakura fretted, looking alarmed. **

"I am honestly offended." Kakashi snorted as the others chuckled. "If I can't defend against three fresh out the Academy runts, I might as well kill _myself_."

Obito snorted a laugh. "Oh, that's goo— _oh my god!_ _Kakashi!"_ Obito gasped when he fully processed the statement.

"What?" Kakashi asked bewildered at the wary glances he was receiving. "I thought we established that I did indeed have a sense of humor."

"That's not it Kakashi . . . should you really joke like that?" Minato hinted to the young boy, looking at him wearily.

"Huh? I— _oh._ Wow, didn't even realize." Kakashi muttered in shock.

"Yeah." Everyone else agreed.

"**I'm sure our sensei can handle himself. More importantly, we can use anything? Any means?" Naruto asked the silver-haired jounin. **

**Kakashi nodded. "Yup. Any jutsu you know, any taijutsu besides the Academy style you may possess . . . if you have any, any seals." He watched Naruto closely at this last one, and was pleased to see the surprised flicker in his eyes before the boy blinked it away. **_**Good, good . . . so his heritage— both of them— won't die. **_

**Naruto looked at the jounin strangely. **_**Why do I get the feeling that was intentional? What about me specifically hinted to him I know fuuinjutsu? **_**Naruto shook the thoughts out of his head; they were best pondered over at another time.**

**Sakura piped up again. "Sensei, there are only two bells!"**

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Obito said sarcastically.

"Give her a break; it's not her fault that my lack of depth perception from the missing eye made me miss that fact." Kakashi said in a mock hurt tone. Obito and Jiraiya guffawed.

"**Caught that did you? Well, only two of you will pass, the other is getting sent back to the Academy." Kakashi explained as easily as if he were explaining two plus two.**

**Naruto scoffed internally. **_**What a load of crap, who would honestly believe that when we see four man cells all the time . . . ? **_**He glanced at his teammates faces and mentally groaned in horror at their expressions. **_**FUCK, they bought it. **_**He cursed grimly. **

"Language." Kushina pointed out tiredly, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"If I had those two dumbasses for teammates I'd curse too." Rin picked up for Naruto.

"Don't be too harsh now, they only just started the test, they might figure it out a little while later. Need I remind you three of your test?" Minato called them out in a no-nonsense tone, smirking at the three rapidly shaking heads. "Thought not."

**He focused in on his sensei when the man shifted to stand up straight, and noticed that his other two teammates tensed up accordingly. **

**Kakashi eyed the brats with something akin to interest. "Seems you guys are taking this seriously . . . heh. I'm starting to like you three. Ready? And . . . GO!" **

**The three genin darted off in a blur, hiding themselves amongst the trees or bushes. Kakashi eyed the clearing. "They've hidden themselves well . . . good." He muttered. His attention turned to a rustling from behind him. Turning around, he raised an eyebrow when he saw Naruto casually strolling into the area. **

"How uncharacteristic of him." Tsunade paused in reading to puzzle over that.

"On the contrary, it's completely in character. The part he got from me, anyway. Don't forget I'm in there too, he just learned how to control himself better." Kushina grinned.

"**Rather silly of you to come at me head on, isn't it?"**

"**What's silly about gathering Intel? I don't have time to steal your records. Besides, I know the aim of the test is a unified front, so to speak, but that will take some time." Naruto insisted pleasantly. **

"He figured it out." Kakashi and Jiraiya said, pleased.

"Don't act surprised." Minato and Kushina laughed, before laughing at each other for parroting.

_**So he figured out the meaning behind my test, but he knows the other two won't work with him willingly . . . he has to show them. Clever, kid. **_**"You're kind of weird." Kakashi said bluntly.**

"**Only thing weirder is you, scarecrow." Naruto shot back laughingly, before taking off from his position. Kakashi mentally applauded his speed, but managed to deflect his attacks, though not without some difficulty. No, what really took him by surprise was the taijutsu style he was using. Kakashi could tell it was rough, and that Naruto still had further to go to master it, but the style itself was troublesome even now. He couldn't remember another genin who got any hit on him, least of all so many.**

"He's been working hard on it." Obito realized.

"Yeah, with the book not saying so, you kind of thought he left it on the wayside." Rin agreed.

**It seemed to have no pattern, no set style to it— but, Kakashi figured, that was the whole point. Spotting an opening when Naruto tilted forward a bit too much, Kakashi punched his side, making Naruto jerk. Slipping around behind the boy, he said mildly, "Don't let your opponent get behind you or you'll die." His fingers flew through hand signs in a rapid pace, so fast the two amazed genin watching the fight almost missed you. Sasuke's eyes nearly popped out his head when he recognized the familiar hand signs of a Katon jutsu, and Sakura realized this as well when she shouted out, "Watch out Naruto!"**

"You're going to burn my baby?" Kushina demanded of a near cowering Kakashi fiercely.

"Please, darling, don't hurt my cute little student." Minato pleaded with the scowling woman, though he sent his own sharp look to Kakashi, making the boy flinch.

**Naruto tensed and heard Kakashi's voice shout out, "Secret Taijutsu Technique: Sennen Goroshi!"**

Obito and Jiraiya broke into peals of laughter, banging on their knees. Kushina shrieked, "_Oh hell no_!" before trying to launch herself at a cringing Kakashi, meeting resistance from Minato's restrictive hold on her.

"Kakashi . . ." the blonde Hokage-to-be growled out fiercely, feeling slight anger at his soon-to-be-jounin student.

"Forgive me; I know not why I do what I do." Kakashi pleaded feebly, trembling as he pressed back into the couch, not even registering Rin's rather hard slap to his bicep.

**Kakashi's clasped hands headed fast for Naruto's unprotected back, before he halted the technique, freezing at the feeling of cold steel whispering across the skin of his throat. Kakashi blinked, realizing that Naruto had utilized greater speed than he had shown in their fight to get behind Kakashi and catch him with a kunai to the jugular. A tickling sensation on his right ear made him glance in that direction, to see Naruto's head hovering over his shoulder, mouth by his ear and a hard sapphire eye boring into his dark gray orb with searing intensity.**

**In a very quiet, very dangerous voice, Naruto hissed out, "Dare to try anything like that on me again, and I will slit your throat without any qualms." **

The random chuckles that escaped the others dried up inside them. While Minato was raising a contemplative eyebrow, the others all looked at him in slight fear. _Minato . . . is that nice-guy exterior a lie . . . ?_

Minato, noticing their stares, rolled his eyes as he explained, "Come on, you think I got my various Bingo Book entries by having tea with my enemies? Give me a break."

**Kakashi bit back a shiver. Hiding his uneasiness, he smiled at the boy and commented, "Pretty good kid." The two of them were suddenly enveloped in a cloud of smoke. Naruto coughed, waving away the smoke and frowning lightly at the log where Kakashi-sensei once crouched. Naruto jumped back into the trees, disappearing from view. Sakura and Sasuke were both thinking the same thing, **_**was that really Naruto . . . ? **_

**Sakura picked through the shrubbery carefully, swiveling her head around to find Sasuke-kun. She figured that with Sasuke-kun, there'd be no way that he would lose to their sensei; he was too strong! **

"How delusional can a girl be? Oh wait, fan girl, never mind." Rin huffed, shaking her head.

**Yes, she decided firmly, with Sasuke-kun they'd pass. Then she thought about Naruto, and how he not only was so kind to her but how he was so skilled against their sensei. She felt bad, but she couldn't risk being parted from her Sasuke-kun! Banishing Naruto from her thought, she plowed on, never sensing Kakashi coming up behind her.**

"**BOO!" Sakura shrieked shrilly, whipping around only to be enveloped in a passing cloud of Sakura petals. Suddenly she felt a little hazy, and slow.**

"That's just you, nothing to do with the genjutsu I've cast." Kakashi snorted, his two teammates snickering at his crack.

"Kakashi, a little less caustic please." Minato said with a warning look in his oceanic eyes. Kakashi nodded with a sheepish look on his face . . . what you could see at any rate.

'_**Huh? What just happened?' **_**Sakura wondered, turning back around again cautiously when Kakashi was no longer there. She took a couple steps before a hand appeared, gripping the trunk of the tree in front of her. She 'eep'ed and took out a kunai to hold in front of her defensively.**

"**Sakura . . ." her face lit up with joy at Sasuke's voice, but soon she became unsettled again when her brain registered the pained and choked way Sasuke said her name.**

"A fear-based genjutsu? Must be the hell-viewing one . . . don't you think that's a bit much, seeing as you know she isn't very skilled practically?" Tsunade chided Kakashi.

Kakashi shrugged, inclining his head to the book. "That man and me might as well be two different people who share a name only. I don't know why I would do that . . . perhaps I was under the impression she could handle it."

"**Sasuke-kun . . . ?" she trailed off. Sasuke moved from behind the tree to appear in her line of sight, and she paled, breath halting as she took in his bloodied and battered form stuck with kunai.**

"OK, that'll freak anyone out, whether it was her crush or Naruto." Rin said weakly. Everyone else was surprised at her seeming to defend the girl she had previously written off. Seeing their expressions, Rin blushed.

"Well, isn't what I said true?" She insisted.

"**Sakura, help . . ." Sasuke moaned in agony, falling to his knees. Sakura's eyes watered, and her entire body trembled. She cut loose with a shrill and terrified scream before falling over in a dead faint. Kakashi, who was watching her reaction to the genjutsu he placed on her, shook his head in disappointment. **_**She was the Top Kunoichi. Her files said she was good at genjutsu . . . **_

"See? Not my fault the files are misleading. They really need to do an overhaul of everything at the Academy." Kakashi stated.

**In another part of the forest, Sasuke and Naruto looked in the direction they heard a scream come from. Naruto and Sasuke knew it was Sakura, but Naruto was the only one concerned. As Naruto tree-hopped to her area, Sasuke continued in another direction, intent on finding their sensei. Sasuke ran on through the trees before skidding to a stop and hiding behind a tree. Peeking around it, he saw Kakashi reading his book in the middle of the clearing. Smirking at the— he believed— inattentive jounin, Sasuke walked into the clearing with a challenging glint in his eyes. Kakashi looked up from his book, pocketing it with a sigh. Here was another one he'd need to have all his attention on.**

"**Well, well . . . the might of the Uchiha. I'm looking forward to seeing you prove it." Kakashi said conversationally.**

"What do you need to see him for; you had _me_ for a teammate!" Obito boasted with a grin.

"No comment." Kakashi said.

**Sasuke shifted into his clan's taijutsu style. "I'm not like the others." He said with conviction.**

**Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, turning to face the genin. "Perhaps. Sakura, for sure you're not like her . . . but that Naruto . . . are you saying you're superior to him?"**

**Sasuke snorted. "I don't know where that dobe got his power, but I'll overtake him soon enough." In another part of Konoha, a certain male Hyuuga looked away from his hugging teacher and teammate, feeling a disturbance in the Fate. Sasuke came at Kakashi with full speed, also managing to impress Kakashi. Sasuke would attempt to rain blows down on Kakashi, who would dodge or block them with ease. Kakashi was relieved to realize that his blows weren't nearly as powerful as Naruto's . . . his flesh— and bones— would have protested.**

"Old age, something I'll never have to deal with thankfully." Obito's rare dark humor shone through.

Rin gasped, slapping the boy on his shoulder. "Don't say that!" she snapped.

"You'll have plenty of times to feel your bones give out now that we know." Minato said, almost promised the boy.

**Sasuke jumped up and aimed a kick for Kakashi, which he caught. Sasuke fist shot out, but Kakashi caught that too. Seeing an opportunity, Sasuke twisted his body to kick him with his free foot, knowing Kakashi would catch it, and his free hand shot out to touch the bells. Kakashi's eyes widened at the ploy, tossing the boy aside to jump back. **_**Impressive, he managed to touch a bell . . . **_**Kakashi thought. **

"Credit where it's due, the boy has skill." Jiraiya said.

Kushina snorted lightly, muttering, "Still not better than my sochi-kun though."

**Sasuke smirked at the jounin's face, which showed some surprise, as his hands flew through hand seals. Kakashi's eyes widened even further when he recognized the jutsu Sasuke was about to perform. **_**No way, no normal genin can perform that jutsu . . . **_**he denied, but he had to acknowledge the evidence when Sasuke performed his, "Katon: Gogyaku no Jutsu!" Sasuke expelled a great ball of fire from his mouth that engulfed a shocked Kakashi. **

"Whoa! That's pretty cool." Rin squeaked.

Obito shook his head. "Actually, that's the requirement for all Uchiha kids to perform that jutsu by the time they start Academy, if they're going to be ninjas. So, it's standard."

"Even you?" Kakashi asked, eyebrows raised.

"I did my first one at seven." Obito revealed to his shocked teammates.

**When the flames died away to reveal charred earth, Sasuke cursed silently, looking around to spot Kakashi. **_**Not above, not to the right, or the left . . . **_**he ticked off his options.**

"**How about below?" Sasuke's eyes widened at the voice, before he was unceremoniously yanked down into the earth, only his head free. Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of him, crouched down. "Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu." Smiling, Kakashi waved jauntily at the furious boy before darting away into the trees.**

"BURN!" Obito sang.

**Sasuke growled out something unintelligible, trying to figure out a way to get himself out. His attention was caught by a furious rustling noise making its way towards him. He was surprised when Sakura rushed forth from the foliage, but even more surprised at Naruto sauntering after her.**

"**Kyaaa! He's really dead!" Sakura shrieked, and it looked like she was about to faint before a heavy tanned hand clapped down on her shoulder, jolting her out of her hysterics. Teary green eyes locked with laughing blue as Naruto explained to her, "No, Sakura he's just been buried up to his chin. Come on, help me dig him out." The two got to work immediately, shifting away the dirt until Sasuke could wiggle himself out of the hole. All three lay on the ground, panting after that exertion. Sasuke grunted, getting up. Without looking back at them he said, "Thanks." He made to leave, but was stopped by Naruto's voice.**

"**Surely you've figured it out Sasuke? There's no way any one of us could defeat him."**

**Snorting, Sasuke retorted, "Maybe you two weak losers can't but I can handle myself."**

"You proved that so clearly in that last fight, didn't you?" Kakashi mocked.

"**I don't think handling yourself involves being buried." Naruto disagreed lightly, smiling when Sasuke whipped around to glare at him. Sakura saw the tensions mounting— well, on Sasuke's part at least— and decided to speak up as the neutral party.**

"Except you're not neutral, you want it." Obito coughed out, grinning sheepishly at his sensei's suspicious stare. _Good thing he didn't catch that . . ._

"**Ne, Sasuke-kun, Naruto explained it to me, and he's right." Flinching when Sasuke's glare turned on her, she pushed on nonetheless. "We can't do it by ourselves, but together we have a chance of passing this test. I mean, think about it. When have you ever seen a two-man genin cell? It's always been three genin right?"**

"Finally, progress." Minato and Kakashi sighed out at the same time.

**Sasuke mulled this over, and came to the startling conclusion that she was right. So, the aim of the test was to find out how well they worked together. Sasuke gritted his teeth at being played for the fool by their sensei. "Hn." He turned around to face the two. "So then, any ideas?" he asked reluctantly, but he wanted to pass the test, so there was no choice. **

**Naruto's pleasant smile turned decidedly foxy. "I have one . . ."**

"What would an Uzumaki do?" Obito mused in mock confusion. Kushina smirked evilly.

Kakashi shivered. "Oh kami, why?"

**Kakashi lazily flicked through another page. With a small sigh of boredom, Kakashi looked up from his book to stare at the passing clouds overhead. Noting the position of the sun, he reminded himself, **_**Only thirty more minutes in this test . . . looks like this team is no different from all the rest. **_

**His body moved without him even thinking it, jumping out of the way to avoid an attack. Kakashi turned to see Naruto following up on his attack— **_**with a Bo staff? That's new. **_**Kakashi observed as he continually dodged the staff, though sometimes he was caught on the sides. **

"**You're pretty good with that." He complimented the smiling boy.**

"**Thank you. In the first place, it's not meant for a full-on hit to the body. Its purpose is to catch the 'edges' so to speak. The slight glancing pains, when you've acquired enough of them, are enough to distract the opponent sufficiently." Naruto explained, and Kakashi suddenly realized that he was being herded to the edge of the clearing. Kakashi used his forearm to block a hit this time, and with a wince he knocked the Bo staff to the side, rushing into Naruto's guard. Naruto had planned for this, so following the movement given by Kakashi when it was knocked aside, the Bo staff swung up horizontally to act as a guard between Kakashi and Naruto. **

**As Kakashi and Naruto struggled to overpower one another, Sakura swiftly ran up behind Kakashi, reaching for a bell. Kakashi saw a flash of red in his peripheral vision, and with surprise leapt up to avoid Sakura. In md-jump though he noticed a kunai and bent back to avoid it, not noticing the ninja wire attached to the kunai until it caught on his flak jacket making the kunai and wire spin around him thrice. He felt hands grab at his jacket and belt loop, before the hands suddenly found themselves clutching only at a log. Sasuke grunted before dropping down from his tree, releasing the ninja wire.**

"**Kawarimi? What a one trick pony." Naruto commented, getting a giggle from Sakura and a barely there smirk from Sasuke. Kakashi walked out from behind a tree on the other side of the clearing, smiling pleasantly.**

"Oh, Kakashi is getting predictable?" Obito raised his eyebrows in shock, snickering at the other boy's dirty look.

"**That was very good. Ah, and I see you managed to get the two bells." He congratulated them as he stopped before the three. "Now it's time to decide which of you is going back to the Academy."**

"Still testing them?" Minato asked.

"Just because they demonstrated teamwork, doesn't mean they know it." Kakashi explained, and felt happy when Minato gave him a proud smile.

**Sakura shifted uncomfortably, before speaking up. "But sensei, wasn't the whole point of the test teamwork? Even if there are only two bells, all three of us needed to work together right? Shouldn't all three pass?"**

**Kakashi hummed. "Well, perhaps. Or perhaps that was just another trick, one you also fell for. So tell me, who will go back?" He wanted to see if the moral of this lesson really sunk in.**

**Sasuk's jaw set stubbornly. He wouldn't be offering. Sakura also trembled, wanting to do the right thing and say she did nothing, but not wanting to part from Sasuke. With a heavy swallow, a trembling hand started to slowly rise before Naruto's soft laughter made her freeze.**

"**What an awful guy, sensei. You know very well squads can be made up of three genin— no more and no less. However, if it's collateral you need, then . . ." with a vicious smirk, Naruto raised his right hand to reveal that he was holding Kakashi's little orange book. Kakashi choked, hand reaching back to touch his weapon's pouch where the book should be. It wasn't there— that was no illusion that was the real book.**

"**Trade? We all pass, this book is spared a nifty little katon jutsu." Naruto murmured, smirk getting wider. **

**Kakashi laughed nervously. "Maa, no need to tease Naru-chan! Of course all of you guys pass, I was just joking earlier!" **

**Sakura and Naruto whooped, and Sasuke just closed his eyes with a self-satisfied smirk. Kakashi waved at them to regain their attention, he still had something to say to them.**

"**You guys did well, but you must never forget the lesson this test taught you. Teamwork is important; it's why you guys are arranged in cells. You three need to watch out for each other, you're each other's only allies except for me on missions that could be dangerous. As I recall, one of my best friends had an excellent phrase to sum this up: "Those who abandon the missions are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!" **

Kakashi was repetitively banging his head against the coffee table non-too-gently as he said, "I should have seen that coming . . . I should have seen that coming . . ."

Obito was silent as he stared wide-eyed at Kakashi. "You . . . I was one of your best friends?"

"I was never going to let you know that." Kakashi mumbled out, voice muffled by the table. "I can't believe I admitted it, hell even to myself . . ."

"Well I'm dead so don't worry I didn't hear it." Obito said sarcastically, making Kakashi wince. His mumbles of 'didn't mean it like that' were heard by everyone. To combat the suddenly weird atmosphere, Jiraiya cooed, "Aww, how sweet! Kakashi-brat has a heart after all!"

"Sensei, shut up!" Minato all but shouted out tiredly. Kushina patted his shoulder sympathetically, giggling at the two embarrassed boys. "And Kakashi, that was a fine speech for your first students." He added, hoping to make the boy feel less mortified.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you're my best friend too. And thanks . . . for passing on my teachings to the little genin." Obito muttered as he looked away from Kakashi with a blush. Kakashi, also blushing not that you could tell with his mask, answered, "Yeah . . . and thanks too."

**Walking over to the monument that their bentos were placed, the genin crowded around as their sensei explained the significance of it. "This monument has all the names of countless shinobi who have fallen in the line of duty. They are the unsung heroes whose deaths made an impact in many things. That best friend I told you about before, his name is on here too." Kakashi's lone eye was clouded with nostalgia as he looked at the stone. Naruto looked up from it to give his sensei a long glance, before shaking his head.**

"I'm on the stone?" Obito gasped.

Rin shook her head, the only reason that could be was . . . shaking at the thought she hoped wasn't true she said, "Do you think that perhaps all the victims of the Uchiha massacre are on there, the active ninja at least?"

Minato shook his head, also coming to the same conclusion Rin had. With a sad, shaking voice he said, "No, while terrible a massacre isn't reason to put him on the KI stone . . . Obito, you—"

"Die in the Third Ninja War? Yeah, I figure." Obito's voice was quiet and resigned.

"Cheer up kid, now that we know this we can—" Jiraiya tried to comfort the boy, before being cut off curtly.

"What? Stop me from going on the battlefront? Watch me twenty-four seven? No, this is something I don't think we can avoid. It's probably better for it." Obito reasoned curtly.

"Obito-kun, please—" Kushina pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but there's no way you can account for everything in war. If it happens, then it happens. I'll be glad to die in such an honorable way. Tsunade-sama, please continue." Obito said gently.

Tsunade's brow furrowed worriedly, but she did so.

**Mentally shaking off his trip through memory lane, Kakashi faced his brand new team of genin. "Well, meet here tomorrow at nine in the morning. We'll go to the Hokage Tower together and get you guys registered as active-duty ninja, and then we'll get our first mission!" With an eye-smile and a two-fingered salute, Kakashi shuunshined out of there. **

"Congratulations, Naru-chan, yay!" Obito cheered enthusiastically. When the others didn't join in, he huffed. "We knew I was going to die anyway, what's the difference if it's earlier than we thought? Don't ruin Naru-chan's moment!"

"He won't even know it's being ruined, though." Tsunade pointed out humorously, before joining in Obito's cheers. With sheepish smiles, the others joined in too.

**With a sigh, Naruto turned around to face his teammates. "So, shall we—?" He stopped when he saw Sasuke already walking off in the direction of town, and only Sakura standing before him, though with the way her eyes darted back and forth between him and the Uchiha he figured she really wanted to go with the stoic boy. Naruto smiled at the visibly awkward Sakura.**

"Well, she can be civil after all." Rin huffed, her ire not abating for the pink-haired girl, but it had been waylaid by the girl's unexpected actions.

"Never too late to learn." Minato said, double meaning in his words.

"**You can go and play with the Uchiha brat, thanks for all your hard work today." Naruto informed her, watching as the tension in her body eased up a little.**

"**Don't insult Sasuke-kun." He knew she would say that, it was the default response as far as he was concerned, but he was pleasantly surprised to note the lack of force in her words— as if she only said it out of reflex. "A-and . . . thanks for all your hard work as well." She turned and scurried off, hoping to catch up with the Uchiha before he disappeared in the afternoon crowds. Naruto chuckled, also turning to walk back home, before Sakura's shout of his name made him turn. **

"**I said I'd pay you back! So, tomorrow, don't eat too big of a breakfast, this time I'll buy the morning snacks, ok?" Sakura shouted, blushing, before resuming her chase of the Last Uchiha. Naruto blinked, surprised at the declaration, before laughing. "That was easier than I thought it would be . . . no doubt this is isn't the end though." He told himself.**

"He's got a way of changing people, just like his parents." Jiraiya grinned at Minato and the Uzumaki princess.

"No, I think he's even better at it than us." Kushina said happily, Minato smiling his agreement.

**Naruto walked off, foregoing roof hopping for the time being. Ambling through the midday crowds Naruto watched the goings on of the village with a sort of detachment. As he passed a coffee shop he briefly recalled the name of Katsu's new workplace and contemplated paying the girl a visit, but decided not to. It wouldn't do to antagonize his best friend's new boss if she was a Kyuubi-hater (which, he was willing to bet anything she was). **

"Aw, but it's so fun going to visit your friends at work!" Kushina pouted.

Minato gave her a disbelieving work. "Kushina, you having to go back your friends up when their mission ends up bad doesn't count honey."

**Naruto decided to stop by the Ichiraku ramen stand. Ducking under the flaps, he was greeted by the warmth and savory smell of fresh cooked ramen, and the happy greetings of Old Man Teuchi and his daughter Ayame.**

"**Naruto! It's been a while since we've seen you and Katsu, how is everything?" Teuchi greeted the boy, stirring a pot of noodles. Naruto smiled at the two as he sat down at the bar.**

"**Things have been great! Last time I was here I told you guys the lessons were nearly done, and they are now so . . . Ah! I made genin, and just passes the test of my jounin sensei today!" tapping the metal plate of his headband, Naruto sheepishly scratched at his whiskered cheek when they congratulated him.**

"**This deserves a bowl on the house!" Ayame affirmed, setting down a bowl of miso ramen in front of Naruto. With a blush, Naruto tried to push the ramen back to the kind brunette. **

"You can always count on the Ichirakus to be the nicest folks you could know." Kushina smiled at the mention of her two favorite civilians. Their ramen was delicious too!

"**No, I couldn't . . . I can pay for any I order Ayame-chan—"**

"**Then pay for the rest, this one is on us for a job well done!" Ayame cheered, paying no attention to his protests. Teuchi chuckled and said, "You won't win Naruto, you know that."**

**Naruto sighed. "Yeah, but it's like a survivor's reflex to keep trying . . ." **

"We know kid." Minato and Jiraiya sighed.

**Thanking the two he cracked open a pair of chopsticks and dug in. Eyes closing as he savored the delicious ramen, he swallowed and praised the chef. "Ah, Teuchi, you have the best ramen in all of Konoha! And I bet, in all of Fire Country."**

"Got that right!" Minato and Kushina asserted.

**Teuchi chuckled. "You're too kind Naruto. I'm certain that if Katsu ever got it into her head to make her own ramen recipe, we'd lose our best customer."**

**Naruto winked. "That's why she hasn't done it yet." Ayame and Teuchi laughed. Naruto spent a little longer in the ramen stand, ordering three bowls, before paying and departing with a happy, satisfied goodbye. Once he got home he took a bath, long and warm to soothe his tired body. Donning some sweats and a black t-shirt, Naruto started cooking. It wouldn't be too long until Katsu arrived home, she said she'd be home by five today. The front door slamming open and Katsu's harried voice, "I better hurry and make dinner before Naru—" she froze in the doorway of the kitchen, wide eyes gazing at Naruto.**

"He got there first— _oh they are so cute!_" Rin and Kushina shrieked, squeals not enough to express their feelings. Tsunade laughed, and the men just sighed helplessly.

**Naruto looked at her, spoon that had been stirring the soba noodles also frozen. Katsu looked from the nearly done food to Naruto a couple times before visibly deflating. Naruto took a look at her panting form on the floor, before bursting into laughter. Katsu, still panting, glared at the boy that was doubled over in laughter. **

"**Mou, Naru!" she pouted, crossing her arms.**

"**Hey, Katsu, I didn't think you'd be here yet. Don't you have another hour?" he asked, getting up from the floor. He reached for Katsu's hand to haul her up, before bringing her under his arm. **

**Fake struggling under his arm, Katsu answered, "Well, I impressed Haruhi-san so much that she gave me the rest of the time off, she said I worked really hard today!" she sounded so proud, Naruto couldn't help but ruffle her hair, smiling at her irritated whine.**

"Hey, can one of you guys adopt her?" Kushina asked the others in the room, cackling at their choking figures.

"Whoa, way to knock us off Kushina . . ." Jiraiya grumbled, massaging his throat.

"**Good for you Kuro-hime. So as the reward, enjoy the food prepared by this one." Naruto told her, all the while pushing her up the stairs.**

"**I got it, already!" Katsu laughed, skipping up the stairs and away from Naruto's pushy hands. "You'll tell me about the test?" she hollered from the bedroom.**

**Naruto smiled. "I only want to tell the story once, so I figured you could wait till we get to the party." He blinked when Katsu suddenly appeared by the banister, jumping up and down.**

"**You mean we're going down tonight?" she squealed, spinning around.**

"**Yes, ma'am. Tonight, we're partying with the fellas from The Dive and our lovely nee-chans at the Blackout!" **

"Oh my God." Kushina choked out, face dangerously red. Minato was patting her back as soothingly as possible while he himself was freaking out. Jiraiya was on his knees on the floor, praying to the Kami for the good fortune of having such brats, not even minding Tsunade as she kicked him.

"They're twelve! They shouldn't be going into the red light district!" Rin screamed.

"They know the prostitutes like friends?" Obito cackled.

"Isn't the Blackout a stripper club?" Kakashi asked, and then flinched when his words brought a horrified shout from Minato and Kushina.

**The both of them whooped, Katsu sprinting to the bathroom and Naruto jogging down the stairs to set the table. Thinking of something he forgot to tell her, he shouted up the stairs, "You won't be able to keep up the good work at your job if you're hungover!"**

"They drink!" Kushina wailed into her hands.

"They DRINK!" Jiraiya whooped his praise, fists raised in victory.

**Katsu shouted out her retort. "I'm not a lush like you!" Naruto laughed, and their night was a blur of color and thrills from then on.**

"My baby's an alcoholic . . . ?" Kushina whimpered, almost crying. Minato, shoulders shaking with laughter, just held her close and rubbed her back.

**The next morning both children were squinting painfully at the sunlight, and downing a lot of food and orange juice. They ate their breakfast and got ready, racing into town together. With the stares of the villagers burning into their backs, Naruto and Katsu bid each other goodbye by her school, before Naruto made his way quickly to the Hokage Tower.**

"At least they're not hung over." Minato tried to comfort a still shocked Kushina.

"**Cutting it close Naruto." Sakura said with a severe look on her face as she stood with Sasuke by the Hokage Tower. Naruto chuckled, but stopped in surprise when Sakura thrust a small bento filled with onigiri and some bakery pastries at him. Remembering her words from yesterday, he smiled warmly at the nervous girl.**

"Bonds are being made, slowly but surely." Obito said in satisfaction.

"**Thank you, Sakura." He said, and she nodded with a blush on her face. They all ate rather quickly, silence rather awkward between them, but Naruto was just glad it wasn't hostile like before. Sasuke moved away from the wall he was leaning against, not looking at his teammates but addressing them civilly anyway. "I guess its standard to assume that Kakashi will be late. So let's just get our registry out of the way." Finished speaking, he turned around and walked into the Tower. Snorting, Naruto looked at Sakura and beckoned her to follow as they both trailed after Sasuke.**

"Eh, the Uchiha heir is working too?" Obito gasped.

"Well, it's not so much that he's working towards bonds, so much as he's accepted the fact that he has to have them to get further in the ranks." Jiraiya sighed, rubbing his forehead.

**The paperwork, while tedious, was done fairly quickly, and then they took their pictures. Sasuke didn't smile—of course—, Sakura went for the cutesy smile and blush, while Naruto just took his with his signature impossibly large foxy grin. Sasuke and Sakura had gone ahead to get theirs approved, so while Sakura attempted to get some conversation from Sasuke, Naruto went straight to the Hokage for his approval.**

"**Ah! Naruto, how have you been?" Hiruzen greeted the young boy warmly. Naruto grinned at his jiji and replied, "Great! New team, new start, just great. Nice picture, huh?" Naruto showed Hiruzen his ninja ID, and the elder man nodded thoughtfully.**

"**Yes, it's just fine. Kakashi late as always, eh?" was what he said, but what he was thinking was, **_**He looks so much like Minato it almost scares me.**_

"Us too." The room said, smiling.

"**Yes, but no reason to waste time while we wait for him." Naruto shrugged with a 'what can you do?' smile. Hiruzen looked at the boy questioningly, as he chewed absentmindedly on the stem of his pipe.**

"**You know where he is, why not fetch him?" Hiruzen asked.**

**Naruto opened his mouth, but was stopped when the door to the office banged open, revealing Konohamaru. "Todays the day I challenge you old man!" he ran into the room, but before he got ten steps he stepped on his scarf and tripped, falling on his face.**

"Dumb." Kakashi sighed as the rest of the room winced in sympathy.

**Sharing a look with the Sandaime, Naruto walked over to Konohamaru and picked him up, dusting his shirt off. "Are you alright Neagi-chan?" Naruto asked the boy.**

**Konohamaru, just noticing Naruto, blushed and stammered out an affirmative.**

"Hero worship?" Tsunade mused.

"**Why are you attacking your jiji anyway?" Naruto asked the blushing boy.**

"**So I can be Hokage. Everyone except for you and Katsu call me 'Honorable Grandson', and I thought that if I became Hokage, they'd all recognize me." Konohamaru mumbled with a red face. Naruto glanced at Hiruzen, who nodded with a slightly regretful look on his face before returning his attention to the little Naegi. **

"Kid, know what you're feeling, I really do, but that is a totally wonky way to go about it." Obito snorted.

"If I had ten ryo for every kid who wanted to be Hokage for the recognition . . ." Kushina grinned, chuckling when Minato snorted.

"**Listen, Naegi, to be recognized for your own person is a good goal, but this is NOT the way to go. For one, Hokage is a more serious thing than what you think it is." Naruto said firmly.**

"Tell him kid!" Obito yelled.

"**What do you mean?" Konohamaru demanded, embarrassment forgotten with his irritation that the older boy before him was dashing his dream.**

"**I mean that you can make people recognize you as your own person with your own efforts. It won't be quick, and like becoming Hokage there are no shortcuts, but it will be by your own hands. If you want to be Hokage, the leader and protector of this village, just so people know your name, then you will never become Hokage." Naruto was direct with the boy, telling him everything in no uncertain terms.**

"He really would make a great Hokage, if this is any indication." Jiraiya said.

"Charismatic, great leader qualities, a strong person . . .if only!" Rin and Obito sighed together.

**Konohamaru looked at the boy with stars in his eyes, nodding hesitantly, and Naruto wondered if perhaps that look didn't bode well for him. Unnoticed by the two boys, Hiruzen was looking at the scene with pride evident on his face. **

"If it wasn't hero worship before, it definitely is now." Obito told Tsunade.

"**So, then, do you want to be Hokage?" Naegi-chan asked.**

"**No." Naruto said bluntly. Konohamaru looked shocked, and was about to say something, before a jounin burst into the scene, calling wildly for 'the Honorable Grandson.' The man was tall and thin, giving him a gangly appearance. He wore a black turtleneck and black sweats, with a black bandana covering his head, and sunglasses. Upon seeing who Konohamaru was with, the unnamed jounin's lips curled slightly, something Naruto didn't miss with narrowed eyes.**

"What a jackass." Rin sniffed, disdain already imprinted in her mind for the newcomer.

"**Hello, and you are?" Naruto was polite to the man, even though the elder's first impression wasn't much.**

**The man pushed his sunglasses up his nose in a haughty fashion. "I am Ebisu, the tutor to the Honorable Grandson. Please excuse us, but the Honorable Grandson has no time to play with . . . you. Come, Honorable Grandson, with my shortcuts you can become a great ninja like your grandfather!" the man exclaimed. **

"Oh please." Kushina, Minato, Jiraiya and Tsunade snorted.

"**Oh please." Naruto snorted something that was caught by the jounin if his spluttering was any indication. Kakashi walked in on this scene, raising an eyebrow at Naruto. Naruto responded with a similar look, prompting Kakashi to shrug and walk further into the room, allowing Sakura and Sasuke in. Naruto fell in line with them as they waited for their mission, though he turned around to bid Konohamaru farewell when the boy and his tutor had to go. **

"**Team Seven reporting for a D-rank mission, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said in a business like, yet still lazy, tone.**

"It begins." The genin team said in a hushed, ominous tone, prompting the adults to crack up.

**Hiruzen nodded, before taking a small pile of papers and shuffling through them. "Let's see . . . we have a garden that needs weeding, the Inuzuka kennels that need cleaning, a babysitting job, and . . . catching Tora."**

"Oh Kami, it's still alive?" Obito yelped, clutching at his chest.

"_That damn cat_." Kushina verbalized the other adults' thoughts spot on.

"Tora must be a relative of the Nibi, or _some_ demon cat." Rin was adamant.

"Spare yourselves the trouble and just take the garden weeding or the babysitting." Kakashi advised.

**Naruto sighed in resignation, already knowing that D-ranks were all they'd be getting for the foreseeable future. However, as he looked at the disbelief and shock mingled with outrage on his teammate's faces, he couldn't help a slight quirk of his lips. Turning to see both his sensei and his jiji holding back smirks, his lips stretched a little more into a small smile. "So, this is how it is, ne jiji?" he asked the older man, who simply laughed.**

"It sucks when it's you, but when you're older with brats of your own . . ." Jiraiya started.

"Then man it's funny." Minato finished, grinning largely.

"**We'll take the weeding job." Kakashi decided at last, lips twitching in amusement underneath his mask.**

* * *

**Well, there we have it folks! Enjoyed it? Review. Didn't enjoy it? Tell me why, i'll see what i can do . . . if i want to, that is. haha, i joke. Until next week my friends!**

**Love,**

**Blood Velvet~3**


	7. Chapter 7

**OK, guys, how's this for fast delivery? Really, i almost sort of wish i could do two chapters a week, but god . . . this things broke any record previous at 35 pages, i don't have another in me to give you in the same week. My spirit would break, lol. So, things are starting to pick up now with them being ninja . . . sort of. First off, i wanna thank some people!**

**isee4: It's reviews like yours that make me write with the force of a thousand suns. I'll be sending you the bill for a new laptop soon.**

**narulover4000 and Zero123456789: To be the first story you guys have favorited . . . well, it's just an honor.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Naruto, rights belonging solely to Masasi Kishimoto, nor do i own any songs english or japanese that pop up over the course of this story.**

* * *

_Chapter Seven _

_The First Steps, of Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

The reading of the book was postponed for the next morning— really, the group had to admit that they needed the night to process and, at times come to terms with, the information presented to them. So while Kushina alternately rebelled and reconciled with the new information about her not-so-innocent baby boy and future daughter-in-law, the others either laughed themselves to near sickness or just accepted it as best as they could. The next morning breakfast was a rushed affair, as they were all eager to read on. Things were going to pick up, they could tell, now that Naruto had taken his first firm foothold into the ninja world. Rin and Obito hurriedly set the tray with food and drink down, eager to start.

"So who's—?" Minato started off unsurely, before being cut off by overenthusiastic waiters.

"ME!" The others clamored. Minato sweat dropped, not knowing how to decide. Finally, he said in a measured tone, "Well, I guess it'll be Kushina this time, since she never finished her chapter for understandable reasons." Handing the book over to the wildly grinning Habanero, she thanked her boyfriend with a big kiss on the cheek, releasing it with a smacking sound.

"**Katsu, you really need to make time for training!" Naruto chided the girl as she gulped down a bottle of water. Though they both had their own obligations on the opposite sides of the spectrum, they made it a point to still train together when it was convenient. Such as now, in the very infancy of the day, when the sun was still sending bloody red streaks through the trees to paint them in its emerging glory as it topped the trees.**

"So they're back to early morning training." Obito concluded.

"Nothing wrong with keeping up a good regimen." Jiraiya endorsed.

**Katsu frowned at him, wiping her mouth when she tossed the now empty bottle onto the patio table across the field. "Naruto, I'm still just a civilian, I've got other duties to attend to before training. Really, that was just to help you! You have a team now, and people to spar against that will do so gladly. Didn't we agree you'd make nice with the clan brats and beat them black and blue?"**

"I'm sure he just wants her to know how to defend." Tsunade said with her arms spread along the back of the couch.

"Yes, but it won't be as easy anymore. Really, I doubt she can find enough time in the day to keep up with Naruto as she used to." Rin supplied.

"While you make a valid point, something tells me the boy won't stand for it. For the one who helped him grow, he won't let her fade off into the sidelines without a hell of a fight." Jiraiya rebutted, smirking.

**Naruto sighed, running a hand through his tousled blond spikes, the motion tugging up his white t-shirt that he wore for morning workouts along with an old pair of orange pants that survived the reconstruction. "Yes, and I've been having some very productive training sessions . . . with Kakashi-sensei. Hime, please understand . . . I . . . I got used to knowing that even if for some reason I wasn't there to help you in a dangerous situation, you would be able to help yourself well enough. But, with me growing stronger, I want you to do so as well. I don't want you to get **_**rusty**_** and then not be in good shape for when there's a . . . I don't know, **_**some emergency**_** that requires fighting skill." **

The females all made 'aww' sounds, and even Obito wiped away a tear from his eyes. Kakashi couldn't help but tease him for it.

"You were doing so well, Obito, you went nearly a whole week without crying."

"Shut up! This can touch even the most miserable of men." Obito retorted, with a soft sniffle.

**Katsu wouldn't be taken in by his soft words— no matter how incredibly sweet and thoughtful.**

"He found a girl just like his mother." Minato said with a soft chuckle, wincing at Kushina's punch for embarrassing her.

"**Naruto, chill out, it's not like I've totally said 'fuck it, he's good now I can just quit training!' No, I like to do this and I train when I can . . . **_**with my own stuff**_**. It's kinda hard learning another taijutsu style when I was so used to first the academy basics as a foundation, and then my own taijutsu style. You're making me work exclusively on the Kung Fu Hustle, and I'm still so new to it that I'm mixing in my other style without meaning to!"**

"Always so troublesome." Minato sighed. The others groaned in mock annoyance. "Damn all-around ninja," They jeered with laughter.

**Naruto was adamant, "That's fine! This style is all about unpredictability, so mixing the styles will be fine! But before that, I just want you to get a solid basis in the style, so you can not only mix and match, but switch solidly between the two. Thus, why I said Kung Fu Hustle **_**only**_**. Now—"**

**Katsu crossed her arms in front of her like an 'X'. "Oh come on, we've been at this for an hour!"**

"**Just another hour Kurohime." Naruto coaxed the girl.**

"Damn Uzumaki training till everyone with them drops!" the room howled, laughing at Kushina's angry denials.

**Katsu's face scrunched up like she was seriously considering a mutiny, before relaxing under her resigned decision. "Alright . . . come at me." She slid into the beginning stance of their taijutsu style, which really didn't look like much of a stance. Just her standing with feet shoulder with apart, body twisted just a bit on her right leg that was pushed a bit ahead, like she was leaning her weight on it about to do a spin. Her hands were balled into solid fists, the right held at hip-height and the left arm was cocked behind her a bit to make her fist almost behind her hip. Though it might look loose and unsteady, all parts of her feet were anchored firmly into the ground, and her posture was strong and controlled. **

"It doesn't sound threatening . . ." Kakashi observed, knowing the statement was false.

"But, judging and underneath and all that." Obito said, smirking widely.

"Aw, you guys are even finishing each other's sentences now!" Rin mock cooed, laughing at the boy's heated accusations and denials.

**Naruto copied her stance, though his body was twisted a bit to the left, with its leading. Without warning, Katsu went right for Naruto. Naruto tensed, before going at her head on— the two clashed in a fury of fists, elbows, hands and knees. The style was all about improvisation; the scroll had actually encouraged them to use more than just your fists and feet. Elbows, knees, hell— your forehead, wrists, heels, anything that you could possibly think would give you an advantage in your fight, **_**use it**_**. Needless to say, Naruto— being a brawler at heart— was immediately enamored with this style. Katsu also held the Kung Fu in a special place in her heart, but she saw it as an interesting thing to learn rather than a necessity— her first taijutsu style was plenty for her, not that Naruto would listen. **

"That is just wrong!" Tsunade said, disgusted.

"What?" the others squawked.

"Who the hell would give an Uzumaki the go-ahead to free-for-all?" Tsunade joked with a smirk. The others immediately caught onto the joke and laughed heartily, agreeing completely with her.

**Katsu and Naruto were both on the offensive it seemed, but there was a defense position to this style— just not the defense you'd think. After all, the best defense is a better offense right? So when they weren't dodging and ducking, bobbing and weaving, they were going at each other with the intent to maim, or at least break several bones at once. This made for a rather exciting fight, naturally. **

"Is it as exciting as the resulting fight when Minato actually _forbade_ Kushina from training for two weeks?" Jiraiya gawped, before laughing at the scandalized faces of the two aforementioned people.

"Nothing. Absolutely . . . _nothing_. Could be as epic as that fight." Team Minato said firmly, faces deadly serious.

"Forgetting the fact that the fight totally defeated the purpose of my actions." Minato muttered, narrowing diamond blue eyes at his red headed princess.

"**Watch it!" Katsu growled warningly as she narrowly avoided an elbow to her nose, kicking Naruto straight into his side, watching smugly as he rolled on the ground before halting his momentum. "I really don't want to have to explain a black eye, or a broken nose to my boss. She'll automatically assume it was you— which is true— but then she 'll just lord it over me as another reason why I should cut ties with a 'monster' like you." **

"That'd be a funny story to tell around the water cooler at break. _Oh, what happened to my eye? See . . . what had happened was . . ._" Obito joked, taking a girly voice to mime such an event.

**Naruto jumped into the air to send a quick couple foot jabs to her, satisfied when she knocked them all away and still had enough momentum to try a roundhouse kick to his upper thigh as he was still in mid-air. "Yeah, thought she might be one of my opposition. It's why I don't go visit you at work."**

**Katsu pouted, even as she bent over backwards at the waist to let Naruto's punch pass over her and make him unbalanced from the surprise. Grabbing his forearm and bicep in a strong grip, she back flipped and brought him with her, using her knee to maneuver his body under hers so it would meet with the rough ground. Naruto's breath left him in a whoosh. **

Rin winced. "Why do I get the feeling this is a light spar, no matter the near-killing intent?"

"It probably is." The adults shrugged like it was no big thing. Train hard, work easy . . . something like that.

"**So that's why, eh? Too bad, I'd always thought how cool it would be for us to go and hang out at each other's work during, like, a lunch break or something." Katsu admitted, wrapping her hands around his neck and squeezing as she brought his head up and down to bang it against the dirt.**

"Ouch." The group muttered as one, flinching as if they were the ones getting bitched out like Naruto was.

"Ninjas get _lunch breaks_? Why wasn't I _informed_ of this?" Obito mock raged, pointing an accusing finger at Minato.

"This is new to me, much as it is to you." Minato played along, looking shocked.

"No wonder the ninjas of the future sound like pansy idiots. _They get lunch breaks!_ In my day, you were lucky to eat the berries you could forage. And you were _grateful_ for it." Tsunade said, miming a grumpy old woman. Jiraiya couldn't help but point out, "That acting . . . it wasn't very hard for you to imitate, was it?"

His witticism was rewarded with a swollen cheek and black eye.

**Naruto took a couple minutes to answer; having your head used to dent hard packed earth wasn't easy, not to mention being choked. Naruto bucked up and twisted, dislodging Katsu and allowing his fist to bury itself in her abdomen and send her rolling off. "Katsu, you've known since we met that I wanted to be a ninja. What made you think I'd ever have a lunch break?" **

**Panting heavily, Katsu struggled up onto all fours, before her lower half rose up onto the balls of her feet and kicked off to the side to avoid Naruto's kick, landing on all fours like a cat— or a fox?— to his right. "Well, I don't know . . . I always saw the ninja in the Tower, right? They'd have coffee breaks and lunch breaks."**

"Fucking cushiony office ninjas." The adults said under their breaths, tone acidic.

"**Yeah, the office nins. I'm a field nin." Naruto reminded her as he did his best to block a flurry of hits. He jumped away when he sensed the opportunity, wincing at the soreness from the old hits as well as the new ones he hadn't managed to block.**

"**Good enough for you?" Katsu asked him haughtily, hands on her hips as she breathed heavily. Naruto eyed her for a few moments, before smirking devilishly. "Yeah, though it could improve . . ."**

"No, not my son! Not . . . he can't be a pervert!" Kushina's voice was a cross between a wail and a snarl, something that sent dangerous body-wracking shivers through the males of the room.

"Kushina, please! He had no adequate direction for this sort of thing as a child!" Though she detested perverts as much as the next kunoichi, Rin still pled for the boy's case. He was adorable, and gentlemanly, and awesome— was that not enough to forgive his perverse nature?

**Katsu, thinking he was still talking about her form, growled angrily. "Well, get on with it!" she snapped, spine straightening to hold herself at her full (not at all imposing) height.**

"**Well, you'd be faster without so much loose fabric . . . maybe you want to lose the shirt?" Though his tone was professional, the smirk and knowing glint in his eyes was anything but.**

"_THANK YOU!_" Jiraiya sobbed as he lunged for both the Last Namikaze and the Last Uzumaki, trapping them in a massive bear hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you . . . !" he mumbled into their pressed together shoulders, weeping ultimate manly tears of joy.

"This will not come to pass, don't thank me for anything!" Kushina hissed enraged as she struggled to get out from the large man's restrictive embrace.

Ignoring her, Jiraiya continued, "The looks of Minato . . . the stamina of an Uzumaki . . . and the pervert nature from me! It's . . _. the perfect student! _I'm so_ PROUD_."

Minato, now ticked off, shoved his sensei off and back into his seat with one hand (ignoring the ogling of the others— who knew such a lean man was so strong?) and said, "I think there's more to this than that. Read."

Normally, Tsunade would have bristled at such a commanding tone from someone younger than her, but seeing Minato toss Jiraiya with one hand soothed her. Small pleasures.

**Katsu blinked, momentarily confused, before getting it. "I see what you did there. Point to you for subtle delivery." she laughed, crossing her arms and leaning her weight on her left leg.**

**The game was something they had created on their off time, something other than pranking the village and seeing how long it took to break Iruka's brain— or Naruto's personal favorite— how many one-liners can you get in before Anko starts throwing sharp objects at you? The game was called, "Pillow Talk" and the aim was to slip in dirty, seductive, or sexy lines into your normal conversation, without anybody figuring out beforehand. If it was a hit, the opponent can return fire only if they weren't caught off guard or flustered, or else he/she concedes with a, "I see what you did there," signifying that a point was earned by the one-liner. So far, it was their most intense game yet . . . not like that; this narrator cannot believe you people are so dirty. They are children! **

"Best game ever." Jiraiya decided, after having shaken off the earlier shock of having been thrown like some little genin by his own skinny little student.

"That does sound like fun." Tsunade conceded with a smile, snickering wickedly at Kushina and Minato's conflicted faces.

"On one hand, he does the Namikaze men proud . . . but on the other, is it worth the risk of him possibly turning out like sensei?" Minato pondered, troubled, totally ignoring his sensei's splutters of indignation just like everyone else was.

**Naruto's smirk turned into the natural sweet smile he usually sports, bowing to the ginger-haired girl. "Seriously though, you were good. I spoke too early before, you've been practicing well." Katsu bowed in return, before skipping off to the house.**

"**Wait, where are you going?" Naruto asked her retreating back, looking at her bemusedly. **

**Without turning around Katsu answered, "To get ready. I want to take a really long bath."**

**Naruto contemplated asking her to join, but her quick, "Separately!" Stopped him in his tracks.**

"There is no hope." Jiraiya muttered evilly, referring to Kushina's earlier statement. The woman merely snarled at the Toad Sage.

"**Damn." He snickered, though he supposed it was fair. Really, they couldn't bathe together all the time . . . but they certainly would most of the time. "Well, until I'm ready to go in, might as well practice with this axe." Naruto mumbled to himself as he picked up said weapon, giving it a few experimental swings as he walked toward the wooden dummies he had set up in the backyard farther out.**

"An axe?" Minato repeated while his eyebrows rose.

"That's an unusual weapon for a ninja . . ." Rin said in a considering voice, a finger on her chin.

Kushina shrugged. "I had two cousins who used axes, another that used a machete . . . and I think one actually attacked with garden scissors on a retractable pole." She saw the incredulous looks from the others. Shaking her head, she said, "Don't ask."

**Naruto actually picked up the idea to use this as a weapon when they'd been gardening. Katsu needed a tree that was too close to the house cut down, worrying that during one of their summer thunderstorms, the tree might collapse on the roof and damage it. **

**She had wanted to buy a saw and do it the old-fashioned, slow way. Naruto, who was reading about how to use chakra to augment weapons, suddenly had an idea. He bought the saw, and told Katsu to stay on the porch under the roof, while he took care of it.**

"Like a man." Obito said coolly, identical smirks adorning the faces of every male in that room. The ladies rolled their eyes at each other, but were amused at the testosterone rush their boys were going through.

"Ingenious way to try a new concept though." Jiraiya gave the kid props.

**At first, Naruto put the saw to trunk. It was a thin tree, but old, so the saw was actually a bit longer than the tree trunk. Focusing inward, Naruto carefully pulled on his chakra and imagined it going through the metal of the saw, coating it like armor. It was a bit difficult, and it took him about five tries, but in the end he succeeded in making a large cut into the tree trunk— not enough to make it teeter, but deeper than he could have gotten it without his chakra in such a short time. Grinning at his success— and Katsu's happy, girlish cheers— he was about to continue before a flash of dark metal caught his eye. He turned to get a better look at what had caught his attention. It was an old axe they had yet to throw away, leaning against the side of their shed. It was old, and half rusted, but . . . Naruto dropped the saw on the ground and walked over to the axe. Picking it up, he balanced it in his hand, and slashed it through the air a couple of times. Katsu was curious, but kept her silence— Naruto would show her what he was thinking soon anyway. **

**Naruto walked back to the tree, and stood there with his eyes closed. Just like before he channeled his chakra into the blade of the tool, this time having a better idea and control of what he wanted. He tried his very best to make his chakra form a thin yet complete and firm layer over the axe, sharp at every edge. Opening his eyes, he swung the axe with full force into the cut he had done previously. The effect was clear to see: not only did he cut through the tree, the other sides not touched suddenly cracked and exploded outward in the direction of the swing.**

The others burst into celebration, cheering for the kid, until Tsunade waved them into silence. "Hold on, you haven't heard the best part yet." She said grinning.

**Naruto would have started celebrating, if the tree hadn't started falling forward— in the direction of the house. **

**Panicking slightly at Katsu's shriek, he channeled chakra into his legs and kicked the tree— and sent it flying. Across the lake . . . far out into the forest . . . where it landed with a soft thud. Naruto turned and looked at Katsu. Katsu looked at Naruto. They both decided to move on . . . and not mention it again. **

"Well . . . at least he did it." Rin defended weakly.

"Win, and yet . . . fail." Obito murmured, conflicted.

**Well, regardless it worked and so Naruto went to the only store that treated him fairly, Higurashi Weapon's Shop. The man who owned it, and his wife, was nice enough to Naruto, though he didn't know them well. Their prices were fair, and the man was always willing to answer Naruto's questions about weaponry— indeed, he seemed eager whenever Naruto pulled out a particularly hard question that dealt with origins, mechanics, and other little details.**

"He didn't list them as precious people?" Rin pointed out, confused along with some of the others.

Obito snorted, answering her. "If he put everyone who gave him even a scrap of kindness under the title of 'precious people', that'd be kind of pathetic, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah." They agreed together, mulling over it. Just because someone gives you the time of day, doesn't mean you should automatically want to walk through hell for them.

**So when Naruto asked for a battle axe, Higurashi-san was pleased to help— because there were no battle axes in stock at all, so he would have to make one from scratch. Together, both Higurashi-san and Naruto, with a little help from the man's daughter Ten-Ten, created a sketch of the weapon with all its properties and got to work. It took three weeks to complete with the extra embellishments Naruto couldn't help but throw in, but in the end it was a fine piece of work that the Higurashi's couldn't be prouder of. This wasn't your standard lawn axe, oh no— a double-bladed axe with a shape unlike any axe ever seen before, one that had curves to it like sabers, looking like delicate silver and 18 inches long. The hand parts were solid metal, and if the blades didn't catch you, the slender iron arrowhead in the middle of it going up from the handles would once your neck went between the blades.**

"That sounds painful." Obito gulped.

Kushina had stars in her eyes. "Aw, my little baby is a monster on the battlefield." Yes, there'd be no fear of their family dying out with her son so strong and fearsome— she'd get her grandbabies!

**Naruto was most pleased. **

"Kushina, it's not just Minato who's the psychopath, you are mentally unhinged too!" Jiraiya said as if he was revealing a great secret.

"Well, when you have a demon inside you . . . you never can be quiet _stable_, you see?" Kushina said unapologetically, not even denying his statement as Minato had done.

**Katsu was also delighted with the new additions to his weapons arsenal. She awed over the delicate and almost dainty beauty of the axes, knowing full well the pain or death that could be wrought from them at his whim. So, in addition to training in both the Kung Fu Hustle, his normal weapons (kunai and shuriken), and Bo staff, he also made sure to take time to familiarize himself with his new precious— ahem. I mean his new axe. **

"Busy, busy, busy little fox." Team Minato muttered under their breath like a song, shaking their heads collectively.

**It seemed that his unusual taste in weapons also gained him a new friend in the form of Ten-Ten. She was a year older than him, already a seasoned genin, who also happened to go by the unofficial moniker of "Weapons Mistress of Konoha." After spending some time with her, he fully understood the name. Ten-Ten was a walking weapons arsenal; having not only an inordinate amount of kunai, shuriken and senbon more than her small frame would suggest, but also scrolls filled to maximum capacity with **_**more**_** weapons.**

"Sounds like she's dedicated to her work, as well as eager to make a good name for herself." Kushina said, respecting the new girl.

"Finally, a girl who's serious about being a ninja." Tsunade sighed in relief.

"Too bad she seems more interested in battle than medicine, I'm sure she'd be good for it." Rin commented, popping a blueberry in her mouth.

**Naruto knew he would get along with her, as would Katsu . . . on second thought, he really wasn't sure they should meet. At any rate, Ten-Ten was a serious kunoichi, who looked up to strong kunoichi such as Senju Tsunade, Mitarashi Anko, and Yuuhi Kurenai.**

"Oho, you've still got a fan club even in that time Tsunade-hime." Jiraiya waggled his eyebrows at his smug-faced teammate.

Tsunade flicked blonde bangs from her honey brown eyes. "Naturally." She allowed.

**Naruto was glad to meet another girl besides Hinata-chan who took her training seriously (besides Katsu, because she was a civilian therefore did not technically train in any sort of jutsu . . . and that's the story they'll stick to). Naruto was getting better with the axe, occasionally going over to the Weapon's Shop for tips and helpful talks from Higurashi-san, who gave him good ideas on how to train with the axe, taking from his prior experience as the ninja he used to be, seeing axes in other lands and how they were used. Naruto was getting faster with the axe, and was now working on his dexterity, slowly becoming ambidextrous enough to switch hands with the axe or any other weapon, though not without some slowdown. **

**Naruto finished his training, wiping sweat off his face with the tail of his shirt as he looked up to see the sun high in the sky. His internal clock, honed by the Academy thankfully, let him know that he had two hours to get ready and meet with Team Seven in order for them to wait thirty minutes to an hour for Kakashi-sensei at Training Ground Seven. **

"This is unacceptable, how can I be so predictable!" Kakashi complained gruffly.

"If it makes you feel any better, I am 85% sure that only Naruto has a schedule of your lateness mapped, and the other two are still just clueless." Minato soothed the grumpy chuunin.

**Naruto gathered up his weapons and sealed them into a scroll, gripping it loosely. As he went inside and closed the door behind him, he sighed in relief from getting out of the now hot sun. Tossing the scroll onto the couch, he jogged up the stairs bypassing a refreshed Katsu who was heading into the kitchen to make breakfast. **

**He took his shower and soaked thoroughly in the bath until Katsu hollered for his presence at the table. Dressing quickly he decided to forego the stairs and jumped over the banister, softening his fall to a soundless descent with his chakra. He rose up into a bow at Katsu's applause, before straightening up and taking his seat at the table. As they ate their food, Katsu asked about any changes in their team training or dynamics.**

"Well, if Sakura was any indication, I'm sure the team is pretty good now." Rin said optimistically.

**Naruto sighed, briefly rubbing the bridge of his nose.**

"There go's that dream." Obito said dully.

"**Well . . . Sakura at least has gotten a bit better, though I get this strange feeling that progress will reach a plateau if something doesn't happen to change that. Sasuke . . . is even bigger a jackass than normal; always demanding information on my weapons, my taijutsu, where I got them, why . . .**

"Not everything is for you." Obito frowned, rubbing his forehead.

**He seems to find it impossible and damn unthinkable that I am competent, was competent even in Academy, and will continue to grow.**

"Anyone else who grows at either the rate or faster than an Uchiha, really what are they thinking?" Minato mocked with a raised eyebrow, only that and his suddenly stony eyes betraying his impatience with the Uchiha heir.

**I think he feels threatened, Kami knows why. So, teamwork either is the usual mess, or it suffers according to the phases of the moon." He paused to smile at Katsu's surprised laughter. **

"Without teamwork you won't get very far in Konoha, at least in the beginning from chuunin and below." Tsunade said.

"**So, Kakashi has yet to move us on from teamwork exercises which we've been doing since we became genin almost two months ago— oh, and sparring to not keep us sharp. Or improve Sakura, take your pick. And . . . D-ranks. So, how about you?" he finished up, blinking up innocently at her darkened expression.**

"Only that?" Minato asked with raised eyebrows, surprised at his student's lack of initiative for his students.

"Really, not even some chakra control exercises, or one little jutsu that'll make their lives easier?" Kushina frowned sternly, looking at Kakashi with some disappointment.

Kakashi, irritated at the guilt churning in his stomach from Kushina's look as well as the way his future self was shaping up, said curtly, "That Kakashi is a different person entirely from the me now. Perhaps, I figured that since Minato-sensei waited until we had some teamwork to give us more teachings, that I'd follow the same pattern!"

Minato narrowed his eyes at Kakashi to a glowing blue glare. "Settle down Kakashi, Kushina." He added in his girlfriend's name when he saw her face twist dangerously, preparing to go head-to-head with his student.

**She sighed irritated. "Huh, so teamwork and nothing else . . . Hatake-san hasn't taught the tree walking exercise? No, huh? Well, at least you already know it. As for me . . . it's . . . well, if it's great then everything else I can handle the rare times things crop up." Her answer was clouded and vague, annoying Naruto.**

"Well, there's another one who's dissatisfied . . . not that I blame her." Kakashi sighed tiredly, rubbing his forehead to try and alleviate his headache.

"Well, I'm sure there were good reasons, and the ones you said earlier were logical too." Tsunade said helpfully, feeling sympathetic for the young man.

"**What does that mean?" his question was more like a demand.**

**Katsu stared at him as she swallowed the plum in her onigiri, considering something. "Well, just the usual obstacles of adjusting as you go towards your dream. Haruhi-san is a mercurial sort, like Anko-nee, so that isn't much of a problem . . . though; in general, it is the problem. Understand?"**

"Not at all." The room chorused.

"Could her boss be bullying her or something?" Rin wondered, mouth puckered like she ate a lemon.

"I doubt she would let anyone get away with bothering her . . . physically, at least. Kids have this thing about emotional distress . . ." Kushina thought out loud, ignoring the kids in the room's disgruntled looks.

**Naruto glared at her still unclear answer as he ate his rice and dried seaweed, but nodded to show he'd let it go. Then he remembered her reaction to his report on his team. "You . . . Kuro-hime, do you not like Kakashi-sensei?"**

"See, even he knows it." Kakashi said with a depressed look.

"Well, you never were good at first impressions . . ." Rin said, looking sheepish under his dark look.

**Katsu blinked at him in surprise, slurping up the last of her soba noodles. "What gave you that impression? I have nothing against Hatake-san."**

"**That; you call him Hatake-san, not Kakashi-sensei or even Kakashi-san." Naruto pointed out.**

"**He's not my sensei and I would never be so familiar with a man I've never even met." Katsu reasoned, looking cool and unconcerned. Naruto huffed, feeling a small ember of anger starting to smolder inside him at her purposeful vagueness. He tapped his fingers on the table in a sharp, quick rhythm. **

"Oooh, a fight?" Rin fretted.

"No . . . it'll be quick." Minato said with a small, cheeky grin. Kushina looked at him with a confused face, one eyebrow raised.

"**Katsuhime, I grow tired of this." Naruto said coldly, not giving an inch even when she winced at his tone, looking uncomfortable.**

"Oh, so that's what you meant!" Jiraiya hooted, leaning over to clap a large hand on his student's shoulder. Minato hid his amusement, looking innocent in front of his boiling girlfriend.

"So . . . you knew all along, how that worked . . . ?" Kushina snarled, remembering those rare times she would have been about to blow up on Minato and— instead of just letting it be like he usually would— he would suddenly grow coldly serious and shock her out of her anger.

**Letting loose a gusty sigh, Katsu looked sulkily at Naruto from underneath fire-colored lashes. "One day, that won't affect me, and what will you do then? Listen, concerning Hatake-san . . . I've nothing against him as a person— but he, in my own humble opinion, leaves much to be desired as a sensei. It doesn't even matter that he isn't teaching you, I know you'll do fine regardless. But, he won't even give any training to the other two, who aren't as . . . proactive in furthering the ninja art as you— which is surprising on the part of the Uchiha, but I digress . . . he— I – I can't approve of his laziness when it hurts the team nearly as much as your own personal reactions to each other." Katsu took her time to consider the best words to describe her feelings, not once looking up at Naruto and instead swirling the last swig of tea in her cup before drinking it at the end. **

"Kami, how could they have ever thought I'd be a good sensei?" Kakashi groaned, hitting his head against the table one last time.

"Really, it does seem like you were right, I can't think you'd ever delude yourself into thinking you could be a good sensei. Did the council force you . . . and why?" Kushina finally spoke up to the boy, civil again with the clearly agitated boy. She did feel sorry for him, really . . . sounds like he gets a tough position in being their sensei, even if he should be glad to teach her sochi!

**Naruto considered her words and gave her a gentle smile. "Well, he's not as bad as all that. I think it's fine if he goes over the basics, if we get them down to second nature then it makes learning more advanced things easier in the long run."**

"Thanks kid, but I suck and I know it." Kakashi grunted, his lips twitching at the boy's answer . . . so diplomatic and kind, like something sensei would say.

"That's such a Minato thing to say." Jiraiya said, unknowingly agreeing with Kakashi.

**Katsu was unconvinced, but she wouldn't keep at it with Naruto any longer. Instead she said, "Well, if you're fine with it, nothing to worry about then, ne? So, let's clean up and head to our respective places . . . I'm bored with school when I've got a much more interesting job after." With that she got up with both her and Naruto's dishes, totally ignoring his hands trying to grab at her dress.**

"**Hey, it's my turn to do the dishes, what did you have to stick me to the floor with kunai for? For that matter, how did you do this without my even noticing?" Naruto yelled at her incredulously, waving his arms around like windmills.**

The group laughed at the visual they got in their heads. "Isn't he the Prankster King? How'd she get one over on him?"

"I'd say she does more than just watch . . . she observes." Minato said easily, arms slung across the back of the sofa on his side as Kushina snuggled closer.

**Her titters served to only enrage him further. He braced his hands on the floor, ready to get up, until—**

"**What were you about to do?" Naruto froze as the whisper came from right behind his ear, Katsu's breath ghosting along the flesh of the back of his neck.**

"Can this be . . . her feminine anger finally out to play?" Tsunade and Kushina said in barely contained excitement.

Jiraiya looked at the both of them like they were crazy. "Why do you sound so excited?" he asked them loudly.

"**Hey, you weren't about to rip your clothes **_**right?**_** Those kunai, they weren't hurting your outfit . . . but what you were going to do? Would have **_**ruined it**_**." Her voice was a cold, playful, deadly whisper.**

**Shaking like he caught hypothermia, Naruto shook his head so hard his hair whipped his cheeks till they stung. "N-n-n-no, I would n-never do that, my hime . . ." he stuttered out fearfully. **

"Ah, so he understands that too." Jiraiya sighed in relief. Minato nodded in agreement with his sensei.

"I was worried; he might not understand the survival skills needed for such things . . . not without a male influence. But, perhaps Sarutobi-sama did it for us?"

Tsunade snorted in amusement "Yeah, I'm sure old Biwako taught him some things too. That old battle axe, she sure wasn't one to play around with!"

**As the weeks past, Naruto was of the opinion that the conversation he had with Katsu that morning seemed to color the rest of his time with Team Seven. Indeed, whenever he and his two teammates had to do drill after drill of teamwork, or complete more and more thankless D-ranks, he found himself growing . . . angry.**

"There goes your only supporter." Obito said teasingly to Kakashi. He was answered with a depressed groan.

**Really, he understood that being a genin meant he was at the bottom of the rungs, so to speak, but . . . maybe Katsu was right that, they could be doing more. **

Mouths opened to say they could, but then they all took a look at Kakashi, and decided to be tactful and keep their mouths shut.

**He had even tried to help Sakura and Sasuke with their training. After Kakashi's own workouts— really, Kakashi-sensei was almost as bad as Anko-nee; not that he couldn't handle it, after Anko this was easy, but Sakura . . . well, back to his point: he had tried to help them, even try and teach them the Tree Walking exercise. Sasuke, however, was sure that he could learn nothing from the other two and Sakura was following Sasuke without fail. It's not like he had the opportunity to show them it either, to get them interested . . . **

"Brats." Kakashi muttered suddenly. "Take help when it's offered, 'because I sure as hell am not offering any."

"At least you instill the importance of physical conditioning into them. That's as important as anything else; otherwise they'd be too weak to do many things that are required on missions." Tsunade said contemplatively. Kakashi felt grateful for her help, but he still felt sourness in his mouth over being such a lazy sensei.

**But the four weeks that passed brought him some quality amusement as well, besides the headaches of his newfound doubts on their team. Katsu had the— she'd say dubious— pleasure of meeting Kakashi-sensei a few times. He'd never forget their first meeting . . . **

"Oh this sounds good." Obito said in an anticipating tone, grabbing a bag of popcorn . . . out of nowhere, to the shock of the others. Where did he . . . ? No . . . never mind.

_**Flashback!**_

"_**Team Seven, your mission is . . . to go and pick up my order of take-out from the **_**Sakura no Chawan**_**."Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Team Seven serious voice, looking at them from under the rim of his wide Hokage's hat. Team Seven's reactions to the comical mission given in such a serious tone varied— Sakura shrieked, "What?"; Sasuke's eyebrows twitched as his customary sound rolled off his tongue; Naruto sighed, chuckling, and Kakashi just read his book without any emotion. **_

_**Nonetheless, Team Seven stood to attention in front of their commanding officer— even if Kakashi's face hadn't come up for air from his book since they entered. Naruto however, was conflicted inside. Katsu already told him that the owner didn't like him . . . he didn't wish to inconvenience anyone, even if Haruhi-san was a bitch . . .**_

"_**However, you won't be picking it up from the place. I've arranged for the package to be part of the Hospital parcel they were already sending out, just meet the person who has it at the hospital. She'll be wearing a green dress with a light pink apron, you can't miss her. If you're having troubles . . . ask Naruto." Hiruzen's eyes softened with amusement as his gaze trained solely on Naruto. Naruto resisted the urge to start in surprise. So, the old monkey had a plan for even something so small. Well, when The Professor is your Hokage . . .**_

_**Sakura and Sasuke stared at Naruto, wondering why he would know more about the mission than him/Sasuke-kun. Kakashi was also curious, but he wouldn't stoop as low as his genin and gawk. "Ah, Hokage-sama, we'll be done with this quickly." With a short bow of deference, Team Seven left for their mission. **_

_**Naruto sighed as he ambled along through the crowd with Team Seven, Kakashi walking right behind them and observing the bustling marketplace. Well, Naruto thought, at least his head was out of that Icha Icha . . . really, with the way the man read it almost religiously, it made one curious as to its contents . . . **_

"_**What did Hokage-sama mean that we can't miss her? A green dress and pink apron isn't the most conspicuous outfit in this village . . ." Sakura wondered, saying this as much to herself as to the others.**_

"_**Care to shed any light on this Naruto? The Hokage did say to ask you about these things." Kakashi said, almost drawled. Naruto glanced back at his sense for a brief moment, before looking at Sakura and Sasuke, who were both looking at him with some curiosity.**_

"_**He meant that she has very distinguishing features, I guess you could say. Like how, if you had to look for me, you couldn't miss me in a crowd with my shade of blonde hair and blue eyes." Well that last part was a lie— he had gotten very good at stealth very early on, so no one could find him if he didn't wish to be found. His teammates would either not acknowledge that fact, or outright deny it.**_

"_**So, she looks freaky?" Sasuke snorted, getting a dig in at the dobe. Naruto said nothing, only looked at Sasuke with cold, stony, calculative eyes now hardened to a cobalt blue. Sasuke found that he couldn't look away, a fact that angered him . . . but he felt the shiver of foreboding much more clearly than his anger.**_

"_**It's not polite to judge someone you don't even know, Sasuke." Naruto rebuked in an almost playful voice, but his eyes never lost their steeliness. Naruto looked away from Sasuke, and Sasuke snorted angrily, jerking his head to the side. He couldn't believe he let the dobe intimidate him like that, so easily . . . !**_

"_**Alright guys, no need for sparks so early in the mission." Kakashi said in a half bored, half placating voice as he looked at the two opposites. Sakura agreed quietly, looking between Sasuke and Naruto warily. Sasuke, to make up for that earlier hesitance and fear, shoved to the front of the group to take position of leader. Naruto's eyes narrowed as irritation flared up in him, and he was about to put the Uchiha in his place as his instincts had been begging him to do since the very beginning, until the breeze rushed past his face bringing with it a familiar scent.**_

_**His nostrils flared, and he perked up noticeably enough for Sakura and Kakashi to notice. **_

"_**Naruto?" Sakura called his name, wondering what he was doing.**_

"_**She'll be at the front, probably in the courtyard of the hospital." Naruto said, ignoring Sakura's confusion. Sakura's eyebrows twitched as she grumbled, angry that Naruto ignored her. Kakashi looked at his sunshine-blonde student and asked, "How are you so sure? She might be inside the hospital still."**_

"_**No, she'll be waiting for us." Naruto was sure, and though they were still confused, the rest of his team just kept silent and kept walking. As they walked, the looming, large white tower they were approaching got larger and broader, and they could see the various people either walking in or out or the courtyard for patients and visitors to sit in for a break. Coming up on the courtyard they started looking around for their designated person, who had their Hokage's treats. Kakashi spotted her first, and his lone eye widened in consideration as he took stock of her, but he decided to let his genin find her before he said anything— their observational skills needed work. However, when he returned his attention to his genin, he was surprised to see that Naruto's attention was trained solely on the girl, and he suspected the boy had caught sight of her as soon as they stepped foot on the premises, even before he had. **_

"_**Green dress and pink apron . . . Sasuke-kun do you see her?" Sakura asked her crush, not looking around so much as training her eyes on the surly boy.**_

"_**No, she's probably sitting down instead of doing her job and looking around for us . . . though, I suppose you can't expect much from a civilian." Sasuke said with a slight inflection of scorn in his otherwise apathetic tone of voice.**_

_**Kakashi noticed the slight tensing of Naruto's body, so decided to intervene before-hand. "I might have forgotten to tell you this, but the girl was asked by Hokage-sama to not make it too easy for you . . . this is, after all, supposed to be a learning experience. Think of it as a sort of baby-tracking mission. One you and Sakura are failing horribly." Kakashi said reproachfully. **_

_**Sakura blushed while Sasuke just snorted, before he caught that last bit. "What do you mean just me and Sakura?" he demanded, turning to glare at the dobe. **_

"_**Dobe, you see her?" he asked the blonde, angry when the boy didn't even turn around to answer him.**_

"_**Of course, that hair is unmistakable." Naruto said briefly, before hollering out, "Oi, Katsu!" **_

_**The rest of Team Seven watched as a girl who was previously sitting with her back to them in an off the shoulder long green dress stood up. Sakura gawped at her long and thick mane of orange hair, looking like a dark fire under the shade of the tree she was under, whilst Sasuke just looked curiously at it and Kakashi considered the bright locks. Katsu turned around with a cheeky grin, waving at Team Seven.**_

"_**Well, come on." Naruto said insistently as he started off to meet Katsu halfway, only half noticing his other two teammates jerking in surprise and catching up behind him. Sakura tensed up, automatically suspicious of the girl she'd only seen once, thinking she might be another fan of Sasuke-kun. Katsu and Team Seven met in the middle of the courtyard, where Kakashi stepped forward and retrieved the box from Katsu.**_

"_**Well done Team Seven! A reward for you." Katsu said with a smile as she handed each member a small little bag where a sweet smell came up to caress the olfactory senses of each one of them. They each opened their bags up, looking inside to see a different sweet treat for each. They thanked her happily and then compared each other's treats.**_

"_**Hey, how come Naruto has the best one?" Sakura complained with a frown as she looked up into the bright gold eyes of Katsu— belatedly, she noticed that her hair brightened up considerably under the sun.**_

"_**Best friend privileges of course Haruno-san." Katsu giggled, winking at Naruto as he grinned foxily.**_

"_**Oh? I don't recall you mentioning such a pretty girl to us, Naruto." Kakashi joked, smiling at Katsu. Katsu returned his smile with a polite one of her own, but only Naruto could see the lack of cheer her smiles usually carried.**_

"_**I did, Kakashi-sensei. This is Kuroshio Katsuhime, my best friend since we were little kids. Katsu, these are my teammates Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, and my sensei Hatake Kakashi." Naruto said as he stepped away from his team to stand side-by-side with Katsu. Katsu grinned at the two, waving cheerily, before looking up at Kakashi.**_

"_**It's a pleasure to meet you, Katsuhime-chan." Kakashi said in a lazy yet pleasant tone. Katsu bowed shortly to the man, returning with a, "Likewise, Hatake-san."**_

"_**Just Kakashi is fine." Kakashi said, waving away the formality.**_

"_**Oh no, I'm sorry Hatake-san but I would never be so familiar with a respectable ninja such as yourself— especially seeing as we've only just met." Her words were extremely polite and said in a tone of utmost composure— but everyone fancied that they could feel the coldness hidden in the words.**_

"_**Well, if that's the way it's going to be . . . no helping it." Kakashi said pleasantly, not showing his reaction to her polite iciness. "But, perhaps you want to get to know my other genin a bit before we leave?"**_

"_**That would be nice, but we'll have to do it here and be quick, Haruhi-san is in a right mood today." Katsu laughed. "So, Haruno-san, Uchiha-san, are there any missions that stand out to you so far? Naruto tells me that you're doing the ninja equivalent of chores at the moment."**_

_**Sakura nodded, still a little wary of the girl, as much for her prettiness possibly attracting Sasuke as her seemingly only having interest in Naruto. "Yes, but that's mandatory. Kakasshi-sensei has us either running aroud on D-ranks or going through teamwork and exercise drills, it's horrible!" she half complained, half joked as she giggled with the other girl.**_

"_**Oh, well, at least you guys are getting stronger, ne? So you can beat up any bad guy with ease once you start doing . . . oh, what were they again . . . C-ranks?" Katsu finished up sheepishly, as if she didn't already know the mission rankings and protocol for it.**_

"_**Hn. I don't see how just continually doing teamwork drills and sparring makes us any stronger. It's all pointless." Sasuke said coldly, not even looking at Katsu. She was of no interest to him anyway, and anyone who stuck by the dobe like her had no value in his humble opinion . . . pfft. **_

"_**Oh? Shika-kun from Asuma-san's team tells me that they don't really do much either, just play shogi or feed Chouji, perhaps get raved at by Yamanaka-chan." Katsu giggled, but Naruto suddenly felt like a landslide was coming at them. "Demo, you know, Hinata-chan says that her team is having so much fun tree hopping! That chakra exercise is worth it to learn, if her testimony is anything to go by."**_

'_**So that's her game.' Naruto suddenly realized, before biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. From underneath his blonde bangs, he glimpsed up at Kakashi-sensei to see him giving Katsu a long glance, though he quickly looked away when Kakashi-sensei turned to hi.**_

"_**My, you're certainly knowledgeable! You must be a good listener, Naruto is lucky to have a friend such as you." Even though Kakashi meant it, he knew what she had done, though he didn't know why, so he was a little annoyed. His annoyance increased when he saw Sasuke suddenly glaring at him like he had just killed his cat, and Sakura was looking offended— not for her, he knew, but for Sasuke—and he just knew they were going to give him a headache down the road.**_

"_**Why, thank you Hatake-san. Oh my! The time has passed so quickly, I'm afraid I must go. Goodbye, perhaps we'll see each other again sometime!" with that Katsu hurried off, dress swishing around her ankles as she walked off briskly. **_

"_**Well, let's go team!" Kakashi eye-smiled at the lot of them, and then used shuunshin even as Sasuke and Sakura started demanding to know why they weren't taught these things yet, and the others were. Naruto sighed, and plodded along after the two irate kids.**_

'_**Oh, Katsu, you just couldn't help yourself could you? I don't think you like Kakashi-sensei.' He thought.**_

_**Later on, when he asked her directly again, if she didn't like Kakashi-sensei, she answered a little reluctantly: "No, I don't like him very much, but you're welcome to invite him for tea or something if you want."**_

_**End of Flashback!**_

"Well, that wasn't totally unexpected." Kakashi mused as he leaned back against the couch cushions.

"She may not like you, but you can still have tea anytime you want, because it's only polite." Rin joked, laughing.

"She put you out there man." Obito sniggered, leaning over Rin to punch Kakashi in the shoulder. Kakashi righted himself as he almost fell over on his side, rubbing his shoulder with a glare to Obito.

"Dude . . ." Kakashi said.

"Work hard Kakashi-kun, we can't have you at odds with our future daughter-in-law, now can we?" Minato said in a faux sympathetic voice, when really his shoulders were shaking with the suppression of his chuckles, even though his girlfriend felt no such compulsion to do so.

**From then on, the three other times his team met with Katsu, the air between her and Kakashi-sensei was always a little . . . heavy. So, naturally, these visits were always short. Naruto wanted the two to get along, but his place in the situation was precarious at best. **

"Don't want to be seen as not taking her side in the matter, after all. They never take it well, even when they're wrong— which is half the time if not more." Jiraiya nodded sagely.

"Timing— do you know it?" Minato drawled, as he watched Tsunade cock her fist back behind his sensei's unknowing head.

**Katsu was normally an easy-going person who could make friends with most people. If she didn't like you at the start, chances were you would never be more than a nuisance of an acquaintance at best for the rest of her life. It was very hard to correct bad first impressions with her, unless she was in a generous or understanding mood. Naruto doubted she'd be generous to Kakashi.**

"Great, I'll never be invited to their wedding. I doubt I'll even be the uncle-figure in their kids' lives." Kakashi sighed glumly.

"Wow, you thought way too far ahead." Obito said, looking crazily at Kakashi.

"Ninja. It's kind of what we do." Kakashi threw back bored.

**Though he didn't know it, Naruto was wrong that time, as all known circumstances had their exceptions. This particular exception happened on a short day for Team Seven, taking only one mission that day after training. That mission: Catch Tora.**

"It had to happen sometime." Kushina sighed, shaking their head.

"Oh please, in two months you don't think they've caught this cat at least 20 times?" Rin snorted, Obito and Kakashi nodding along with her question.

**Thanks to Naruto's nose and Sasuke's handiness with ninja wire, they proudly held the record for fastest time catching Tora, the time being one hour exactly. **

"Impressive." Minato whistled.

"Damn you to hell!" Obito sobbed into Rin's shoulders. The horrid memories of those Tora missions, the scratches and injuries they all accrued— it nearly broke Obito's spirit.

"There, there, she's not here now." Rin murmured as she patted Obito's back consolingly. The adults all sweat dropped.

"**Congratulations, Team seven, efficient as always!" Sandaime congratulated the genin warmly, not even twitching at Sasuke's scratched up face and Sakura's rumpled dress. He was a better man than the rest of the ninja in the mission's office, I can tell you that . . . **

"The level of self-control . . . could I one day achieve that?" Obito forced out through his giggles.

"I'm thinking that's a no." Kakashi said with a small smile.

"**Alright guy, that's enough for today. Team, dismissed." Kakashi said with a bored tone.**

"**Eh? But it's so early, what are we supposed to do?" Sakura whined incredulously, even as they were trooping out of the Hokage Tower. Kakashi stopped and turned toward them with one half-lidded eye looking at them with boredom.**

"**Something to entertain or better yourselves perhaps. Maybe Sasuke could take up stamp collecting, and you could take up a bit more training. It wouldn't hurt." And with that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.**

"Ouch, burn!" Obito cackled.

"Kakashi really now . . . must you be so mean to your little genin?" Minato said in reproach.

Kakashi shrugged. "The world won't be nice or say things in a soft way. Isn't it my job, as their sensei, to prepare them for that with doses of tough love?"

"Touché." Minato said approvingly.

**Naruto cackled at the slack faces of his teammates, even as he mentally applauded Kakashi-sensei for switching out with a kage bushing kami knew when. Sighing, he decided to try and help his teammates out.**

"**Well, since we have all this time, how about we go out to lunch together?" Naruto offered, smiling gently.**

"**Not interested." Sasuke said shortly, turning around and walking away.**

"So much work that needs to be done." Obito sighed.

**Sakura looked genuinely regretful. "I would have liked to, Naruto, but my parent's bakery is a bit understaffed at the moment, I think I should go help out . . ."**

"At least there's an actual, good reason." Rin said approvingly.

"Yeah, and she said she would have gone if not for her parents needing help." Kushina added with a small smile. "There's hope for her yet."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Naruto said it earlier— her progress would plateau if they didn't do something to curb that." Jiraiya cautioned the two.

"**Say no more, that's far more important that hanging out with me— you see me every day, and we have a morning snack together! I'll see you tomorrow Sakura." Naruto waved goodbye, and waited for her to return it, before leaving. Sighing, he wondered what he should do, since he had far too much time on his hands, and no Katsu to fill it with . . . Naruto snapped his fingers. There was another team with too much time on their hands that he knew: Asuma-oji-san's team! He'd go and challenge Shikamaru to a game or two of Shogi, and that'd fill up some time. After that, he'd challenge Chouji to an eating contest, and then the rest would be history . . . **

"Does he know what he's asking for, challenging an Akimichi in a food eating contest?" Minato asked, a bit incredulous.

"He's got our appetite, and a stories high demon inside of him speeding up his metabolism. I think he knows what he's doing." Kushina assured Minato.

**Satisfied, Naruto walked off to Training Ground Nine, whistling a jaunty tune as he did so. In town, Kakashi had reappeared by the Hospital, but that was not his destination. NO, he decided to stop by for a visit to the **_**Sakura no Chawan**_**.**

"Oooh, a confrontation?" Everyone intoned ominously, looking at the scowling silver-haired boy.

"More like a plea for forgiveness if I know what's good for me." Kakashi said.

**It wasn't too far a walk, so Kakashi was content to set a slow, ambling pace, and he wasn't even reading his book! This got some strange stares from the civilians and ninja he passed, though the reactions of the ninja were a bit more extreme and comical. Some looked up to the sky with a slightly fearful ace for the slightest hint of Armageddon, while some others tensed up and started looking around, convinced that only an S-ranked emergency could make hime look away from his precious Icha Icha. **

"You're really dedicated. It's readers like you that make my job as an author worth it." Jiraiya confided in Kakashi, smirking in a salacious manner. Kakashi just shivered in disgust and fear.

**None of the above happened, but Kakashi was amused anyway. Pausing in front of the little café, Kakashi noted the small number of patrons, and chalked it up to being the calm before the storm of the lunch rush. He opened the door of the shop, causing a little bell to tinkle and alert the customers and employees to his entrance. A woman with short black hair stylishly cut and a slightly plump, ample figure bustled into the front of the shop, smiling at him with hot pink lips.**

"An admirer? You dog." Obito cackled, poking Kakashi. Kakashi slapped his hand away with a glare, turning the black look onto his sniggering sensei and girlfriend.

"**Welcome to the Sakura no Chawan! I'm the owner, Haruhi, Kakashi-sama. May I assist you?" she greeted him, leaning her elbows on the counter in front of her. Kakashi smiled at the woman politely, but decided to nip any ideas of bagging him in the bud.**

"Aw, come on, Kakashi you got to get out there more!" Minato whined, though the laughter behind his words messed that up.

"**Ah, I am actually looking to speak with one of your employees; she's a friend of one of my students. Might I speak with her, her name is Kuroshio Katsu?"**

**Haruhi hummed thoughtfully, before smiling at him again. "Of course! I'll call her up in a minute, but before that, is there anything you might want?"**

"**I fancy he's a chai tea sort of fellow, Haruhi-san." Katsu said grinning at her boss as she emerged from the back of the store, carrying a box.**

"How'd she know?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"I figured you for a black tea kind of guy." Jiraiya mused.

"No, that was my father." Kakashi replied flatly, ignoring the Sannin's wince. He shook his head at the man, telling him wordlessly no apologies were needed.

"**Ah, Katsu-chan! Kakashi-sama is here to see you. Is she right though, Kakashi-sama?" Haruhi turned to look at the man.**

"**Indeed, you're very good Katsu-chan." Kakashi nodded. He walked up to the counter and paid for a cup of tea.**

**Haruhi clapped her hands delightedly. "You sure do have an eye for such things Katsu-chan! Well, just fix his tea and then go on and chat with him, it's slow enough that I don't need your help for a bit yet." Katsu nodded quickly, already setting up a cup of tea for Kakashi. She went for the sugar jar, but hesitated, and then moved to grab the honey jar. **

"Oh she's really good." Kakashi mumbled.

**Putting a spoon of honey in his tea, she brought it over on a small tray, and they took a seat by the wall far from the window but not too close to the counter either.**

"**To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Hatake-san?" Katsu enquired, looking at Kakashi with a glimmer of interest.**

"She might not like you, but she'll be unfailingly polite." Tsunade tittered.

"I think I'd prefer if she just spit in my face, I'd know what to do with that, at least." Kakashi admitted uncomfortably.

**Kakashi put his hands around the tea cup, letting it warm his hands as he gave Katsu a considering glance. "Maa, I thought perhaps if we got to know each other a bit, this tension between us could dissipate."**

"**That's an interesting idea, in its own way." Katsu said impassively, crossing her arms and leaning them on the table.**

"Tough cookie." Jiraiya commented to himself, smiling at the looks of concentration on everyone's faces as they got into the dialogue.

"**Oh? You don't believe I came here just to make nice? That's not very nice of you Katsu-chan, aren't you thinking the worst of me?"**

**Katsu's eyes narrowed a bit. "I'm just surprised by your request, **_**Hatake-san**_**." She emphasized his last name, letting him know she didn't appreciate his familiarity.**

"Catfight." Obito sang under his breath, getting a pillow chucked at him by Tsunade.

**Kakashi sighed. "Is it so impossible I want to only get to know you?"**

"**No, in fact I think it's lovely of you to try. However, it insults me that you think I don't know that when you mean get to know each other, you only mean you'll get to know me and you'll just feed me a scrap or two of half-truth, half-bullshit. Let's not play games, Hatake-san, very few people know the real you. That mask goes deeper than your skin. I don't believe you'll really tell me about you. You'll just tell me **_**of**_** you." Katsu was direct and to the point, not interested in going around in circles with the man in front of her.**

The people in the room rocked back as if they had been struck, some whistling.

"Oh, she's got you pegged, 'Kashi." Minato said lowly, looking at his student from the corner of his eye.

"Debate! Debate! Debate!" Team Minato chanted.

**Kakashi blinked, taken aback. Then slowly, his eyes cleared up in understanding; he had underestimated this girl, and now he knew it. He chuckled, before drinking his tea—all of it in one gulp. Katsu blinked, she hadn't even seen his mask come off.**

"**Neat trick." She muttered.**

"**Thanks." Kakashi smirked. Then he set the tea cup down and leaned closer to Katsu, wanting her to hear him clearly. "Listen, Katsu-chan I could tell the problem you had with me from our first meeting. You don't approve of me being Naruto's teacher because of my habits, right?"**

"Wrong!" The group chorused.

**Katsu shook her head. "You've got the general idea, but you're wrong actually." Seeing Kakashi's brows furrow, she hastened to explain. "Naruto can take care of himself, whatever he needs to do to get stronger, he'll do it. My thing is the other two— not exactly your fault, I know, but . . . well, don't you think that instead of spending so much time trying to get them to be best buddy teammates, you could just give them the tools and incentives to do so freely?"**

"**If they're teamwork isn't good, then those advanced things will be of little use, since any formations common for teams will be beyond them." Kakashi argued.**

"Very true; I misjudged your actions Kakashi, sorry." Kushina apologized, recognizing the legitimate reasoning for them now.

"It's fine; it's still no excuse anyway. Teamwork might never come as well as I want it to, so what am I waiting for?" Kakashi wouldn't give himself the benefit of the doubt— the thought alone left him perturbed and confused about his own identity.

"**Yes, I agree, but let's cut to the chase— it's not about teamwork on the whole, is it? It's about getting the Uchiha to commit to teamwork, and eventually . . . to commit to Konoha."**

"So that's the council's aim— to keep the Sharingan in Konoha, they must make the Last Uchiha unfailingly loyal to them." Minato spoke up, frowning at the way they were going about it.

"Giving him his heart's desires and not even faulting him for anything he does wrong is not earning them loyalty, just a bigger headache in the future when things are harder to accomplish than he realizes." Obito surmised, his mouth twisted in a snarl.

**Kakashi snorted, appraising her. "I should have expected you'd be so in the know about these things— you are the Sandaime's surrogate granddaughter after all."**

"**You have the bad habit of underestimating your enemies, Hatake-san?" Katsu asked mockingly.**

"**Not usually— but you're a different case, and perhaps my time out of ANBU has dulled me." Kakashi admitted. "But back to the topic at hand— yes, I need to teach the Uchiha loyalty."**

"So I did get in." Kakashi said with both smugness and relief.

"It must have been after I died, I wouldn't have let you go in there at all, if not until you were thirty." Minato said darkly, sending a searching look to the silver-haired boy who wouldn't look at him.

"**His loyalty comes in the form of power." Katsu observed.**

"**Bonds before power." **

"**At the risk of hampering the other two member of your cell? Hatake-san, I expect better from a hero such as you! This is just your tiny rebellion from the council forcing you to take on the Uchiha plus two, by not giving the boy the power the council basically assured he would have since that night." Katsu hissed through gritted teeth.**

"Prepare yourself— the claws of feminine fury are about to unsheathe." Obito said in a commentator's voice.

**Kakashi's eye narrowed in irritation at the girl in front of him. "You just presume a bit too much, don't you?"**

"They remind me too much of Kakashi and Kushina whenever you two get into it." Minato realized with a snap of his fingers.

"**I call it like I see it." Katsu declared boldly, not backing down in the least from the ire of the powerful jounin in front of her. The stared each other down for a while, ignoring the curious stares of the others in the store, some wondering if the tiny waitress had perhaps incurred the wrath of the well-known Hatake Kakashi.**

"Yeah, I can see it." Kushina and Kakashi both admitted, grinning sheepishly at each other.

**Kakashi was the first to back off, closing his eye for some respite from the sunburst orbs glaring into his one deep gray eye. "Ok, so, what are you asking for exactly? If it's in terms of training, I'm not exactly keeping them behind. Most genin don't learn advanced chakra exercises like the one you told them of until their fourth month in."**

**Katsu nodded, having asked Hiru-jiji (her little nickname for her jiji) about it when she talked to Naruto. "Oh, I know, but don't you know these kids aren't normal genin? Team Seven has always turned out great people . . . in a manner of speaking. No, I think it's time to change your teamwork tactics. The ones you utilize now clearly aren't working, am I correct?"**

"I'd feel bad for any country when she's in a position of power . . . any country that incurs her wrath, I mean." Jiraiya said with a low whistle.

"No kidding. With her, any country will fall overnight." Minato said, impressed.

**Kakashi sighed, leaning back in his chair finally. "Yeah, teamwork has been suffering lately. But what else can I do? They aren't ready to work together, I'm kind of doubtful they're ready for anything big. Well, Sakura and Sasuke anyway. I know Naruto knows the Tree exercise . . . as do you." His eye honed in on Katsu then, who to her credit, didn't show any hint of what she felt about his sudden statement on her face, nor her body language.**

"**Naruto found out from a pretty snake charmer. As for your team . . . they may be cute little genin, but they are still ninja. A ninja who bases things only on theory isn't much of a practical ninja, right? For those in your profession . . . learning on the job is the most effective way right? Such things are learned best through experience, since they're so unconvinced teamwork helps with chores . . ."**

"A trial by fire." Tsunade summed it up.

"They'd have no choice if they didn't want to mess up the mission." Jiraiya grinned.

**Katsu trailed off, before standing. Kakashi looked at her, asking her to continue. However, by her set features and her body tilting purposefully to the counter, it was clear to him that she had said her piece on the matter and was done speaking.**

**Sighing, Kakashi got up. "Thank you for your time Katsu-chan. The tea was delicious by the way, exactly how I like my tea. Perhaps you know a bit more about me than you profess . . . perhaps even more than you think."**

**Katsu picked up his teacup, not looking at him. "Perhaps, Hatake-san. Goodbye." She turned around briskly, walking back to the counter to return to work.**

"Oh, that's cold." Rin said with a laugh.

"I've got a long way to go, future-me." Kakashi cheered on his future self, feeling oddly conflicted as he did so.

'_**Nobody except the Sandaime ever dismisses me so shortly.' **_**Kakashi thought bemused. **

**The next morning Team Seven was once again in the forest, having taken up a familiar mission.**

"**This is Hematite, is everyone in position?"**

"Hematite?" Jiraiya repeated, never having heard of it.

"A gemstone, dark grayish-silver in color. Must be . . . Kakashi." Tsunade observed, smirking at the boy's confused face.

"**Tourmaline, ready for your signal, Silver."**

"That's a pink one so . . ." Kushina said this time.

"Ah, must be Sakura." Rin told them.

"**Agate, ready as well."**

"I know that's black." Minato piped up.

"Undoubtedly little cousin Sasuke." Obito yawned.

"**Citrine, ready, with target in clear sight."**

"Citrine? Yellow, how pretty Naruto-chan. But your birthstone is opal, if I'm not mistaken." Kushina said, more to herself than anything.

"**Citrine, great codenames by the way, these are gemstones right?"**

"**Yeah, thanks Tourmaline, we can talk more about gemstones if you want after the mission."**

"**Now that that's all settled . . ."**

"**Sorry Hematite."**

"**OK, we strike in three . . . two . . . one, GO!"**

**As one, three shadows struck from the trees, converging on their target. The brown cat darted away, but it was too slow. Naruto caught it around the middle and gripped firmly, holding it out away from his body and face where the claws couldn't reach. Naruto looked up to the tree where his sensei stood on a branch, thumbing through his book. **

"**Ribbon on the ear and chubby— this is Tora, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto informed his leader, who closed his book with a snap.**

"Why did we always have to do that? We KNEW it was Tora." Obito asked his sensei.

"Just good habit, really helps for later missions as you ascend the ranks to be that thorough." Minato answered serenely.

"**Good job team! Now, let's report back to the Hokage shall we?" Kakashi said happily, walking back towards town. His genin followed him all the way back to the mission's desk, where they returned Tora to his owner, the wife of the Fire Daimyo. As Tora was squished by the very large woman into her bosom, Naruto felt a twinge of sympathy for the cat as he was nearly crushed by the woman's arms. His other teammates felt no such caring for the devil creature.**

"Hard to feel sorry for the demon cat that nearly tore your face off." Team Minato muttered as one, earning amused looks from the adults.

**As the Lady walked out the room with a yowling Tora, Hiruzen looked down at his desk, flicking through papers filled with a list of D-ranks. "Alright Team Seven, next we have weeding the Akimichi's vegetable gardens, cleaning the Inuzuka kennels, or—" a yowl of triumph followed by a wail of "Tora!"—"catching Tora again."**

"Fun times." Kushina said sarcastically.

**Naruto sighed, but kept his face impassive, even as Sakura ground her teeth nearly to dust and Sasuke growled under his breath. So imagine their surprise when Kakashi said, "Actually Hokage-sama, I believe my team is ready for a C-rank. They've done the prerequisite number of D-ranks, more actually."**

"Way to go, Kakashi!" Obito whooped to the shocked boy.

"And to think, it only took an upbraiding from a twelve year-old girl to get it." Rin said in mock innocence, giggling as Kakashi lightly shoved her shoulder. A part of her was surprised at his candid touch— she thought it would take a miracle to get him to be so comfortable with them. Then she sent a short, sad gaze to Obito as she remembered . . . it took a death . . .

**Hiruzen raised grey eyebrows up at Kakashi. "A C-rank, eh? Well, if you're sure . . . I believe Kurenai's team took the only C-rank, however, it was decided that there would be a joint team added, for the client to pay for at a later date. You would be escorting him to Nami no Kuni. As a matter of fact, I think Team Eight is coming back with their client now so you can meet him." As he said that, the door opened to reveal Kurenai and her team, accompanied by a slouching old man with a bottle of sake in his hands.**

"One of those clients." They all sighed, Kushina, Kakashi, and Rin frowning as they imagined how the man would smell.

**Naruto crinkled his nose a little at the smell of booze and sweaty earth coming from the man, though the faint scent of the ocean underneath all that was rather nice.**

"**Team Eight reporting with the client Hokage-sama." Yuuhi Kurenai greeted her commanding officer with a professional tone of voice, nodding in greeting to Kakashi, who returned it. Kurenai was a beautiful woman, recently promoted to jounin with her first team. She had wavy black hair and unusual red eyes, wearing a strange dress made of thick bandages with only one long red kimono-like sleeve. She had bandages wrapped around her hands and ankles, with mesh shorts showing from under the dress.**

"That outfit sounds a bit dubious, but I remember that Ten-Ten said she was a serious kunoichi." Tsunade said in a thoughtful voice.

"**Ah, Kurenai-chan, come in!" the Hokage smiled genially at the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha and her little genin, who bowed to the man. "Tazuna-san, this is the joint team you'll be escorted by, Team Seven."**

"Genjutsu Mistress? Sounds impressive." Kushina said, giving the woman credit. Due to her large reserves, she couldn't really do much in the way of genjutsu, save for breaking them.

**The man named Tazuna scrutinized the genin heavily, taking a swig from his bottle. "They look just as thoroughly unimpressive as the other brats. Especially that pink-haired one, her hair is like a beacon; at least the Blondie looks professional enough."**

"He didn't insult my sochi-kun, I'm good." Kushina said airily, giggling. The others shook their heads at the silly read-head, laughing.

"**Thanks." Naruto said with a small smirk. "By the way, is that Sake from the Frost Country? Please tell me it's at least ten years old."**

"A sake connoisseur?" Tsunade gasped with a happy expression on her face.

"No." Kushina groaned, looking helplessly at the two plotting Sannin. "He won't be this time around!" she hollered, shaking her fist at the two.

"We'll see about that." Tsunade and Jiraiya said, grinning wickedly.

**Tazuna looked at the boy for a minute before laughing. "You know you're stuff, boy! I like you, how's about you and me talk the drink for a bit?"**

"**If you've got enough to share." Naruto said easily, ignoring the gawking he was receiving from his fellow gening, Kurenai's disproving look, and jiji and Kakashi-sensei's funny looks.**

"Their client went from insulting everyone, to being buddy-buddy with him. Kami, those damn charismatic people!" Obito growled, throwing a pillow with considerable force to his sensei's spiky blonde head. He laughed when his sensei didn't even look away from the book over Kushina's shoulder as he caught the pillow before it hit him.

"**That's a question with an obvious answer." Tazuna smirked.**

**The Hokage coughed a bit to get their attention again. "Well, it seems everything is in order. Team Seven meet up with Team Eight at the gate, at nine o'clock sharp. Dismissed!" he said sharply.**

"**Hai, Hokage-sama!" the ninja said with a bow. Then they all left, Naruto and Tazuna wandering off to a low-key bar that wouldn't throw Naruto out in the red light district as they discussed which was better: Ta no Kuni sake or Mitsu no Kuni sake?**

"Ta no Kuni." Jiraiya said, at the same time Tsunade said, "Mitsu no Kuni." The dirty looks they threw at each other made the others wary, and Kushina hurried to distract them by continuing.

**Later that evening, after Katsu had come home and finished cooking food, just as she had set Naruto's plate on the table, in he came with a large smile on his face. Katsu looked at him strangely as he plopped down to sit at the table. Suddenly his hand shot up to grip her wrist, and she gasped as he pulled her down to sit by him, almost on him.**

"No manhandling." The woman all said sternly, chastising the boy even if he couldn't hear them.

"That's not what you say when I do it." Minato whispered, his words practically a breath on Kushina's ear as she shivered from his lips' caress on the shell of her ear. Minato moved away, smiling when the others hadn't even noticed them as the other guy's argued with Tsunade and Rin. Kushina blushed fiercely, but hid her cheeks with her even redder hair, taking a deep breath before reading on.

"**So, how was your day?" he asked her after she had stopped trying to struggle over to her seat.**

"**Oh great, really busy but it was fun. You had an enjoyable day, I can smell it." She said with amusement, as she smelt the sake on his breath.**

"**Yes, our client knows the importance of sharing." Naruto said with an apologetic smile.**

"Sharing is caring." Obito and Jiraiya sang, giving each other a high five.

"**Client?" Katsu muttered with a crinkling of her nose. Then her eyes widened as she looked at Naruto. "No!"**

"**Yep!"**

"**Congrats on your first C-rank mission!" Katsu cheered, throwing her arms around Naruto and swinging the both of them from side to side as Naruto laughed.**

"**I'm not the only one who indulged, eh?" he said shrewdly, making the giggling girl blush a little.**

"**Just one cup." She insisted. **

"What a crazy pair of kids." Tsunade laughed.

"I'm up for one more chapter before bed, how about you guys?" Obito crowed, pumped at their first C-rank mission, even if it was only bandits.

"Yeah, I want to hear how our son adjusts to actual combat." Minato said, smiling when Kushina enthusiastically agreed with him.

"Well, who will read next?" Jiraiya asked them.

"Jiraiya, you and I only got half of the same chapter. You read a full one, so take this next chapter." Kushina explained, handing the book over to the older man.

"Sounds good to me." Jiraiya said with a smile.

* * *

**OK, so review and let me know how that was! Oh, and . . . in terms of length of the story . . . well, i'll be putting up a poll a little later on down the road about wether i should add in the movies, i know for a fact i'll be doing crescent moon island, but the others? Well, when the poll is up i'll let you know, don't tell me what you think should be in here in your reviews, k?**

**Love,**

**Blood Velvet~3**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone! A new chapter, primped and polished just for you! Enjoy it to your hearts content!**

**BTW, to My Secret(Guest): . . . . sniff . . . my hero.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Naruto, it all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do i own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_ Chapter Eight_

_To Wave Country, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

Jiraiya cleared his throat with a large grin; he couldn't wait to get started.

**The next morning dawned bright and early, making the six genin preparing for their first C-rank mission feel like it was marked by good fortune . . . well, in a manner of speaking, this narrator supposes . . .**

"That sounds promising." Minato muttered. Kushina looked up with worried eyes, before returning her attention to the book.

**Sakura scurried around her room, checking, double-checking, then triple-checking her bag for enough weapons, enough clothes, and enough toiletries— she couldn't stand the thought of smelling gamy or having ruffled hair in front of Sasuke. On second thought, perhaps she should bring that new brush set her mother bought her . . . she'd still have enough room for a couple of ration bars . . . **

"Change is often a slow process." Rin said, as if reading from a fortune cookie.

**Sasuke packed his bag with the essentials and nothing more. Plenty of kunai, shuriken and of course plenty of ninja wire . . . maybe a tomato as a reward he so rarely gave himself, but mostly just he stuck by the general guide given to all Academy students for what to bring on a mission.**

"Unnecessary. Most ninja don't even use those guidelines, just what they feel is better to bring for their mission, since the Academy guide bogs you down." Kakashi said dismissively.

**Naruto didn't even have a pack, just a sealing scroll that carried his things, and then some. The instant ramen Katsu got him would come in handy and those mangas if he got bored— he'd have his new fuuinjutsu book out with him to read on the road. Oh, and he couldn't forget the axe, and the Bo staff, can't forget that fuma shuriken, and those daggers he won off of Kaito last night, he'd put those on the holsters on his thighs . . . oh and the sheaves of sealing paper and the ink and brushes too!**

"Smart." Everyone approved with a smile.

**Hinata carefully packed her bag according to the Academy standards, then hesitated before putting in her flower pressing book . . . perhaps, Wave Country had some interesting flowers not found in Fire Country.**

"Flower pressing? That's a nice hobby." Rin mused quietly.

**Shino had packed his bag the night before, and he knew with certainty everything was perfectly ordered, so he just sipped some tea in the kitchen as he waited for the right time to leave.**

"Typical Aburame, so prepared down to minute things." Minato sighed.

**Kiba's room was messy from him ransacking the place to get everything he could cram into his bag. Chakra pills, an extra jacket, Akamaru's dog toys, his weapons . . . plus plenty of other miscellaneous things that would weigh him down, but did he care? Nah . . . **

"**Ja ne!" they all called to their houses as they all made their way to the main village gate, greeting each other as their paths merged. They walked on in relative silence, occasionally that silence being punctuated with barking from the Inuzuka partners. Upon arriving at the gate, they greeted their client, who was leaning on a small tree in front of the guard post with a bottle of sake already in hand. **

"**Guess we just got to wait for your senseis now." Tazuna muttered, idly twirling the neck of the sake bottle in his hands. Naruto smirked, looking at the grizzled old man.**

"**Bit early for a party, eh Tazuna-san?" Naruto asked politely. Tazuna gave the boy an amused snort, looking at the blonde genin.**

"**When you get to be my age, social etiquette for such things no longer concern you. Drinking time constraints are for green young'uns, not seasoned men who've paid their dues."**

"Very true." Jiraiya and Tsunade said seriously, faces somber looking. Although, the effect was ruined when everyone else was snorting at them incredulously.

"**You still have your debts to consider." Naruto pointed out affably, leaning against the tree next to the old man.**

"He seems oddly philosophical for his young age." Kakashi mused.

"Well, with his experiences, it isn't too hard to imagine him being more . . . mature, than the other kids in his age group, with the few exceptions." Tsunade answered.

"**Touché, boy, but those debts will be easily settled by the Shinigami's scales." Tazuna chuckled, offering the boy the bottle. Naruto declined it with a smile.**

"**The appearance of professionalism is often more convincing than actually being so, ne, Kakashi-sensei?"**

**The genin were confused to why he would mention their other team leader, until the mentioned man spoke up from behind them.**

"**Well, in my case it's the opposite . . . but for genin like yourself it's a good rule. It takes time and experience to get to be like me." Kakashi acknowledged, walking along with Kurenai up to the genin.**

"Boastful eh, Kakashi?" Kushina asked the boy with a wry grin.

"Not exactly boastful if it's true." Kakashi replied, shrugging.

"**Whoa, Kakashi-sensei is actually on time for once?" Sakura muttered with large eyes. Kakashi, having heard her, ruffled her hair with a cheery, "Well, even I am serious about my missions." He totally ignored her indignant mutterings as she fixed her hair, instead turning to the other genin.**

Obito sniffed, teary eyes looking at Kakashi. "You're . . . you're so warm with . . . with them! Why can't you be warm with us?" he wailed, finally throwing himself on Kakashi and fake sobbing into his shoulder.

"Get _the hell_ off!" Kakashi growled, pushing against the boy's chest and punching his back to get him off.

"**You guys ready to go?" his question was answered with a chorus of "yes!" varying in degrees of enthusiasm. With that, the two teams and their client started out from the village, following the path that would lead them straight to their destination. Naruto looked around at his surroundings with interest, but maintained his position around Tazuna. He had been outside the village twice with Nami-baba and Katsu, so he wasn't quite so new to the world outside the village. The jounin senseis instructed their genin to take either guarding positions around Tazuna or sentinel positions at the front with them. **

**For the most part the journey was quiet in terms of activity. While maintaining their positions the genin either talked amongst themselves or did their own thing. Sakura asked a question about hidden villages, which Kakashi answered in detail, but that was it for big conversations. When Naruto wasn't engaging in light conversation with Hinata, or occasionally Shino, he was engrossed in his fuuinjutsu book— though not so much that he was unaware of his surroundings. **

Jiraiya and Minato high-fived with smug looks. "Sealing prodigy, right there." They snickered.

**The only other person buried nose deep in a book was Kakashi, but . . . it wasn't for educational purposes like Naruto. Occasionally a glare from Kurenai would set off his danger sense, but it was the danger of being pummeled by righteous feminine fury . . . not a danger to the client, so no bother to him. Things continued in that vein even until the moment they stopped for the evening to set up camp. There was little fuss as they pitched tents and made their campfire. **

"Taking feminine anger a bit lightly Kakashi?" Kushina purred, with Tsunade and Rin giving her back-up glares of doom towards Kakashi.

The young boy just shook his head wildly, hair flopping from side to side. "Never." He promised.

**The only fuss was when Sakura made dinner, but it ended up as a burning, boiling stew. There was some contention among the ranks until Naruto and Tazuna took matters into their own hands— not only making a fine stew but presenting them with fish that, for being cooked on a stick and fire, was pretty succulent. Even Sakura, though she still wallowed in the despair of her deplorable cooking skills being shown in front of Sasuke, didn't feel bad enough not to take seconds of stew. **

"For a girl that spends so much time trying to become the trophy wife of the Uchiha, you'd think she'd make sure to polish up her skills in the kitchen." Tsunade commented idly.

"Some people just don't have that touch." Rin said with a shrug.

"You make it sound like you're one of them, but you're a good cook." Obito said with some confusion. Rin just shrugged noncommittally.

**On the second day, the first incident occurred.**

"Here we go." Kushina muttered, leaning forward as a bit of worry manifested on her features.

**Naruto's attention was taken from his book as he heard the faint growls of Akamaru and Kiba. He looked up at the partner duo, to the side at the puddle they were observing, and then closing his book with a snap put it away in a storage seal he had written on his skin before he left the house.**

"Sorry, but that's pretty good. Not many people would think to do that with seals." Jiraiya interrupted in a low voice, grinning sheepishly.

Minato, seeing the look on his genins' faces as well as Tsunade, answered their unspoken question. "Some think that it'd backfire, to make your body a walking storage seal, in a sense. Where does it go, they want to know?"

**This got him some ogling from the other genin, but that was alright since they had each other's attention and so the info Kiba picked up on could be passed around quickly.**

**Kiba saw the look of concentration on Naruto's face, one that questioned for hostiles, and he tipped his head. Naruto hummed thoughtfully, eyes flicking over to Hinata to make sure she had it. She hitched her shoulders up a bit before dropping them, and Shino shifted over closer to Tazuna. They caught it. **

**As Kiba moved from Kakashi's side to a position closer to Tazuna, Naruto slowed down to step beside Sasuke. They both looked at each other before looking ahead again. Sakura suddenly came up on Naruto's other side, but she was biting her lips rather hard. He huffed in amusement, and Sakura looked up sharply prepared to let him have it for laughing at her, but stopped and understood the warm look in his eyes. **

"This is pretty impressive for a bunch of genin on their first C-rank." Tsunade said with full approval, smiling at the efficiency of their actions.

"Especially seeing as this isn't really a C-rank." Minato murmured with a raised brow.

**It happened faster than the genin could react. From the puddle two ninja sprung up with long chains that wrapped around Kakashi. They tugged the chains. Kakashi was torn apart into shredded pieces. **

"**Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shrieked in horror— but she had to keep moving, the others had already sprung into action. She, along with Hinata and Shino, took up a triangular position around Tazuna in order to guard him.**

"Good, make sure the client is secure, leave fighting to the front-liners of your team." Jiraiya muttered, as if checking off a list.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Kakashi said sarcastically, chuckling when Rin punched his shoulder.

"As if we believed you were caught boy those guys." Rin scoffed, flipping her hair.

**Meanwhile, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba and Akamaru had gone forward to engage their enemies. The two enemy ninja threw their chains at Kiba and Akamaru, but some well thrown kunai from Sasuke pinned the chain to a nearby tree. Their momentary distraction allowed Naruto to shot forward between them and kick one ninja over to Kiba, and the other he round-housed for him and Sasuke to take on.**

"If your enemies are a part of a partnership there's a chance that they're weaker on their own, capitalizing on that is risky, but they're only option being genin." Tsunade continued off from Jiraiya's point with a calculating look.

**The enemy ninja snarled and dodged an attack from Sasuke. The nin made sure to keep both Sasuke and Naruto in their sights as he fought off both of them. Naruto and Sasuke made sure as well to keep his clawed gauntlet from touching them, those claws looked **_**sharp**_**. **

"Extreme caution against an older, meaner, more experienced enemy? Check." Obito mimed a check in the air with a grin.

**Naruto let Sasuke keep the man occupied for a bit as he did kawarimi with a branch behind the man. He put his hands in the ram sign, whispering, "Kage Buushin no Jutsu!" and with a puff of some two clones appeared. Immediately one clone popped to add more smoke so the enemy couldn't see, while the other went back to the side of Sasuke and guided him out of the smoke. Before his opponent could regain his bearings and sense him, Naruto went around his side and punching him so hard in the side of his head he flew and hit a tree, knocking him out. **

"No need for anything flashy, just stealth and a quick finishing blow. Very good Naruto, Sasuke." Kakashi murmured with an almost unnoticeable tint of pride with his words. The others noticed though, and Minato and Kushina sent fond looks to the silver-haired boy.

"**Good job everyone that went better than even I expected. What about you Kurenai?" Naruto waved away the last wisps of smoke, looking back to see Kakashi and Kurenai by the tied up form of the other brother he'd left Kiba to deal with.**

"**Yes, I was very pleased with the performance of our genin." Kurenai said with a small smile of pride, looking around at all the genin.**

"**Kakashi-sensei! Kurenai-sensei!" Sakura shouted out in relief, relaxing from her tensed position in front of Tazuna and putting her kunai back into her weapons pouch.**

Rin sighed. "You did good Pinky." She said with a small grin.

"**You . . . p-performed Kawarimi with a log, K-Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked the man, in a knowing yet timid voice. Kakashi looked at the Hyuuga princess and confirmed her suspicion with a smile and nod. **

"**Yes. I wanted to see how you guys would react to fighting an enemy for the first time, as well as check something out myself . . ." here he turned to a suddenly worried Tazuna, a cool look in his eye as he addressed the man with an icy edge to his normally lazy voice. "Tazuna-san, I don't think you've been very truthful with us."**

"Make him pay for messing with your cute little students Kashi-kun!" Minato rallied the younger boy, Jiraiya hollering his agreement. Kakashi snorted, looking away from them.

"**W-what do you mean?" Tazuna tried to deny, but his shaking hands gave him away. Kurenai narrowed her eyes at the man as she stated their observations, while Kakashi went to get the other ninja Naruto knocked out to tie him up. "Those weren't just some bandits. Those were missing nin from Kirigakure. Ninja from that part of the Elemental Nations are well known for completing their mission at all costs, no matter if they die for it. Why would they be coming after a seemingly unknown bridge builder?"**

"**Ah . . ." Tazuna floundered for an excuse, before he sighed in defeat. "Alright, it's true, I wasn't being truthful. The real story is . . . well, have you heard of a man named Gato?"**

"**Gato, as in one of the richest men in the nation's Gato?" Kakashi asked with a thoughtful frown.**

"I've never heard of this Gato character." Jiraiya said, frowning.

"New money most likely, must be one of those got-rich-quick-shady characters." Tsunade sniffed with a dismissive wave of her hand.

**Tazuna nodded. "The very same." He went on to regal them with a tale of hardship and sorrow that now blanketed Nami no Kuni like a plague and all because of Gato. His bridge was the hope of their land, but Gato would rather see him dead than have that bridge built— which is why he has ninja after his head, instead of regular old bandits.**

"That's so sad." Rin said sympathetically, placing a hand on her heart.

"Not sad enough for me to forgive you putting my son in danger." Kushina muttered under her breath with a sniff.

"**While what's happening to your country is unfortunate, that gives you no right to lie to us. What you need are a group of chuunin and jounin, this mission is B-rank at best, A-rank at worst, and not something for genin to do." Kurenai said sharply, looking hard at the man.**

"Exactly." Kushina nodded sharply.

"**I thought that when an extra team was added, it wouldn't be so bad and there would be no problems for the kids with some extra help." Tazuna floundered, not looking them in the eye.**

**Kakashi glared at the man. "Speaking of, the Hokage told you that you could pay for the extra team after the mission when you were able to. Did you not think that the same could be applied to a mission upgrade?" **

**Tazuna wrung his hands, nervous sweat beading on his forehead now. "I know, but I thought that if the Hokage got mad at my lie in the first place, the entire mission would be cancelled, and—!" He stopped himself, and took a deep breath, before blowing it out. **

"**I know. I understand, but—" Tazuna was about to guilt trip them, before Naruto cut him off with a blunt, "Don't even try to guilt trip us."**

**Naruto turned to his sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, let us decide if we want to continue the mission. I don't know about the rest, but I can't leave this mission alone now that I know what's at stake."**

"Damn, he inherited his parents' heroics." Kakashi sighed regretfully, smirking at Minato and Kushina's cries of, "Hey!"

"**Hmph. This will be a good test of our skills." Sasuke smirked, sharing a predatory grin with Naruto. Sakura looked less than enthusiastic, but she nodded her head to show she'd follow them.**

**Kakashi looked at Naruto before nodding. "That seems fine to me., looks like you guys have decided anyway. Kurenai? Will you take your genin and head back?"**

**The red-eyed jounin looked as if she would, but turned to her genin and asked them, "Is that what you want to do?"**

"**No way! If Naruto and Sasuke are going, I'll accept nothing less!" Kiba shouted with a competitive look in his eyes.**

"Lemming mentality?" Minato mused.

"No, typical male bravado." Rin corrected her sensei with a superior smile, laughing at the disgruntled look that twisted his face at soon as she finished speaking.

"**I will go as well, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata murmured.**

"**I as well." Shino stated.**

"**Well, that's it. Let's keep going then." Kurenai said, turning to her fellow jounin. He nodded, and barked at the genin, "Assume prior positions around Tazuna-san, but this time you must be even more aware of your surroundings. Let's go!"**

"**Let's go!" Naruto and Kiba roared, earning them a snort from Sasuke, while Shino and the others just quietly took up their positions.**

**There was a little delay as Kakashi wrote up a note for the Hokage, and summoned one of his nin dogs to relay it— a wiry, nimble greyhound wrapped up in bandages. The genin looked especially interested in what he had just done, but Kakashi made no move to explain it and neither did Kurenai. **

**As they moved forward, everyone was on high alert. The closer they got to Nami no Kuni, he duller and quieter it got. It seemed like all color was bleeding from the world around them as they moved further from Fire Country, leaving them marooned in a world of horribly dull pastels.**

"Oh Kami, not the pastels! They are SO not in season now!" Obito moaned in horror, reeling back.

**Eventually they reached the point where a boat would be necessary, and Tazuna assured them that he had secured a ride beforehand. No sooner had he said that than two boat appeared from the mist, manned by a thin and wary man with a wide-brimmed hat. They assembled into the boat, and their rower told the jounin one of them would have to row the second boat behind him. Kakashi volunteered, and so Team Eight was in the first boat while Team Seven clambered into the second boat with their sensei. **

"Aw, they don't want to be separated from you, how cute." Minato cooed.

Kakashi gave his teacher an incredulous look. "What are you reading?"

**They rowed on for some time, none of them speaking, making the atmosphere altogether uncomfortable. Feeling strangely unsettled, Naruto broke the silence by speaking to Tazuna. **

"**Tazuna-san, will we get to see your bridge as we row to Wave?" he whispered, but the question carried as if he had spoken it normally. **

**Tazuna smirked. "Why yes you will Naruto. As a matter of fact, it's coming up . . . right about . . . now."**

**He pointed up, and all of the ninja looked up. The genin all gaped (except Sasuke, Uchiha's don't gape) at the metal and concrete monstrosity that towered above them.**

"I wish we could see it." Obito sulked. Rin patted his arm with a small chuckle before a sudden pinging sound turned her attention to the screen. She gasped as she saw a message on there.

"Look everyone!" She pointed to the screen, and they all turned to see a message.

_Do you wish to see their amazement for yourself?_

_Yes or No._

"Well hell yeah we want to see!" Kushina muttered, picking up the remote and choosing yes. The pixels on the screen burst apart in a whirl of rainbow colors, before coming back to form the picture instantly.

On the screen was the bridge that Tazuna had built, and they had to admit considerable admiration for the craftsmanship and general impressiveness of the bridge. Then Kushina turned their attentions to a little lower on the screen with a squeal.

"Look, look, its Naruto and Kakashi!" Excited, they all crowded closer and looked where she was pointing.

There was Naruto, looking up at the bridge with an almost childish awe that melted his parents' hearts, and amused the rest of them. His axes were rested side-by-side on his lap, and his arms were crossed over the handles as he looked down and smiled at Tazuna.

"Oh, look at Kakashi!" Rin said, and their eyes moved to the right of Naruto, and saw a steadily rowing Kakashi who looked thoroughly bored. His hair was even longer, and despite the nearly complete covering of his body, muscles in his arms and legs were unmistakable. After drinking in the two that most concerned them, they then perused the others. Hinata surprised Kushina, as she realized she knew her mother, and the girl looked remarkably like her. Rin giggled at the sight of an excited Akamaru, lounging on top of his master's head.

"Look at the pretty boy cousin of yours Obito!" Jiraiya cackled, pointing at the brooding Sasuke. Indeed, Kushina had to admit the boy was very handsome, and looked very much like Mikoto, her childhood friend, but she was convinced that he had nothing on her sochi. They took a look at the others, commenting on the oddness of Sakura's pale pink hair, before getting back to the book.

"**Wow . . . its colossal, Tazuna-san! You . . . made this?" Naruto asked the man, breathless. It certainly was a sight to behold, and made him surer in his decision to continue the mission.**

"**Well, of course not me alone." Tazuna chuckled, but he was pleased with their amazement. Even Kurenai and Kakashi were suitably impressed, staring at the bridge for a moment longer until they returned their attention back to their surroundings. **

**Naruto fingered his dagger sleeves cautiously, but wouldn't draw them until he needed them. They were last resort weapons since he had no training with them.**

**A rustle came from the side of the rode in the bushes, and Kiba immediately threw one of his kunai into the bushes.**

"Jumpy." Obito teased.

"Or perhaps suitably cautious?" Kakashi pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"**Let's see what we got Akamaru!" the wild boy crowed, jogging over to where his kunai landed. After rooting through the bushes for a minute, he came up with a shivering, clearly terrified, white rabbit. **

"White rabbit? What season is this in the story again?" Obito asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed behind his lenses.

"Definitely not winter." Kakashi muttered, seeing where Obito was heading with this.

"**Baka Kiba!" Sakura snapped. "You scared that poor rabbit!"**

"**Actually, that rabbit is scarier than you think." Naruto objected with a grin.**

"**What are talking about Naruto?" Sakura demanded with a strange look to her teammate.**

"**What sort of rabbit is white . . . **_**in the summer**_**?" he asked her. Then they all heard the sound of something heading their way at a fast rate. Kakashi was the first to react though. **

"**Everybody get down!" He shouted, pulling Kiba and Shin who were closest to him down on the ground. Kurenai followed suit with Tazuna and Hinata, Naruto pushing Sakura and Sasuke to follow immediately. All of them got down as a large glinting silver mass spun over their heads . . . all of them, except for Naruto. **

"_What?_" Kushina and Minato yelped, holding each other tighter.

"No, hold on, I'm sure there's a good reason, Naru-chan certainly isn't stupid or slow, in any sense." Rin hurried to soothe the worried young couple, waving her hands frantically in front of her.

"Oh, he's doing something alright." Jiraiya snorted, motioning to the book.

**Naruto was too close to the edge of the road where the thing was coming from— he'd never make it without losing half his hair, and Katsu would murder him. Seeing the whirling piece of metal and recognizing it for a very big sword— as he recalled, Ten-Ten said they were zanbatous— he instead jumped **_**up**_**, and landed on the still-spinning sword. **

"Reckless!" Kushina growled. Minato sighed in half relief, half irritation at his son's actions.

"Creative . . . if nothing else he's got a handle on the enemy." Kakashi admitted through gritted teeth.

"Ha, I see what you did there!" Obito said with a laugh, making Kakashi snort when he realized his inadvertent pun.

**He hurriedly sent chakra to his feet just before the sword hit and became stuck in a large tree. Taking a deep breath to get rid of the dizziness faster, Naruto straightened up from his half-crouch, and found himself facing a man— no doubt the owner of the blade.**

"And no doubt your opponent; get the hell out of there!" Tsunade growled.

"**Hmph." The man appraised him, speaking through bandages wrapped around his lower jaw. "That was gutsy of you kid. One might say pretty stupid of you though."**

"**Naruto!" Kakashi shouted, senses on high alert as he saw his student standing so close to a very formidable enemy. Kurenai cursed, glaring at their enemy as she also readied herself to throw any genjutsu she could at the man. Naruto gave no indication that he heard him though, indeed he looked . . . dare he say . . . a little star struck?**

"Oh don't tell me . . ." they all muttered in exasperation.

**Indeed, Naruto couldn't believe that he was speaking face to face with such a person, one who despite his . . . reputation, he admired for his strength and skill. "Momochi Zabuza?" he asked the man, who for his part just raised— non-existent eyebrows? — At the young blonde.**

"Momochi Zabuza . . ." Rin muttered, nothing clicking in her mind for that name.

"Ah, he's a bit of a rising star these days, in the Bingo Book." Kushina finally recalled where she had heard that name.

"Mm, especially for his . . . performance in Mist's genin exam." Minato hesitated over the word 'performance', it not being nearly adequate enough to describe what Zabuza did.

"**Am I that famous?" Zabuza asked with a dark chuckle. He was a tall and obviously muscled man, wearing camouflage pants and a belt across his naked chest, with his hitai-ate slanted. His black eyes were narrow and trained on Naruto with something akin to curiosity battling with the hunger for battle that was ever present. **

"**Dude!" Naruto seemed to explode with enthusiasm. "You're one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen! Moniker, the Demon of the Hidden Mist! This . . . holy crap I'm standing on the Kubikirbocho!" **

"That dumbass." Jiraiya said irately, gripping the book.

"Oh no he is not going fan boy on an _enemy!_" Kushina said in a dangerous voice.

"**Uh . . . yeah. They make the genin with balls of titanium these days in Konoha or something?" Zabuza asked.**

"Only the Uzumaki." Minato said with a half-hearted chuckle. Kushina punched him hard in the shoulder with a scalding glare, even as Minato apologized and rubbed his shoulder.

**Kakashi answered, though his hand was already on his slanted hitai-ate, ready to pull it up at any moment's notice. "Only a few . . . Naruto being one of them, though I call it insanity."**

"**Kakashi-sensei let me get his autograph!" Naruto pleaded.**

"What? NO!" Kakashi howled, sitting up ramrod straight, then sentiment being shared with the others in the room.

"I forbid him from becoming a ninja if he's just going to be this reckless about it." Kushina swore.

"_**What?**_** NO. Get down here now!" Kakashi barked irritation and worry touching along his nerves, though he still remained in control of himself.**

"Good boy Kakashi." Minato said resolutely.

"**Aw, come on!" Naruto whined, whatever remained of his previous polite professionalism completely eradicated in the heat of his fan boy moment.**

"**Kid, why not. Got paper and a pen?" Zabuza ignored Kakashi's growl of warning, deciding to humor the kid before he had to kill them all. Naruto whooped, taking his sealing scroll from his belt loop and unraveling it to reveal a row of seals. He quickly moved to one in the middle, from which a sheet of paper and a pen popped up as he put chakra into it. **

"That right there . . . so many opportunities for his enemy to kill him! What is he thinking?" Minato growled, now feeling a rare anger bubble up inside him.

**Grinning, he handed them to the man, who grunted and took it, pressing the paper to the bark of the tree they were on for support and writing his signature. "What's your name kid?" He asked, writing out his message.**

"**Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said eagerly, grinning wildly. Oh, Ten-Ten would so hate him for being able to meet one of the Seven Swordsmen!**

"That's all you can think about?" Rin wailed, putting her face into her hands and shaking it slowly back and forth.

**With a flourish, Zabuza wrote up the autograph and gave it the kid, chuckling. Naruto yipped a happy "thanks!" as he put the paper back into the seal.**

"**Naruto you are **_**so**_** dead when I get you back over here . . ." Kakashi promised the boy with a dangerous look in his eye. Naruto shivered, but never lost his grin. **

"Oh, don't just shiver . . . feel afraid, very afraid." Kakashi murmured in a silky, deadly voice.

"Whatever you plan on doing, I advocate it." Kushina said firmly, knowing Kakashi wouldn't take it overboard.

"**Great! Hold on, sensei, I'm coming back . . ." He moved to another seal, right on the end of the line, where he applied chakra, putting the pen away . . . and then he swung his axe at Zabuza, his sheepish grin turning devilish. **

"Whoa!" Team Minato exclaimed, as the adults all tensed up.

"That was a sudden change!" Tsunade muttered.

"**!" Zabuza jumped away from the boy, landing on the ground and far from the group. With a growl of anger, he looked down to see a thin, clean slash across his pectorals, still bleeding. "Clever little bastard!" he growled out, looking back up to the chuckling genin.**

"Whoo! The kid just got a hit on a super powerful ninja!" Obito hollered, stomping his feet in excitement.

"**You're too troublesome with your sword. Makes things a little bit easier this way, you understand don't you? For what it's worth, I really did want your autograph . . . I also wanted your blood to stain my axe, just for bragging rights." Naruto explained lazily, jumping off the blade and jogging up to his group, straight up to Kakashi-sensei.**

"Could he . . . have planned that from the beginning?" Rin stuttered out, shocked.

"I don't think he intended having to jump on the blade, but from there he improvised until a solid plan was made." Minato deduced, before grinning. "Not bad. He's still in _so_ much trouble though."

"**Sorry, sensei. I'll take whatever scolding you have for me later, ok?" Naruto said lowly to his teacher with an apologetic grin, before moving back with his fellow genin to protect the bridge builder. Getting the other axe from the seal, he rolled the scroll up and put it back on his belt loop, keeping the axes held aloft. **

"**Tch. Showoff." Kiba grunted, though he felt his respect for the blonde rise a bit. Sasuke felt no such thing; instead he felt anger at Naruto's display of competency. **

"**Baka, leave things like that to our senseis, you'll be killed like that!" Sakura scolded the blonde in a sharp voice, glaring at the boy.**

"**I'm telling Katsu." Was all Hinata said, and that served to unnerve him worse than anything else they said to him. He gulped nervously, giving Hinata a pleading look and getting a stony one in return.**

Obito made a noise like the crack of a whip, miming the motion of a whip, much to the amusement of the other females in the room. Minato just made a commiserating noise.

"**That goes without saying but . . . nice, Naruto." Kakashi grudgingly gave his student props, though vowing to speak to the boy about trying to turn his hair white. It was already gray! **

"Awww!" Kushina and Rin cooed, the latter actually reaching up to pinch Kakashi's cheek. Kakashi snarled a little, lightly slapping the girl's hand away.

"**Sharingan Kakashi, that one of yours? Heh, you might not be doing so bad for yourself, but let's see what the other brats can do." Zabuza called out to the jounin, before turning to the other one. "Sorry, lady, but I'm not quite as familiar with you."**

"Sharingan?" Kakashi and Obito yelped, whipping around to look at each other. Ignoring the gasps and mutters of the others, Kakashi pointed an accusing finger at Obito.

"You! What did you do?" he snapped at Obito.

"Me? I . . ." Obito trailed off, at first making to deny any part of his new moniker, before he really thought things through. He looked away from Kakashi and stared at the ground, thinking hard.

"Maybe . . ." Obito whispered, successfully silencing the others. He looked up, staring Kakshi straight in his eyes, as he spoke his thoughts aloud. "War . . . it's one near death after another, isn't it? And I die in the war, we know that now. But maybe, just maybe . . . I managed to accomplish what I had wanted to do. If an Uchiha does not awaken their sharingan normally, than the only other way is through a near death experience . . . right before I died, maybe I awakened my Sharingan? And, because I wanted to give you something to remember me by . . . I gave you my Sharingan, or one of them anyway."

"Obito . . ." Minato and Rin murmured, faces downcast.

"That . . . th- why would you do that?" Kakashi yelped, feeling suddenly disillusioned.

Obito smiled in his goofy, larger than life way. "Because, we're best friends."

"Oh you and I need to have a long heart to heart." Kakashi muttered, roughly dragging his hand through his wild silver hair.

"**Yuuhi Kurenai." Kurenai supplied with a hard look on her face, before speaking to the genin. "Everyone, protect the bridge builder, while we handle this guy. He's too strong for you all."**

**The genin formed a tight circle around Tazuna, who was now shivering in fear from the rising levels of KI coming from the adult ninjas. **

"**Sharingan?" Sasuke balked, looking at Kakashi with wide eyes.**

"**The Uchiha doujutsu in an outsider? I would love to hear that story." Naruto murmured with a small smile. **

"**Hmph, I suppose it's pointless to trade the bridge builders for your lives?" Zabuza asked the two jounin, already knowing the answer.**

"Duh." Tsunade and Kushina scoffed.

"**Of course." Kurenai growled. **

**Zabuza snorted, before performing some hand seals, and then suddenly a mist came from out of nowhere to envelop all of them. Naruto couldn't see more than two feet in front of him. Kakashi lifted up his headband to reveal the acclaimed Sharingan, fully matured with three tomoe, and a long pink scar going down his cheek from his eyebrow.**

"You managed to get it fully matured? Wow . . . you're better with it than some Uchiha I know! Lucky dog you get all the perks." Obito whistled, thoroughly impressed.

"**This mist is laden with chakra." Hinata whispered from next to him, and he turned to see the characteristic bulging veins along the side of her eyes as she used her doujutsu, Byakugan. **

"**It's really messing with our sense of smell too." Kiba whispered, growling in irritation. Akamaru whined from on top Kiba's head. **

"**There are eight points . . ." Zabuza's voice was amplified in the mist, coming from all directions, it seemed. **

"Oh, leave them alone." Rin muttered petulantly.

"**S-sensei . . ." Sakura whimpered, clutching her kunai more tightly as all the genin shifted a little closer to each other, making the circle a little smaller.**

"**Throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, the jugular vein, the sub-clavian artery, kidney, heart . . . decisions, decisions . . ." **

**Naruto murmured to his teammates, "Kind of hard to do that now, without your big bad sword buddy." Hinata was the only one that giggled, but he could see the others relax a bit.**

"I hope he doesn't actually believe that. That's underestimating your enemy, something you do not want to do." Kakashi lectured.

**Their relief was abruptly taken from them by a rising, cloying feeling. It was like a thick, invisible miasma creeping into their bodies through their pores and nostrils, filling them with a feeling of dread . . . it left you feeling like you were about to be killed any second now.**

**Naruto growled under his breath, not because he was being affected, but because he could see his other comrades wilting under the impressive amounts of KI leaking from the missing-nin. Having the strongest of the biju inside of you really helped in learning how to deal and use KI. **

"That and you're naturally forming awesomeness which comes with being an Uzumaki." Kushina grinned.

"Sorry, I think you mean it comes from being a Namikaze." Minato corrected with a patient smile.

**Even the normally stoic Shino would shiver every now and then, and Sasuke . . . well, he was worried about that steadily rising, shaking kunai. **

"**Sasuke! Don't worry; we'll protect you guys with everything we have." Kakashi assured the shivering genin, smiling at them from over his shoulder.**

"**Don't give them false hope Kakashi." Zabuza laughed from somewhere in the mist. The genin were nonetheless reassured by the jounin's words, and tried to shake off the feeling of KI as best as they could while protecting Tazuna.**

"**Be on guard, he's a master of the Silent Killing technique. He'll come for us first." Kakashi told the genin, on high alert for any attack, Kurenai doing the same.**

"What's he going to go for you for? You're practically blind, perfect for him to get in there and off the client." Jiraiya said, frowning.

"**Unlikely. Why, you ask? You are not the ones he was hired to kill." Shino's monotone voice cut through the silence, his logic stunning them all as they realized the truth.**

"**Very good kid, but too late!" Zabuza suddenly appeared in the middle of their group, right beside Tazuna as he swung a tanto towards the man. Sakura and Kiba were the only ones to jump right away from the man, leaving their client. The others were merely jostled by his larger presence coming between them as they struggled to react, but luckily Kakashi appeared and blocked the swing of the tanto with a kunai. **

"At least you got there on time." Obito said, clucking his tongue.

**Kurenai came right next to them, and taking Tazuna into her arms, she jumped away from the two ninja locked in struggle, Naruto and the others following her. **

**Kakashi managed to parry the blade, and with lightning fast speed he plunged the kunai into Zabuza's body. The genin started to cheer, but stopped when Hinata pointed out, "He's leaking water!" **

**Naruto's eyes widened as a shadow suddenly appeared behind Kakashi sensei. "Behind you." He shouted out, but Zabuza had already stabbed Kakashi in the back . . . or rather, the water clone of Kakashi.**

"Sounds like you're taking that Sharingan farther than I ever could." Obito grinned at Kakashi, who snorted in discontent.

"**Hmph." Zabuza's form emerged from the mist. "You were able to see me perform the hand seals for the Mizu Bushin, even in my mist. That Sharingan really is impressive." **

**From there the fight really kicked into high gear, leaving the genin almost breathless from the speed and force the two ninja used. They felt suddenly weak, and a little unprepared. Things took a turn for the worse when Kakashi was suddenly kicked into the water by Zabuza. Sakura and Naruto winced at the hard kick, certain that it would leave a hell of a bruise, if not some cracked ribs.**

Minato hissed through his teeth. "Fell for that trap, Kakashi." He muttered, looking intensely at the book.

"I must be slowing down in my old age." Kakashi grumbled.

"Brat you have to be around twenty-six in here, that's not old. What are we then?" Tsunade growled, daring the boy to speak. Kakashi was no fool, he shut his mouth.

**Kakashi surfaced, placing some chakra into his hands as he pulled himself up to stand on the water. **_**This water . . . it's heavy, why . . . ? Oh shit. **_**No sooner had he figured it out when Zabuza performed his jutsu, "Suiro no Jutsu (Water Prison Jutsu)!" **

"Kakashi." Team Minato and Kushina groaned, upset that he had fell for that trap.

"**What a fool, Kakashi. The water is my domain, after all." Zabuza said, and you could practically hear the grin in his voice. **

**Kurenai cursed, running to stop the jutsu, until she had to avoid a swing at her from Zabuza's water clones. Looking around, she pressed her lips together in irritation as she saw three water clones moving in on her.**

"Gah! She should have stayed with the genin, they need her help!" Tsunade cried, grabbing fistfuls of her jacket as her nervousness kicked up a notch.

"No, she had to help her comrade. Without Kakashi it would have been very difficult to guard the client and them against such a tough opponent." Jiraiya said, a knowing smile on his lips as Tsunade snorted, blowing wisps of hair away from her cheeks.

"**Not so fast little Kurenai-san, you have us to deal with." The clones all said together as they rushed her. Kurenai growled, engaging the clones. She managed to place two of them in a genjutsu, but then they were dispelled by the original and replaced with another one, who nearly took her head off with a tanto. Foregoing genjutsu she stuck to tai- and ninjutsu. She was smaller and lighter than the clones however, so she was still having some trouble against the heavier and more built doppelgangers.**

"Oh this does not look good." Rin fretted, legs bouncing.

**While she was engaged with those clones, another one was making a beeline for the genin and Tazuna. Snarling, Kiba and Naruto moved up to meet the clone, but not before Naruto shouted some instructions from over his shoulder.**

"Ack! No! Do not engage a clearly stronger enemy without some serious backup!" Kushina gritted out, cringing back into Minato's body.

"Of which one is in a bubble, and the other has got her work cut out for her." Obito added, not helping.

"**Sakura, Hinata, Shino, take Tazuna to the other side and guard him! Sasuke, help us out, it'll be troublesome if Zabuza gets the sword back!"**

"**Who do you think you are ordering me around?" Sasuke grunted to the blonde, but he was running beside him nonetheless as they clashed with the clone. Immediately they were thrown aside like dolls, but they rolled as they hit the ground to lessen the impact. Kiba snarled and rocketed forward again, ignoring Naruto's hand trying to grasp onto the back of his jacket.**

"Hot headed fool!" Rin spat, slapping a hand on her thigh as she glared at the book.

"Whoa, Rin . . ." Obito murmured, leaning back a bit.

"He's my future cousin, I have the right to insult the baka!" Rin grunted, eyes focused solely on the book.

"**Dammit! Kiba come back we can't match him alone!" Naruto shouted, though it was ignored by the Inuzuka who was starting to see red as the Zabuza-clone didn't even give his full attention as he batted away Kiba and Akamaru's attacks, even going so far as to punt Akamaru across the field to fall heavily in front of Hinata and Sakura. **

"**Where the hell is he getting all the chakra from to make so many bushin and keep up that jutsu holding Kakashi?" Sasuke growled, fists clenching at his— all of their— weakness.**

"That is a very good question." Minato murmured, already having an idea . . .

"**There's something fishy about it all, but right now we have to focus on getting Kakashi-sensei out, and helping out Kurenai-sensei. I think I have a plan to do that too . . . ready for some good old fashion teamwork Sasuke?" Naruto suddenly grinned, breaking away from the serious persona he had when this mess started. **

"Finally, the party's about to get _wild!_" Obito whooped, fist pumping.

"**Feh, guess I've got no choice." Sasuke said blankly, but Naruto saw the tell-tale twitching of his lips. **

"**Look out!" Kiba called . . . at the exact same moment Zabuza's fists sunk into Sasuke and Naruto's stomachs, sending both boys flying. They hit the ground nearly ten feet away with similar sounds of pain, rolling onto all fours as soon as they stopped skidding.**

"Oooh!" They all said, wincing at what had to be a painful blow.

"Great help that was, Kiba-chan." Rin muttered, shaking her head.

**Naruto coughed, struggling to get up. "Warnings are best given **_**before**_** the act, you dumbass!" **

"**Shut up!" Kiba howled. "I was still mad over him playing us like that."**

"And that was a very good example of how letting your emotions getting the better of you can kill you, or your teammates." Jiraiya said, knocking the book with the back of his hand.

"**I'll fucking rip off his legs." Sasuke growled, before choking on his breath as he was suddenly kicked in the ribs by the clone. The Zabuza-clone was about to stomp on his spine before he was forced to dodge an axe to the back courtesy of Naruto, moving away from the enraged blonde and the struggling black-haired boy.**

"**Don't touch my teammate!" Naruto snarled, eyes glowing with fury, yet still stony somehow. **

"Atta boy, Naru-chan!" Minato and Jiraiya shouted.

**Sasuke looked up at the boy as he continued to struggle up, feeling surprise nearly take his elbows out from under him at the warning Naruto gave their enemy. He wanted to tell the dobe that he didn't need help, but . . . well at this point it'd be a lie, and his own weakness disgusted him. At the same time, though, he felt . . . no, nothing. He was an Avenger, he had no need for such sentiments. **

"Ugh, you dick!" Obito sighed in frustration, slumping down on the couch.

"Don't be so harsh, that was a breakthrough! He just needs time." Rin objected.

"**Heh." The Zabuza-clone jumped away to the tree his blade was lodged in, reaching up and tugging it out of the tree as if it was just a nail in a pincushion. **

"**Dammit!" Naruto shouted, helping Sasuke to his feet as Kiba bounded over to their side with a panting Akamaru, the three facing down the clone that had the blade. Zabuza-clone chuckled, and turning away from the genin, hurled the Kubikirbocho to the original out on the water, before turning around. **

"**Well, brats, it's been fun, but now I'm going to go finish off the pretty jounin over there before I come for the rest of you." With a two-finger salute, the Zabuza-clone joined the rest of his brethren as they converged on Kurenai.**

"**Now would be a good time for that plan, Naruto." Sasuke muttered out the side of his mouth to his blonde teammate. **

"**Yeah." Naruto agreed. "Kiba, go in and help Kurenai-sensei get out, we need a clear shot for the clones."**

"**What good is that going to do?" Kiba demanded, not really wanting to take orders from another genin.**

"**Just trust me! Besides, who's bigger on the hierarchy?" Naruto glared, stepping forward to show he intended to show the brash Inuzuka his place.**

"Ah the joys of being dominant." Rin sighed, before sliding her eyes to Minato in a sly look. "Right . . . sensei?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Minato denied with a polite smile.

**Kiba ducked away, scowling. "Fine, already! Let's go Akamaru! Jujin Bushin Rendan!" Kiba crouches down on all fours as Akamaru jumps on top of him, before smoke envelops the small dog, and revealed from it is another Kiba. Naruto and Sasuke watch with wide eyes as both dashes toward Kurenai-sensei, giving the clones some trouble while easing Kurenai away from the group.**

"Oh, very impressive." Rin awed, clapping her hands.

"**Wow." Naruto is impressed.**

"**Hn. The plan, Naruto." Sasuke is harder to impress, and waits impatiently for the plan to continue.**

"**Ah, you're right! How careless." Naruto says apologetically, before making the ram sign and murmuring, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" **

**Thirty clones popped into existence, knowing what the boss wished them to do. Without prompting, the clones surged forward, and before hitting the Zabuza-clones, separated into groups of ten for each clone, and then pouncing.**

"Ah the joys of mental connections with higher performing clones." Minato and Kushina sighed almost lovingly.

**Combined with the aggressive attacks of the two Kibas, and the clones found they couldn't handle everything as quickly as they wanted. Not to mention Kurenai throwing kunai from the sidelines with Tazuna and the rest of the genin with deadly precision.**

"**Here, the final step." Sasuke jerked his attention away from the fighting clones, still shocked at seeing so many. His attention turned to Naruto, who held out a fuma shuriken for him to take. **

"I'm sure a ninja of Zabuza's caliber won't be done in by a simple fuma shruiken." Tsunade said, frowning as she tried to figure out the plan.

**Sasuke's thoughts spun furiously. **_**That one fuma shuriken will be useless against those clones! What is he thinking; we need to take out the . . . real . . . wait a minute . . . **_

**Curiously, he took the shuriken from Naruto's grasp, and as soon as he had it in his hand, felt the weight of it . . . his head jerked up to look wide-eyed at Naruto, who merely winked at him.**

"What? I want to know, we all do!" Obito wailed.

"Shut up and we can find out!" Jiraiya griped, throwing a pillow at the annoying boy.

"**Shall we?" Naruto asked, making a grand sweeping gesture with his hand to where his clones were steadily being massacred. Sasuke gave no verbal reply, but the predatory smirk on his face was answer enough, and both teammates sprinted towards the group of Zabuza-clones.**

"**Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto growled under his breath, and twelve clones popped into existence, running alongside him. With a war cry, the Naruto's crashed into the Zabuza clones, making good use of their flexibility to avoid most blows. While Naruto and his merry band of clones were keeping the Zabuza-clones occupied, Sasuke ran past the group, unfurling the large shuriken. With an impressive leap into the air, cocked his arm carrying the fuma shuriken back, and hurled it with all the force he could muster sent it spinning with deadly speed to the real Zabuza.**

"OK, so they dodged the clones . . ." Rin trailed off, biting her knuckles nervously.

**Zabuza eyed the whirling Shuriken as it approached where he was holding Kakashi. "Not a bad plan, but not enough to get me." He commented, simply plucking the shuriken from the air and holding it. Suddenly another Shuriken appeared from behind it, whirling towards Zabuza with deadly accuracy.**

"Oho!" Rin and Obito shouted, grins lighting up their faces, until Minato brought them down back to Earth.

"Not so fast, he probably won't be done in by this either." He warned them, hugging a tense Kushina in an attempt to soothe both her and himself.

"**A hidden shuriken in the first's shadow? Still too simple!" Zabuza scoffed angrily, merely jumping up over the shuriken, hand still not moving from the shuriken.**

**Sasuke and Naruto both murmured, "Bingo," even as Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, along with his remaining clones. Zabuza's eyes widened as he saw this on the shore, and they nearly fell out of his sockets when the second shuriken suddenly popped into the form of the blonde devil child, who threw a kunai straight for him. **

"Wahoo! Hell yes, that's how we do it!" Rin and Obito roared, Kakashi jumping up and going "fuck yeah that's my student!" as he celebrated with him.

"That's my boy, yeah!" Kushina hollered, pounding her fists onto the arm of the couch. Minato hissed out, "Yes!" as both he and Jiraiya fist bumped, with Tsunade laughing beside him.

_**Damn! I can't dodge that, unless . . . ! **_**Gritting his teeth in frustration, Zabuza jumped away from the kunai, even though it sliced his cheek with a thin cut, and thereby dislodging his hand, ending the jutsu that trapped Kakashi.**

**With a wild laugh, Naruto dropped into the water like a stone with the momentum from his shuriken form now gone. Surfacing with a gasp, he watched nervously as an obviously enraged Zabuza headed straight for him with his Kubikiribocho ready to chop off his head.**

"Oh please, like I'd let you." Kakashi sneered, still riding the high of his celebration.

"Damn straight, Kakashi." Minato said stoutly, nodding.

"**Damn brat, you got me two times so many!" Zabuza roared as he bore down on the wide-eyed genin, swinging his sword down. The sword was halted by the reverse-gripped kunai held by a seething Kakashi, angered at not only being caught in a trap so simple, but at the man's audacity to bother his genin.**

"Oh snap, it's about to get serious!" Obito sang, waving his hands in the air.

"**I won't be caught with the same trick twice, Zabuza." Kakashi promised the man lowly. Without turning his attention away from Zabuza, he spoke to Naruto. "Naruto, that plan was brilliant. Excellent job on having Sasuke and Kiba help you."**

"**Thanks, but if you don't mind I'll just be going now." Muttered Naruto as he started a fast breast stroke to the shoreline, wanting to get the hell out of the way when those two fought. Though, he couldn't help looking back from time to time, and he was glad. He'd kick himself later for missing such a fantastic fight. When Zabuza started the hand seals for a jutsu, Kakashi-sensei was right there at the **_**exact same time**_**. Though he disapproved of the copying nature of the Sharingan, he would admit to a certain admiration towards the doujutsu right about now. **

"I feel the exact same way . . . stupid copying pink-eye." Kushina mumbled.

"Hey!" Obito cried.

"Sorry, no offense, Obito-kun." Kushina chuckled, lamely apologizing.

**Though it wasn't so fantastic when he was swept up by the surging waves produced by two massive water dragons, **_**and he was still in the water**_**. Gasping, Naruto was washed ashore, hitting the ground with a rough thud and an 'oof!' **

**Panting, he turned around when he heard a deep, pain-filled groan. It seemed Kakashi-sensei's dragon had won out, and pitched the now exhausted ninja into a tree on the forest's edge, not too far from where Naruto was staggering, Hinata and Kurenai rushing to him to help. Kakashi swiftly, yet calmly approached the downed missing nin, and Zabuza looked up warily into the steely dark grey eye of Kakashi.**

"**Can . . . can you see the future?" Zabuza's half-question, half-demand was almost frantic as he panted it out. Kakashi nodded solemnly. **

"**Yes and your future . . . is death!" Kakashi raised a kunai over his head, the metal glinting even in the muted sunlight of the area.**

"Corny!" The room sang to an uncaring Kakashi.

"Haters, all of you." He said.

**Zabuza opened his mouth to say something, but the only thing that came out was a choked sound of surprise as two senbon pierced his neck. The look of surprise was still in his eyes even as his life faded away, and his eyes closed one last time as his head dropped down onto his chest.**

"A surprise ally?" Rin gasped, leaning forward.

"More like a hidden enemy." Jiraiya said gravely.

**The Konoha ninja tensed up, looking around for the one who threw the senbon. A soft chuckle made them all look up at the branches above Zabuza, where a slight, androgynous figure perched among the branches, wearing a mask, with two jet black locks of hair on both sides, and a bun wrapped in cloth. **

"**Looks like you were right." The masked person said in amusement. Naruto cocked his head to the side, considering the new player. That voice was light, yes, but not enough for him to say it was a girl . . . but he couldn't for sure say boy either. But he knew for certain that the person was about the same age as them. **_**So strong, and only our age . . . **_**he thought. **

"Man, don't you just hate it when that happens?" Obito sighed in frustration.

"Oh, was it because you and an androgynous stranger nearly mad—" Kakashi started in a teasing voice, before Obito smacked him with a pillow. "Oi!" Kakashi yelped in shock.

"Dude, bro code." Obito reminded him firmly, and Kakashi subsided with a nod.

"**Who are you?" Sasuke demanded the figure, seething. Naruto's brows furrowed, looking at his teammate with confusion, uncertain as to why the anger popped up so suddenly.**

"Angry that someone as young as them is so strong, no doubt. He probably has an inferiority complex." Minato rationalized.

"Combined with the obvious superiority complex? That's just asking for trouble, how can those two even coexist?" Jiraiya argued.

"**Sasuke." Kakashi's tone was curt and stern, signaling the boy to calm down. Sasuke stepped back beside his teammates, but the glare never wavered. **

"**I have been hunting Zabuza for a long time now. Thanks to you, I was able to finish him off once and for all. My thanks, Konoha shinobi." The person went on, dropping down to the ground and hauling Zabuza's body up to drape over their shoulders.**

"**Yes, well . . . glad to be of help." Kakashi said in an absentminded sort of way, and Naruto as well as Kurenai caught it with narrowed eyes.**

"Kakashi? You know something's not right there . . ." Rin asked the boy what his future self was doing, and he could only offer a confused shrug.

"I have my suspicions, but, that fight was hardly enough to cause that . . ." he trailed off, much to the annoyance of the others.

**As the shinobi bowed his head to them, and made to depart, Kurenai stepped forward and told the hunter nin in a commanding voice, "Halt. What reason do you have to take the body? Is it not the custom of hunter nin to destroy the body immediately?"**

"So that's what was wrong!" Obito cried, eyes narrowing.

"That's no hunter nin . . . that's an accomplice." Kushina said stonily.

**The hunter nin chuckled, and gestured to the genin. "I thought perhaps I would spare your genin the distasteful sight."**

"That's a lame excuse." Kakashi snorted.

**Shino spoke up this time, adjusting his sunglasses as his cool and logical voice destroyed the cover-up of the "hunter nin."**

"**That is unnecessary. Why, you ask? In our line of work this sort of circumstance will occur again, and so it is better for us to get used to it sooner rather than later. Unless, of course, you don't want to destroy the body . . . because Zabuza is still alive." **

"If only he had more personality in his tone, he'd make a great noir detective." Jiraiya sighed at the waste of it all.

"He offends your literary senses?" Obito said, laughing with the big man.

**The group from Konoha tensed up, Sakura and Hinata gasping, as they all grabbed any extra weapons, preparing to go head on with the fake hunter nin. The hunter nin had stiffened as soon as Shino had spoken, but now he loosened up and was oddly relaxed.**

"**Just my luck to get such a . . . pragmatic group. Unfortunately, I don't have time to play with you." The hunter nin thrust his hands into the opening of his knee-length green-blue kimono and just as Kurenai had kicked off to stop him, he withdrew his hand faster than she could move and threw down a few smoke bombs. Kurenai skidded to a stop, hurriedly jumping back to the genin, even as Kiba and Sasuke threw kunai into the smoke. **

"Damn, no good! He's already escaped." Kakashi snorted gruffly, slapping his hands on his knees.

**It was for naught though, as both Zabuza and his accomplice had already vanished.**

"**Damn." Kakashi's voice was gravelly and hoarse; his body finally showing it's weariness as he swayed from side to side. "Need to . . . get . . ." Kakashi couldn't get the rest of the sentence out as his knees buckled, and he toppled forward on to the ground, unconscious.**

"Ah! Were you hurt during the fight?" Rin squeaked, wringing her hands together. Kakashi shook his head, grabbing onto one wrist to stop her hands.

"No, probably . . . I'm just tired." He said, snickering at their annoyed looks to his cavalier attitude.

"**Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura and Naruto cried out, running to the fallen form of their teacher. As they turned the man over onto his back, Kurenai appeared next to them, crouching down as she examined Kakashi's vitals. **

**When she leaned back with a heavy sigh, Sakura piped up in a shaky, frail voice. "Kurenai-sensei . . . will he be alright?"**

"Aw, you're so loved!" Minato and Kushina cooed, laughing at the disgruntled young man.

"More likely, she's worried her best bet home has just kicked the bucket." He said simply.

"That's cold." Tsunade laughed.

**Kurenai looked at the pink-haired girl with a reassuring smile. "Yes, Kakashi just has a light case of chakra exhaustion, nothing some rest cannot cure. Come on, we still have a job to do. Tazuna-san, how much farther is your house?"**

"What could you have gotten chakra exhaustion from, I wonder?" Jiraiya mused.

"Obito's transplanted eye." Rin and Tsunade answered promptly. The former blushing when the Slug Sannin sent her an approving, proud look.

"It's not his own and I think his body isn't able to turn it on and off, that's a genetic thing . . ." Rin couldn't explain it any further, and turned to Tsunade.

"Meaning, his eye is on all the time. Even for a natural Uchiha there has to be some chakra usage, so for someone who isn't built to have the Sharingan . . . the chakra drainage must be intense, even if you train it to maximum efficiency as the brat no doubt has." Tsunade wrapped up her explanation.

"**Not far at all. Pretty much a straight shot from here." Tazuna answered starting to take his pack off.**

**Kurenai nodded, bracing herself as she pulled Kakashi's heavy, limp form onto her back. With a small grunt, she lifted them both up, before she suddenly found her load lightened up considerable as Tazuna took the unconscious jounin from her. While she was a little thankful, her pride caused her voice to take a slightly hard tone as she told the bridge builder, "While your help is appreciated Tazuna-san, I am capable—"**

**Tazuna waved her off, and said gruffly. "I know, you're a ninja and super strong and all that. But, it's better if you guard the kids and me without such a burden. Besides, I'm a bridge builder, this guy's nothing for me." **

**Kurenai looked at him for a moment, before nodding her assent. Taking Tazuna's pack to make his job easier, she rounded up the genin. **

"**Come on everyone; follow Tazuna-san so we can get to somewhere safe for now."**

"They're safe for now, but the most dangerous part is yet to come." Jiraiya grumbled.

"**Hai!" the genin said quietly, falling in line behind Kurenai and Tazuna, as they walked through the forest on its worn path to his house. Arriving at the house, they were greeted with a decent sized, two-story house that looked to be in excellent condition. They all congregated on the porch as Tazuna knocked on the door. After a minute, the door swung open as a slim, pretty woman rushed out and embraced Tazuna.**

"Whoa, young hotter wife?" Obito waggled his eyebrows.

"He's a bridge builder, not the owner of the island." Rin said.

"That was so superficial, I am surprised at you." Obito told Rin in a disappointed tone. She just shrugged her shoulders in a 'what-can-you-do?' manner.

"**Father, I'm so glad you're home safe!" The woman exclaimed, before taking notice of the ninja crowded on her porch.**

"See?" Rin gloated. Obito looked away from her, huffing.

"**I'm sorry, where are manners? Come in, please, and— is he hurt?" the woman asked in concern, moving into the house and aside so the others could troop in.**

"**He just needs to rest ma'am. Is there a room where we could put him?" Kurenai asked the woman, taking off her shoes as was proper. The other genin followed suit, as the woman smiled and answered, "Yes, I just need to put a futon down. I'm Tsunami by the way, miss . . . ?"**

"**Kurenai, and thank you very much Tsunami-san." Kurenai smiled, watching as Tsunami bustled up the stairs, with Tazuna stomping up behind her, grumbling about such a small guy being so damn heavy.**

"Small?" Kakashi parroted, extremely offended.

"Face it Kakashi, you've just got a slim build. You'll never be a beefed-up sort of guy— embrace it! Lots of girls prefer guys like that, who can't get too big!" Kushina said supportively.

Minato coughed, struggling to hide a grin. Kushina growled, face flaring with a blush. "Pervert!" She shouted, raining punches on a sniggering Minato. Jiraiya turned a stunned look on Minato, before suddenly looking as if he might cry.

"Minato . . . you were listening to me . . . you were just hiding it all along." A tearful Jiraiya mumbled.

Tsunade scoffed. "I don't think he's serious about it like you." She said.

**She watched them until they were out of sight, and then lowered her head to stare at the floor, processing all that had happened so far.**

"**Kurenai-sensei." She was snapped out of her musings by Naruto, and she turned to see him, as well as the others, all staring at her. He was the only one who didn't look nervous or concerned.**

"Like a BOSS." Obito and Kakashi said smugly, fist bumping.

"**What shall we do now, Kurenai-sensei . . . ?" he asked, looking at the red-eyed woman.**

_**Do? What can— oh of course! Come on, Kurenai, don't lose it now. **_**She snapped to herself. Answering Naruto she said, "We'll just have to do guarding shifts for now. Let's see . . . I'll mix it up instead of doing it by teams, it's better to pool together our best characteristics instead of being strong on only one front. So it'll be . . . Sasuke, Shino, and Hinata, followed by Kiba, Akamaru, and Naruto. Naruto, if you don't mind, after I take over for you guys will you make some clones to help me guard the house?"**

**Naruto nodded with a gentle smile. "Of course, Kurenai-sensei. We start our watches now?"**

**She shook her head. "No . . . once night falls and the client and his family readies for bed. That's all, so just . . . take stock right now and relax for a bit. You all performed admirably for facing such a strong opponent. You should all be very proud of yourselves." **

"They really should, I don't know if I could have what they did during a C-rank turned A-rank." Rin said, looking proud despite saying that.

**The genin perked up a bit, smiles growing, as they finally relaxed and went into the living room to rest a bit. Kurenai smiled at their exhausted forms slumping down onto the ground, before blowing out a heavy sigh as she looked up the stairs again. **

_**We've got our work cut out for us. **_**She thought, before joining the genin. **

"What an exhausting chapter!" Jiraiya sighed, rolling his shoulders to relieve some tension. The others agreed with him, rising up from the couches to retire. Tomorrow, they'd be up bright and early to read on.

* * *

**Well, review and let me know how that was. Also, guys, i love you . . . bt i don't know if i can continually keep looking up the japanese versions of the jutsu. You don't mid if i stick to english right?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey there everyone! First things first. I have an announcement about the update schedule: Right now i am on vacation, so while this chapter is still on time as the chapter of the week, it's a little late considering its usually out on tuesday or wednesday right? Anyway, please take into consideration that this . . . and perhaps the next chapter . . . will be the last chapters that come out on that weekly basis i had set up for this summer. I am a freshman in college now, and i need to focus on that. So chapters . . . will come as they will. Sorry, but i CAN promise a wait no longer than . . . two, two-and-a-half months. Sucks but, what can you do? School . . . . and work, come first.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Also, i don't own any songs, either english or japanese. **

* * *

_Chapter Nine_

_Step in Shadows, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

Minato and Kushina woke earlier than everyone else, but instead of getting up, they decided to lie in bed for a little while longer and think about what this story meant exactly not only for them, but for their son.

"He's such a good boy, even with his . . . quirks." Kushina murmured, her voice still husky with sleep as she stretched leisurely in Minato's arms. Minato brought her body even closer to him, nuzzling into the silky long red waterfall of her hair.

"Mm, yes, but . . . that makes our task all the more difficult." He spoke just as quietly as Kushina, the hushed atmosphere and Kushina's warmth almost lulling him back to sleep.

Kushina turned her head, looking at him over her shoulder. "What do you mean?"

Minato kissed the top of her head, thinking of how best to explain himself. "He's gotten so far without us . . . basically with just Katsu and her grandmother, not to mention the other parts of the family he's created. So, when we change our fate, and live . . . he won't be the same Naruto we read about will he? Will you be fine with that?" Blinking as she wriggled in his embrace, Minato lifted his upper body up on his elbows to look down on his girlfriend, who had now turned on her back to glare at him.

"Stupid, how can you say that about our son?! Are you saying he won't be as sweet with people there to love him from the start, that he'll be some spoiled brat?!" Kushina's voice had raised, though not enough to disturb anyone else outside their room. They still hadn't figured out the rooms were soundproof.

"No, that's not it; we'll make sure of that, right? Plus, we've already agreed to pretty much take Katsu in. No, I meant that . . . will we find ourselves looking at him, and thinking of the 'other' Naruto? The one we're reading about now, and compare the two?" Minato hastened to explain himself, but wishing he would just shut up already as Kushina's face grew darker.

The minutes ticked by, and Minato grew steadily more nervous as Kushina kept glaring at him. Then after what seemed like an hour, something flickered in Kushina's eyes (Minato's own eyes narrowed as he deduced it to be laughter) before her face lightened up to an understanding, if somewhat amused, expression.

"Well, I suppose your concern makes sense. But, you know, it seems to me like he's just a naturally sweet kid. He's playful, a prankster to be sure, and probably very sarcastic— but a sweet kid. No matter how he turns out, he will still be our son. That fact alone is enough to secure my love for him. Isn't that enough for you?" Kushina asked him, staring up at him with her big, round violet eyes. Minato looked stunned for a second, before closing his eyes and chuckling.

"Yeah, of course it is." Minato assured her, leaning down to give her a short, sweet kiss. Kushina successfully kept a blush from her cheeks as she smiled cheekily up at him.

"Great! So . . . get up." With both hands on his chest, she pushed Minato off to the side of the bed, giggling at his disgruntled look when he flopped over by her side. Rising up from the bed, she scooted over to the side of the bed and rose up, stretching one more time.

"I'm going to go and take a bath, and then I'm cooking breakfast. Want to help?" She offered him her hand as she turned to him, which he took with an all too innocent smile.

"Sure, I'd love to help you bathe; I know it's kind of tough to wash your back alone, right?" He answered her, cringing in mock pain when she smacked the back of his head.

"Pervert! Don't come in!" She said fiercely, and really, her blushing face was so cute that he felt that he had gotten an even trade as he backed down with his hands raised in surrender. So they took their baths separately, and then they both left the bedroom and walked through the living room into the kitchen. They stopped just inside the kitchen however when they saw a shimmying, humming Obito flipping flapjacks at the stove.

"_If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eyed Joe, I'd been married long time ago! Where did you come from, where did you go, where did you come from Cotton-Eyed Joe!" _Obito sang, though the lyrics were a little difficult to make out as he kept cackling while he was singing.

"Cotton-Eyed Joe? That is . . . seriously old." Kushina said, stifling some laughter. Obito yelped, whirling around to look at them with wide eyes, though he still hummed the song. He kept on dancing though, and eventually the laughter grew too much inside of him as he threw his head back and laughed freely.

"I know! I just like the chorus, you know, it's just so much fun!" Obito whooped, flipping the flapjacks onto a plate as he jumped around the kitchen.

Minato laughed at is student's antics, and laughed when Kushina joined in and they belted out a rousing 'Kung Fu Fighting.' The noise eventually woke the others up, who trooped into the kitchen fresh from the shower but still a little sleepy, glaring at the dancing-and-cooking duo.

The glares and half-hearted grumbles soon crumbled to light laughter and teasing as they filled themselves with food. They were so full off breakfast that they decided to forego the snack tray and just took a pitcher of lemonade that was just there in the fridge this morning, along with some glasses, as they moved into the living room.

Settling into his seat, and pulling Kushina into his embrace, Minato once again took up a job as mediator. "Okay, so, Jiraiya and Kushina have already read, so who will be the reader this time?"

"Actually, why not you this time Minato? This has been following the pattern from last time, but it was Obito who went after Jiraiya. Let's mix it up a bit." Tsunade suggested, picking up the book from the coffee table and offering it to the blonde man.

A little surprised, but happy nonetheless, Minato took it with a gracious nod of his head.

**It was two days later when Kakashi returned to consciousness, much to the relief of everyone. In those two days, Tazuna had decided to stall his forays to the bridge in order to let the others watch over Kakashi, something they were all grateful for. Well, except perhaps Sasuke who wanted at least the excuse of guard duty to get away from an increasingly worried— and therefor increasingly annoying and clingy— Sakura.**

"Well she probably just needs to be around someone she's comfortable with after that scary situation." Rin rationalized, feeling sympathy for the girl.

"An Uchiha that's comfortable to be around . . . he is not." Obito said slowly, as if trying to make a child understand. Rin shrugged.

"To each her own." She said simply.

**Naruto would watch their dealings with a mix of amusement and exasperation. Progress, no matter how slow, was still progress, so Sasuke had better be lucky she wasn't imagining their future together as much anymore.**

**Naruto noticed Kakashi's awakenings first, as he had been in the room where Kakashi slept at the time, to check on his bandages and in order to get a breather from Sasuke and Kiba's battles for dominance— never mind that Kiba knew already who was dominant (Him!), so perhaps he was fighting for second-in-command? — when he noticed a hitch in Kakashi's breathing. Curious, Naruto shuffled closer on his knees to a slowly wakening Kakashi, who seemed to be feeling the pain of his last battle.**

"**Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto called out quietly, placing a firm hand on the man's shoulder when he made to get up. "That would be unwise, it might set your recovery back." He chided the man.**

**Kakashi opened his eyes with a pained grunt, persisting even as the light of the room assaulted his sensitive eye. Blinking a few times to clear his vision, he looked around the room. He assessed that they had made it to Tazuna's house— when, he was unsure of— and that the genin were likely going a bit stir crazy, if the frenzied pacing and unrestrained growls were anything to go by. He looked to his side and up, seeing a mildly amused Naruto looking down at him with bright blue eyes. Ignoring the ghost of a memory trying to meld with his vision, he smiled cheerily at the boy.**

"You were suddenly remembering the times Minato-sensei was there when you woke up from overdoing it at training, aren't you?" Obito said slyly.

"It's not my fault; maybe he shouldn't look exactly like sensei." Kakashi justified with a haughty sniff.

"**Well, hello Naruto." He greeted.**

"**Hello yourself, sensei. I'll just alert the others." Naruto stood up in one smooth motion to open the door of the room, and call down, "Guys, Kakashi-sensei is up— geez don't run over each other."**

**He walked back to Kakashi, leaving the door open for the rushing genin who had restarted their race as soon as he finished speaking. With a wry, faintly apologetic grin, Naruto settled himself down by Kakashi's side again just as Sakura and Kiba burst through the door. The other genin and Tazuna followed at a more sedate pace, even as Sakura sat down with a whirl of red and pink, shouting in relief, "Sensei, you're alright!" **

"**Yes, I'm fine Sakura." Kakashi chuckled, still trying to struggle up into a sitting position even as Naruto started to dig his fingernails hard into the man's shoulder, willing him to stay down. **

"So you keep your stubborn habit of not waiting fully to heal, huh?" Minato chided the boy, spearing him with a look of warning.

"**Sensei, the sharingan is incredible, but if it takes that much out of you then maybe you shouldn't use it?" Sakura said with concern, green eyes picking out the places where she knew there were bandages.**

"Oh no, you fell out after a battle, better throw in the towel _Sharingan Kakashi_." Obito said sarcastically.

**Kakashi just smiled, controlling the urge to let out a bark of laughter. He'd had this eye longer than she was alive, and she was chiding him on overdoing it. His kids were just so cute.**

"**It'll be fine, I just need to rest a bit more." He assured her.**

"**A chakra pill wouldn't be unwelcome either, would it, Kakashi?" Kurenai said with a smirk as she walked into the room. He snorted with laughter, nodding, as she sat down by Hinata.**

"Hmm, I wonder . . ." Kushina murmured, looking wonderingly at Kakashi.

"No." Kakashi cut off her thoughts with a blunt denial.

"No, what? I didn't say anything." Kushina said innocently.

"**So, what'd I miss?" Kakashi decided to get the ball rolling, since everyone else seemed content to look at him like he had just been crippled. **

**Sakura, ever the informative one, piped up. "Sensei, Zabuza had an accomplice! It was a . . . well someone about our age, and he was really strong, we could tell straight away, and he just took Zabuza, who is still alive! Don't you remember all that sensei?"**

"I'm sorry, Sakura, I was kind of tying to fight off chakra exhaustion for as long as I could, but how dare I miss the details!" Kakashi scolded himself.

"**It's coming back to me." Kakashi grunted, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "Ok, so what else?" **

**Hinata spoke this time in her quiet, shy voice. "Ano, K-Kakashi-sensei, you collapsed, and so Tazuna-san carried you back to his house. That was two days ago, a-and since then . . . we've just been guarding the house, since Tazuna-san decided not to go anywhere until you woke up."**

"**Why thank you Hinata." Kakashi smiled at her— she thought he was smiling, at least . . . – some part of him feeling surprise that the village-renowned girl for being the shyest little Hyuuga to ever live actually got through all of that without stuttering twice. Hinata gave him a tentative smile in return.**

"The day she no longer stutters, we party." Obito declared quietly, grinning with Rin.

"**Kakashi, we're going to have to give these kids as much training as we can in such a short time. Do they know the tree walking exercise?" Kurenai brought his attention back to the matter at hand.**

"For those in the know: Did you get strong-armed enough by Katsu to train your kids, Kakashi?" Kushina snickered, sticking her tongue out when Kakashi turned to glare at her.

"**Ah, well, I had only taught it a few days before our C-rank, so I think that will still occupy them for the duration of our time until the rematch with Zabuza and his little friend." Kakashi said.**

"**Just how long do you think we have?" Naruto asked his customary politeness and affability falling away to a more serious side.**

"**I'd say . . . a week, perhaps a week and a half, he's about as banged up as me and that's how long I will need as well." Kakashi figured.**

"**Sensei, how are we supposed to train if you're bedridden?!" Sakura asked the man, giving him a look like he was crazy.**

"Please, this is Hatake Kakashi. Injury is mind over matter for this mofo." Obito informed everyone, fist bumping with a smirking Kakashi.

**Kurenai waved a hand up, smiling. "I'm right here too Sakura." She pointed out to the girl, who blushed cherry red and muttered a sorry.**

"**At any rate, I don't need to do much to train you, if I can get a crutch then that's all I'll need." Kakashi assured his students. **

"BAM! Efficiency." Jiraiya shouted out, carrying on Obito's joke.

"**Excuse me, everyone, but this man still needs to rest, and dinner is ready so you can all head on down." Tsunami said firmly with her hands on her hips.**

**Kakashi smiled at the woman, and greeted her. "Hello, you might be . . . ?" **

**Tsunami smiled at the man, brushing back ebony hair behind her shoulders. "I'm Tsunami, this drunkard's daughter." Said drunker put a hand to his chest as if he was offended.**

"**Why, I never!" He grumbled, though his hurt wasn't enough to stop him from taking another swig of sake from the bottle in his other hand. The Konoha team sweat dropped, but all eyes flickered to the door when a creak sounded from just behind it. There, peeking into the room was a small and solemn-looking boy, half of whose face was cast in shadow by his hat and decked in overalls.**

"**Oh, Inari!" Tazuna cried happily, arms opening up to beckon the boy into a hug. The boy turned away from them with his dead looking eyes, to rush into his grandfather's arms, small hands fisting into Tazuna's shirt.**

"Oh, so he's the grandchild." Tsunade said to herself, feeling like this child was a piece of the puzzle this mission had become.

"**Inari, be polite and greet these nice ninja. They will make sure jiji is safe while he's building his bridge!" Tsunami told the boy kindly, but the sad look in her eyes as she gazed at her son was at odds with her tone.**

"**But kaa-chan, they're all going to die!" Inari said, his voice stating the unsaid: that this was simply a fact, and they were the ones who were too stupid to realize it. **

"Thanks for that vote of confidence, really does my heart good." Kushina deadpanned.

"Why are you even taking the words of a little brat seriously?" Kakashi countered.

**Naruto suddenly understood that boys look a whole lot better, and so instead of feeling offense just felt a deep sense of empathy and sadness for such a young child hurting. **

"Such a sweet boy." Rin cooed, clasping her hands together in the sweetness of it all.

"**Kiba felt no such connection, and made it known.**

"**Watch it, brat! No stupid, greedy money grubbing bastard like Gato is gonna kill any of us!" he snapped, shaking a fist at the boy, who was unfazed by his passionate declaration. With an irritated sigh, Naruto's fist crashed into the back of Kiba's head, whose face crashed into the hardwood floor. With a moan of pain, Kiba got up quickly, rubbing his face.**

"**I didn't think you needed to be told that using such language in front of ladies is terrible, as well as shouting so rudely to a small child. Have you no restraint, Inuzuka?" Naruto berated the boy in a cold, quiet voice.**

Team Minato flinched, recalling memories. "Sensei . . . scary." They whispered faintly. Minato heard anyway and shook his head in mild amusement, lips twitching.

**If that wasn't enough to shake Kiba, Naruto's eyes that darkened to a cold and hard Persian blue surely made him snap his mouth shut with an audible click. The others also were silent, leading to a rather awkward moment in the room.**

**Unfazed by the now awkward turn the mood had taken, Naruto looked up to Tsunami with a smile. "You say that dinner is ready? Please allow me to assist with setting up the table."**

"He went from cold and commanding to perfect guest in a split second." Tsunade murmured with an amused huff.

"**Oh, no, I couldn't Naruto." Tsunami tried to turn down the boy's offer, but Naruto wouldn't hear of it. **

"**I insist, it would be rude to make you do everything." Naruto maintained, rising up and walking down the stairs with Tsunami to the kitchen. The others who had been left behind in the room all gave each other looks. Kurenai was especially curious as to why Kiba had capitulated so quickly, even if Naruto had shown an unexpectedly scary side. As a rule, Inuzuka only obeyed those that they considered the alphas of their pack, or at least someone dominant . . . was Naruto more dominant over Kiba? **

"Oh, was he too obvious?" Kakashi said with an mocking, innocent tone.

"**Well, don't just sit around, and let the food go cold. Someone bring me up some food too, I'm good enough now to sit up for a little." Kakashi prompted, snapping them all out of their shocked stupor. Everyone except Inari, who went to his room saying something about the ocean, went downstairs to have their meal.**

**Dinner was a mostly quiet affair, barring the occasional compliments Tsunami received for her cooking. When dinner was done, both Naruto and Hinata volunteered to help clean up with Tsunami, who blushed and thanked them for being such polite and helpful young kids. As was quickly becoming habit, there was a fight over who got to bathe first, which once again Naruto settled in an expeditious manner— girls first, youngest to oldest, followed by boys in the same manner. Kiba was still too shaken by his last reprimand to argue more over it, and Shino and Sasuke didn't care one way or the other. **

"A natural leader." Jiraiya muttered, smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

"And he _doesn't_ want to be Hokage?" Minato sighed in mock regret.

**That night Kurenai said there would be no need for the genin to continue their sentry duties, as both she and Kakashi didn't believe Zabuza would try anything in his weakened state, and they would need their strength for training tomorrow. Naruto wondered if that was a good idea— who said Gato wouldn't try something. But he kept it to himself for now; this was beneficial for him anyway. **

"He shouldn't keep it to himself, it's a good point to bring up." Tsunade said, as if scolding the boy.

"Well, he might not be as much of a team player as he plays, but it's there when it counts." Rin justified.

"Besides, this Gato doesn't seem to be one to do things in a proactive manner. He waits for a plan, if it fails he moves on to the next one." Minato said, getting Gato's personality in one shot.

**That night they all headed to sleep, not bothering with splitting boys between girls— it would hardly be fair and there wouldn't be enough room for the boys to sleep in the room along with Kakashi. So, it was a team to a room, and they all fell asleep. **

**The moon was high in the sky when Naruto crept out the room and down the hall, leaving through the window.**

Kushina _tsk'd _and shook her head. "Foolish! Did he forget the perfectly healthy accomplice?" She muttered heatedly.

**He was naught but an inky shadow melding with other shadows as he slunk through the forest, making sure not to get too far from the house. Finding a suitable tree, he walked up it and nestled into the bend created by a few sturdy branches, shaded by the leaves. Naruto had something he wanted to try . . . really, he'd been waiting since he was eight, but if noting was happening on its own, then he'd have to make it happen! With that single-minded determination, Naruto rested against the tree, closing his eyes. Searching, slowly, leisurely deep inside himself he took slow, even, deep breaths. **

"Is he . . . meditating?" Kakashi asked with raised eyebrows.

"It seems to be the case." Jiraiya muttered, also confused.

**In . . . out . . . searching a little deeper.**

"What is he searching for?" Obito wanted to know.

Kushina paled as she thought of what he might be searching for. "Oh, please . . . don't tell me he's going looking for the Kyuubi?" She whispered, but everyone could hear her as shock overcame their features. Minato hurried to read on.

**In . . . out . . . the breaths were now coming naturally, as he sank deeper into his meditative state . . . **

**In . . . **

**Out . . . **

**Naruto opened his eyes. There was no black forest, no glowing white orb hung in crystal clear night. There was a tunnel, made of some sort of smooth, black stone. It would have been pitch black if not for a strange red glow that he couldn't see the source of lighting the hall dimly; casting sinister shadows, and showing the ankle-deep water in the tunnel that he was standing in. Strangely though, when he lifted his foot out the water his feet and pants were completely dry. The water itself was warm and dark. **

"Where is he? Kushina?" Minato asked his girlfriend.

"I . . . don't know. That's not how I would describe the place where I hold Kyuubi." Kushina answered, nose crinkling as she thought hard about her own mindscape . . . wait.

"Could this be . . . his mindscape?" Kushina put her theory out there.

_**Is this . . . what my mind looks like? Is this what they call the mindscape? **_**Though he can't say it was unexpected, Naruto still felt a twinge of sadness that his mindscape was a sewer. **

Rin's nose wrinkled at the very word. "Gross . . . why is his mindscape a sewer? Is it because the Kyuubi is there?"

Kushina looked about ready to cry as she shook her head. "No, if that's the case, my mindscape would be a sewer too."

"So, there's a reason for it being a sewer? I'm guessing it's bad." Kakashi realized as he took in both Kushina's sad face and Tsunade's tensed one.

"Yes. Your mindscape is a reflection of your . . . mental state? That's as close as I can make it . . . at any rate, seeing as how Naruto's mindscape is a sewer; it seems he has a lot of psychological trauma. Though, if it helps, the fact that the sewer seems to be well kept, and more like a dungeon than anything, means that it isn't irreparable." Tsunade explained in her professional, objective medic-nin voice.

"How terrible." Rin said softly.

**He couldn't imagine it being a very comfortable place to be in. Perhaps, if things went well, he would see about redecorating soon, if it was even possible, of course. Naruto felt something pulling him, some deep instinct guiding him down the tunnel. He followed it, down the winding sewer through many turns. He wasn't worried though, he'd always find his way to where he needed to be in here.**

**The pull was insistent now, as he felt like he was nearing the place he was supposed to be in. He turned around one last corner, and came into a room— large, vast; he couldn't really see a ceiling. Just the chains and glimpses of dark, rusted pipes that was most likely connected to it. He looked around at the pipes leading up to the ceilings on the walls, the same smooth black stone as the rest of the place. But, the most obvious thing in the room was directly ahead of him— a large iron-barred door, with a slip of paper on it that said, **_**seal**_**. **

"Shut behind a cage? How interesting . . . in my seal, he's chained down on a slab." Kushina commented, gaining interested looks from Minato and Jiraiya.

**It was the Kyuubi's cage. It was also the very thing he'd been looking for.**

"It seems crazy to me to seek out the very monster that ruined your life." Rin said thoughtfully.

**Without pause, Naruto walked up to the cage, examining the bars, gaps large enough for two-people to get through.**

Tsunade's breath hissed between her teeth as she gasped. "Should he really be so close to that cage?" She fretted, looking to Minato and Jiraiya.

"I'd exercise some extreme caution at best." Jiraiya said with a heavy frown.

**He examined the simple slip of paper that held the door locked shut, deceptively simple in comparison to the seal on his stomach. Then, he peered through the bars as he leaned on them, into inky blackness, where something breathed. The slow, deep and even breaths of someone in deep slumber, and wasn't planning on waking up just yet. Even as he stood there, he felt the gentle breaths of the Kyuubi whoosh around him, his hair gently swaying with each inhale and exhale. **

**Naruto sighed in disappointment. "Just how long do you plan to sleep?" he asked softly, still looking into the darkness as if he could see the massive form of his prisoner. Honestly, he could understand that the sealing was traumatic and painful, but to sleep for twelve years?**

"Why on Kami's green earth does he want the beast to wake up?" Obito said incredulously, seeking some sort of explanation from Kushina.

"It could be that . . . the Kyuubi is his only shot at answers to the questions he has pertaining to his role as a Jinchuuriki." Kushina said dubiously.

"Like that evil thing would tell him anything." Kakashi scorned the fox.

Kushina frowned, feeling strange as she tried to justify both her words and the fox itself. "Maybe not evil . . . Does he really have to be evil for hating humans?"

"Are you siding with the beast that destroyed your life?" Jiraiya gawked at the Uzumaki princess.

Kushina flinched. "No definitely not, but . . . it's just sort of sad for him. He really has no choice to keep the world at bay, does he? Likewise, I had no choice but to keep him at bay."

As the others puzzled over her words, Minato considered the words, but decided to leave them for another time. They were heavy with a deeper meaning that he surmised not even she knew, but now it was about their son, and his encounter with the demon fox.

**Making a **_**tsk **_**noise, he turned around to leave. He made it halfway to the entrance when he both heard and felt a movement from the cage. He paused, wondering if perhaps the Kyuubi had just shifted in his sleep. The theory was shot down when a rumble came from the cage, one that spread ripples across the water, and seemed to echo in his bones. With curiosity plain on his face, Naruto turned around to stare into the half-lidded eye of Kyuubi no Youko, the strongest of the nine bijuu.**

**The eye blinked once, carmine and with a slit pupil, though any expression he might have seen in it was carefully guarded and placed behind malice as the eye focused on him. **

"That was interesting wording." Minato said, confusing the others.

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade asked first, one eyebrow raised.

"Whatever else the Kyuubi might have felt was hidden behind anger and hatred. Like the Kyuubi is wearing a mask." Minato explained, and noted as they all mulled over it.

"I wonder what it could all mean . . ." Jiraiya wondered.

"**So, my jailor comes to visit me at last." That voice . . . Naruto withheld a shiver. It was deep, smooth with a hint of roughness— if that made any sense, he snorted to himself— and filled with unpleasantness as it snarled. Perhaps that was just how it spoke, in nothing but snarls? The thought made Naruto's lips quirk up as he took a few steps closer to the cage.**

"Brave or foolish?" Obito murmured, feeling butterflies erupt in his stomach for the kid.

"I vote foolish!" Tsunade gasped, one hand reaching out to clench around Jiraiya's vest.

"**What do you mean, at last? You just woke up yourself. Actually, I'm quite surprised, it seemed as if I had another couple years to wait before you were ready to wake, Kyuubi." Naruto shot back sociably, smiling up at the slowly emerging form of the Kyuubi. **

_**Hmm, there's something you don't see every day. **_**He mused, observing the massive form before him. The Kyuubi had orange silky-looking fur, the only markings being the black kohl-like ones around his eyes that connected to his long, rabbit-like ears. His hackles were raised in, what Naruto assumed to be a customary, snarl. His front paws, well they weren't really paws, and they were indeed human hands with opposable thumbs and all. So, Naruto would say that his top half was humanoid, but the rest was just like a fox, barring the nine, long, ever swaying tails in the back— like a fire, Naruto compared. **

"He makes the Kyuubi sound . . . terrifying . . . but magnificent." Obito spoke his thoughts out loud.

"Magnificent?" Rin queried, looking at her teammate like he was crazy.

"Yes, haunting in its glory . . ." Obito muttered on, ignoring her disbelief.

"**Oh, and I suppose you were waiting for me to awaken?" Kyuubi chuckled blackly, looking down at his container with hatred and contempt clear in his eyes, even as he smirked.**

"**I was." Naruto said truthfully. Kyuubi didn't like that answer, it seemed, as it growled threateningly.**

"**And what were you waiting for me to wake up for exactly? To use my power? You could do that whether I was awake or not." It growled.**

"There's no danger . . . unless he's preparing for that fight?" Kakashi asked.

"No. The Kyuubi's chakra is an immediate thing." Kushina shot his idea down.

"**I have no desire for your power, nor do I hope any need for it. I simply wished to . . . introduce myself properly. Our first meeting was rather unorthodox, I'd hate for it to color the rest of our interactions."**

"Whoa, whoa— wait. Did he just . . . is he trying to . . . ?" Obito floundered for the words.

"Make a truce with the Kyuubi?" Kushina breathed out, her disbelief as palpable as the others.

"That's a . . . novel idea." Minato said positively, and continued to read.

**Naruto replied with amusement, the smile not dying from his lips even as he leapt away to halfway back to the door. The spot where he had been previously now being covered by a large furry hand, water sloshing as it slammed down.**

**The Kyuubi roared its rage, glaring daggers at Naruto. "And just what makes you think I want to speak to some pathetic mortal bag of flesh?! There is nothing I wish to waste my breath on telling you! Yondaime be damned for this cage, I'd have your flesh rent from your bones without it already!" **

"Fat lot of luck negotiation is going to be, it seems." Tsunade snorted with anger towards the Kyuubi for trying to hurt the child.

"**On the contrary, Kyuubi. There are many things you could tell me, and I dearly wish to know. Besides, you and I . . . are the only ones here. Might not it be a bit lonely in here, locked away? Even with the fires of your hatred burning white hot for me, even that won't stop you from trying to get some information on the outside world from me, if you were desperate enough. Sleeping can only do so much." Naruto countered gently, taking slow and careful steps back to the cage as Kyuubi withdrew his hand and arm through the bars.**

"He's persistent." Kakashi muttered.

"He's level headed. I think it's a good idea for him to try and form a relationship with the Kyuubi. That way if he ever needs its chakra, he won't be hurt by it." Minato countered.

"**Heh, trying to bargain with me boy? What will you get out of it, assuming I even care to hear of the outside world?" Kyuubi sneered, body shuffling back as his head lowered to the ground, turning to look Naruto eye-to-eyes. **

**Naruto sighed, managing to hold back his irritation quite well at the entity in front of him. Kyuubi couldn't really be blamed for his attitude toward humans, he knew, but **_**honestly**_**. **

"That's sort of like what you just said, Kushina." Jiraiya realized.

"Yeah . . . but he's taking it farther than I imagined." Kushina said, almost dumbstruck be her son's decisions.

"**There is no bargain. No tricks, catches, or anything of the sort. I was merely genuinely curious about the stories that you hold inside you . . . the countless centuries you roamed free, what you must have seen, must have experienced . . . I'd like to ask you for them all, if time were not the natural enemy of humans! More than all that though . . . I simply wished to have a better relationship with you than our . . . pasts would suggest."**

"Stories?! All he wants is a storyteller?!" Rin choked out.

"Actually . . . that's an interesting notion. Can you imagine the things the biju have seen, things no man could remember, or that was never recorded?" Minato mused, interest growing as his passion for learning was ignited.

"Perhaps those stories will be put in here." Kushina coddled with an amused smile.

**Kyuubi considered the boy, head rising to rest on an open palm. "Our pasts? You were a mere hour into this world at the time of our meeting." **

Minato and Kushina flinched in unison, their previous amusement dying as swiftly as a candle in a storm.

"Only . . . an hour? That's all the time we had, and even then . . ." Kushina whispered, distraught. Minato hugged her, hoping to comfort her and remind her that this was only a possibility.

"**I, the village pariah and scape goat who is condemned by the people for something I could never have controlled . . . for holding you. And you, Kyuubi, the strongest biju done in by a mortal man with the ingenuity and determination to defeat you as best as he knew how, and succeeding. I should hate you, but I don't. You hate me . . . and that's understandable, hence my wish to be civil with you. We can be better than what our circumstances would have us be."**

"It makes sense." Jiraiya murmured, tapping his chin with an idle index finger. "They're both against a rock and a hard place, no need to make it harder by fighting each other."

"That's still unfair to him, though." Rin protested feebly, though even she was beginning to see the wisdom of Naruto's decision, if not the genuine wish behind it.

"**How very mature . . . well, you've caught my interest. Heh, you've explained to me why you would entertain me, but what do I get out of this civility? Besides some stupid bits of news, I mean?" Kyuubi questioned the boy, claws tapping out a sharp staccato rhythm with his unoccupied hand. **

"**Well, I don't know what you'd want. Certainly, I would refurbish your . . . accommodations. No one should be forced to reside in a sewer, after all. If I can, that is." **

**Kyuubi chuckled, teeth glinting sharper than Ten-Ten's weapons as he considered the question. "Well, what I want . . . if I get to hear about the world, then I want to really **_**hear**_** it. Let me connect with your senses— it won't affect you or this seal negatively. And, you can control it, so you can cut it off when you choose too. That, for now, shall suffice. But, let me make this very clear to you, Uzumaki Naruto."**

"**We will never be friends. I will never see you as more than a pathetic mortal, though if you care to notice, it's an improvement over pathetic bag of flesh. If I could, or if I ever get the chance, I will rip out of this seal faster than you can blink." Kyuubi stated this with all his anger, the very hatred and acid in the tone making Naruto feel like it could melt his flesh from his bones. **

"Oh that's nice." Kakashi muttered.

"Somehow though, when I really go through this conversation . . . it's like. Kyuubi really does have his own reasons for hating all humans, especially his containers. I just don't know what they are." Obito said quietly, casting a brief, searching look to Kushina.

"You're seeing something that I've yet to catch on to." Rin said, Jiraiya and Tsunade nodding in agreement.

"**Never say never, Kyuubi. Before we really get into this, let's just think about the offers being made." Naruto smirked as Kyuubi gave him a curt grunt of agreement, giving a two-finger salute as he made to leave. Just before exiting the room, and his meditation altogether, he turned to look at the Kyuubi from over his shoulder.**

"**Kyuubi." An inquiring growl. "How much time is needed to pass before it is deemed appropriate to learn your name?"**

"Name? Isn't Kyuubi its name?" Kushina asked, surprise coloring her tone.

"Kyuubi, has a name of its own? Just who named this demon?" Tsunade muttered, recalling no such information from her talks with her grandmother and the first jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, Uzumaki Mito.

**Kyuubi narrowed his eyes at the boy, voice low as he returned his question with another question. "Have not you been using my name from the start? Am I not Kyuubi?"**

"**Kyuubi is what you are, just as I am a genin of Konoha, and the jinchuuriki of . . . well, you. Neither is who I am, just as the Kyuubi no Kitsune, is not who you are. You have a name; I would be glad to know it." Naruto said with certainty and sincerity. **

"I've never even though of it like that . . ." Minato trailed off, eyes turning glazed as he thought about the seemingly small piece of information— which just might have the most important value of anything so far for their future.

Kushina sighed, chuckling. "I don't need to worry about him anymore. He's doing even better than I ever could. Really, I wonder if he'll even need me this time around."

"He may be onto something here, but a child always needs their parents." Kakashi reminded the older woman with a small smile. Kushina smiled back at him.

"**Then you must know that regardless of time, I will not willingly give such information to you unless you earn the appropriate amount of respect. Names are power after all, Naruto." Kyuubi told the boy in no uncertain terms, and with his last word he rose up and retreated further into the cage, disappearing into the black abyss.**

**Naruto smirked, and closed his eyes as he left the room. When he opened them again, he was back in the tree surrounded by a considerably lighter forest. More time had passed in the outside world than he had anticipated when he sunk into his meditation. Fortunately, the meditation proved just as restful as actual sleep as he felt as refreshed as if he had slept deeply and fully. Perhaps he had, how long could one meditate before actually falling asleep? **

"Hour, hour and half . . . it's all relative." Jiraiya joked with a shrug.

**The forest was just waking up itself, the greeting chirps of the birds to the new morning sounding all around him. Naruto smiled, pushing up from the trunk of the tree to stretch, arms raising overhead and through branches as his fingertips attempted to touch the sky. **

"**What a productive night. My day is surely counted for a lucky fortune." He murmured in content, hopping off his branch and falling down to the ground. Chakra buffered the fall, and he hit the ground lightly and soundlessly, smiling in satisfaction when he moved away and saw no visible footprints where he had landed. **

"Such an optimistic child." Rin commented, smiling at his happiness over the smallest of things.

**That satisfaction was immediately taken from him when he turned around and let out a strangled, quiet yelp as he leapt away from Kakashi's serious face. **

"Kakashi, no stalking my child." Minato scolded the boy, face dead serious even when Kakashi's jaw dropped and he spluttered out denials. A grin did crack his face however when Kakashi growled and lobbed a pillow at him.

"**Ohaiyou Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto half gasped, half laughed. "What seems to be the trouble? You're far too serious for so early in the morning. Hey, you're not even supposed to be up!" Naruto suddenly recalled his sensei's injuries, as he glared at the man with evident disapproval.**

"I don't recall your chakra being able to heal you so fast." Minato said with curiosity, looking to the boy.

Kakashi shook his head. "It isn't; the Hatake bloodline only allows for healing that's above average for a human, yet still not as fast as a jinchuuriki or even an Uzumaki. I'm still totally trashed."

"**Kurenai and Tsunami-san were nice enough to fetch these crutches for me. I was merely curious as to why you opted to sleep in the outdoors when you had a perfectly nice futon in a cozy room?" Kakashi's voice was deceptively light. **

**Naruto considered telling sensei the truth, but more than likely it'd lead to some unwanted attention and concerns. "Oh, I guess I just wanted a bit more room. Trees can be mighty comfortable to sleep in." he said with a sheepish grin.**

"Oh that was just sad." Kushina said sadly, shaking her head.

"**I see. Now, let's get on to another subject . . . your stupid stunt with Zabuza." Kakashi's voice suddenly took on the impression of steel.**

"Oh . . ." Rin and Obito drew out, hands to their mouth like school children.

"**Ah." Naruto said lamely.**

"**Ah, yes. Now, I can consider the fact that it was more prudent for you to jump up then get down, even if my reasoning stretches a bit concerning you **_**jumping on the blade**_**. But, asking your enemy for his autograph? That was fucking stupid."**

"Ow!" Kakashi winced at Minato's light slap upside the head. "It was _future _me!"

Minato nodded. "I know. That's why it was only a light slap."

**Naruto went on the defensive, even if his face and tone didn't show it. "Hey now, it's not every day your enemy is so . . . acclaimed. I had to take this opportunity!"**

"**Did you really want his autograph so bad you left yourself open for decapitation or some other such fatal injury several times?"**

"**OK, no, I didn't really want his autograph. I did, however, want him from his sword. It just . . . happened? I only meant to help out. And didn't Zabuza without his famed sword help out?" Naruto gave Kakashi a knowing look, who took a moment to make sure his lips wouldn't twitch, as he continued to try and lecture Naruto. No wonder the Sandaime gave up on doing so after a while. **

"**Naruto, as good as that plan turned out, you must realize it could have taken a turn for the worse at any moment. It was too risky, and you were reckless in trying it." Kakashi said reprovingly.**

**Naruto ducked his head, feeling faintly apologetic. "I know . . . I am truly sorry for any vexation I might have caused you, sensei."**

"**Vexation?" Kakashi snorted, sighing in defeat when Naruto grinned up at him. "Go on and get back to the house you little brat." He sighed, bopping Naruto on the head. Naruto refrained from pouting or trying to deny the statement; he had more dignity than that. **

"That's no good Kakashi, you didn't scold him properly!" Rin laughed, patting the amused boy on the back.

"You have to scold him in place of us, Kakashi!" Minato and Kushina whined in unison, wagging a disappointed finger at the now sniggering Kakashi.

**When they returned to the house, Tsunami was just getting out her pots and pans, and the ingredients for breakfast. Naruto moved into the kitchen to assist Tsunami while Kakashi limped upstairs to wake the others.**

"I wonder if perhaps he just loves cooking, rather than it being a fair responsibility at his house." Obito pondered.

"Well cooking's not a bad thing to take up, and it makes a usually tedious chore fun when you begin to enjoy it." Rin said knowledgably, nodding her head in agreement with herself.

"**Can I help, Tsunami-san?" Naruto asked the bustling woman, who turned and smiled happily at him.**

"**Yes, since you proved to be such a good helper, as well as a good cook!" Tsunami invited the boy to stand beside her at the kitchen counter. As they worked, Tsunami asked Naruto what made him become a ninja, and some of his fonder memories of the job so far. When Team Eight and the rest of Team Seven came down the stairs, they were greeted by the sight of Tsunami holding her stomach in laughter while Naruto clutched at the counter's edge to keep standing.**

"**Oh my goodness, what a horrible cat . . .'' Tsunami gasped, wiping away a tear as she straightened up, and finally caught sight of her guests. "Ah! Come, sit down and I'll serve you your food."**

"So, he was telling her about Tora?" Kushina asked, sweat dropping.

"The pain of Tora is amusing to everyone but the ones who have to catch her." Minato laughed.

**The genin were just about to do that, when Kurenai cleared her throat pointedly, and the genin stopped to look at her. "Don't trouble yourself; these children can manage for themselves. Everyone, get the food and put it on table for serving. Hinata, Sakura, you leave that to the boys, while you two get some plates."**

"Naruto's the role model for his generation." Jiraiya snickered, leaning on the arm of the couch.

"Good quality to have for the son of the Yondaime." Minato grinned, as Jiraiya burst with laughter, high-fiving the older man.

**With sheepish blushes, they did as they were told. Tsunami opened her mouth to insist they sit down, but a hand on her arm made her turn around. Naruto was shaking his head with a smile, and so she left it alone. Breakfast was rushed by certain eager genin wishing to just get training right away. They helped clean up, and with a bow of gratitude to Tsunami, they headed out into the forest for training.**

"High ho! High ho! It's off to work we go!" Kakashi, Obito, and Rin sang, with tortured expressions on their faces, before looking at each other and laughing.

"Complaining, my little students?" Minato's voice was pleasant, but that promising glint was anything but. The three students of his gulped, feeling fear settle into the pits of their bellies.

"**OK, teams as you know we are still training chakra control." Kakashi addresses the genin as they stand in the middle of a clearing. "Sasuke, you've yet to get to the top of the tree, so work on that. Sakura, your chakra pool is still very small, so keep running up and down the tree until you get tired, rest, and then start over. Before you offer to help, Naruto, you've already helped these two enough back home so it's time to start you on water walking. Kurenai tells me that Hinata and Shino have already mastered this exercise, so you two will be working with Naruto on water walking as well at the bridge."**

"**Kakashi will be staying behind to help the genin here, while I go with Tazuna to guard him at the bridge. Tazuna will be leaving his house right about now, so let's get started." Kurenai ordered. With a sullen look to Naruto, Sasuke started on his tree (Naruto noted that the stare was sullen, not a glare, that's progress!) next to Kiba and Sakura.**

"His optimism knows no bounds." Obito noted, thinking of his yet-to-be-born dull cousin.

**Kurenai along with Naruto, Hinata, and Shino, walked not quite in the direction of the house, but to the road that started from the property to town. There they met up with a yawning Tazuna, who gruffly greeted them, and then they all walked to town. **

**Naruto had never seen a town so full of people so dead before. **

**Lining the streets some huddled in alleys and others slumped over on stoops, were people. Defeated, hungry, and sad people. The smell of desolation and defeat burned Naruto's nostrils with its acrid smell. **

"Jeez, sounds like that Gato's doing a real number on the people of Nami." Kushina spoke in a low voice.

"They made the right choice to continue the mission." Rin said, sympathetic to the plight of Nami no Kuni.

"That remains to be seen." Jiraiya murmured, his more realistic experiences with the world lending him experience to good intentions and bad results.

"**Tazuna-san." The man turned his head to the side, seeing Naruto sidle up beside him. With a small smile, he offered his ever present bottle of sake, and chuckled softly when Naruto took it with a grin and drank a mouthful.**

"What happened to no liquor before noon?" Tsunade questioned, smirk tilting pink lips as she exchanged sly glances with her teammate.

**Ignoring the disapproving glare of Kurenai, when the bottle was returned he answered the boy. "The town's depressing you isn't it?"**

"**They've all just given up." Naruto gave Tazuna a sad look, who just nodded in bitter resignation. **

"**You just don't know the hold Gato has on us. This bridge will be our only road to hope . . . our last salvation. Without it, we all die." Tazuna muttered, looking around at the dead town with sad eyes.**

"That's so sad." Obito whimpered, eyes watering.

"Suck it up, Obito." Kakashi warned him.

**Nothing more was said as the more somber group travelled to the bridge. Once there, Tazuna got to work with the rest of the crew, calling out greetings and jokes to each other. Kurenai took the genin to the shoreline at the bottom of the bridge. Whereas the genin stopped at the banks, Kurenai continued on, sending chakra to her feet as she stood atop the still water and walked on a little further to where the water got deep. She turned around to face the kids, and allowed herself a small smirk at the amazement on Hinata's face, and Naruto's impressed claps. Shino was, of course, still pokerfaced. **

"So it's all senseis that showboat, not just ours." Rin murmured in a moment of 'a-ha.' Obito and Kakashi murmured assents.

"Hey!" Minato cried, looking offended.

"**This is a more advanced form of chakra control, the way to do it is the same as tree walking . . . in a way." Kurenai's confusing explanation and mischievous smile fired up Naruto's determination. **

"Dattebane!" Kushina muttered, throwing up a victory sign.

"No longer at odds with your verbal tic are you?" Minato asked the grinning redhead, smirking.

"**Don't be discouraged if it takes you even longer to get this than tree walking." Kurenai cautioned them, walking back to the shore and starting up to the bridge, beginning her guard watch over Tazuna. **

**The three genin walked out into the lake after rolling up their pants legs. The water was shin deep where they stopped. **

"**So . . . how should we approach this? Any ideas?" Naruto asked the other two. He knew that the Aburame and Hyuuga where considered something of chakra control prodigies, if only because of their family techniques. **

"Lucky for him he learned early on that teamwork can be applied to all aspects of training." Obito chuckled, recalling disastrous memories of his team in its early stages. Kakashi and Rin snorted, thinking along the same lines.

"**Start off slow, would be my suggestion. Like with tree walking, Hinata and I tried first one foot, and when that foot was secure the other was added." Shino answered, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. **

"A sensible approach." Jiraiya nodded. "Though, I would have just jumped in and hoped for the best." He admitted sheepishly.

"Hey, don't be ashamed, me too." Kushina sympathized.

"**Yes, that would be the b-best approach . . . rather than just jumping in and hoping for the best." Hinata joked. Naruto laughed, as all three as one put one foot hovering over the surface of the water, and applied chakra. **

"Wow I feel stupid." Kushina and Jiraiya said together with pitying glances to each other.

**Shino was the first to get it, Hinata second, and by the time Naruto had one foot firmly on the water, Shino was already anchoring a second foot. However, about ten minutes later Shino had to stop in order to rest. The catch to his family's stupendous chakra control was almost shamefully small chakra pools due to their kikaichu constantly feeding on it. **

"Huh, I had no idea." Obito said in surprise.

**Hinata and Naruto were able to make it onto both feet, no matter how shaky or short a time it was, just before Kurenai called them up to return to Tazuna's house. Tired, yet satisfied, the group made their way through an even sparser town and to Tazuna's home in the dying sunlight of the day's end. **

**Dinner was a livelier affair than before, now that Team Seven needed to worry about Kakashi. Though, Naruto was careful to note that the little boy, Inari, still had an air of gloom and defeat about him. It tugged at his heart strings to see one so young hurt so badly. **

"Aww, Naru-chan is so _cute!_" Rin squealed, holding her face in her blushing hands as she wiggled happily on the couch.

**Perhaps, he might show the boy something fun . . . ? A child, no matter what, was always cheered up even the tiniest bit by something new and exciting. **

**Speaking of something exciting . . . Naruto had an interesting idea in the making, one he intended to run by Kakashi-sensei before they all turned in. Now, how to get the man alone? **

"Ooh, an idea? Coming from a Namikaze-Uzumaki? How fun, I can't wait to hear it!" Jiraiya enthused with an evil-sounding chuckle.

"Namikaze-Uzumaki?" Minato repeated, looking at Jiraiya.

"Well, you two are the last of each clan . . . instead of ne dying while the other survives, why not fuse the two?" Jiraiya explained.

"That . . . is actually a really good idea." Kushina praised, a jubilant smile stretching her mouth. Though she was turned around and could not see it, the others saw the euphoric expression on Minato's face, and hastily concealed chuckles and teasing jeers that threatened to escape them.

"**Where are you going Kakashi?" Kurenai asked the man as he was standing up, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts.**

"**Oh, just getting some fresh air." Kakashi smiled.**

"**Liar! You just want to read your porn but Tsunami-san won't let you in the house!" Sakura called him out loudly.**

"So dedicated, Kakashi-chan." Jiraiya sniffed, sending the near-gagging boy a look of pride.

"Kami, why?" Kakashi grumbled, running a hand roughly through his spiky silver locks.

"**Heh, you got me." Kakashi had no shame, Naruto mused as he laughed at the enraged expression on Sakura's face.**

**But, this was the perfect opportunity, he realized as Kakashi walked outside to the back of the house. Before rushing after his sensei though, Naruto made sure to help in the clean-up effort that Kurenai was now making sure the other genin participated in as well, to the delight of Tsunami. While the others were arguing over what constituted as the fair share of the responsibilities, and after he'd done his due, Naruto slipped out to the back. Kurenai saw this from the corner of her eye, but she had seen Naruto looking at Kakashi with a thoughtful expression, and correctly surmised it as being something between student and sensei.**

**Naruto closed the screen door behind him with a quiet 'clack', looking around for the form of his sensei in the darkness. He spotted the man, not reading as he'd thought, but just looking at the night sky reflected perfectly on the still waters of the ocean a little ways off from the house. Naruto made no noise as he moved to Kakashi's side, but he knew that his sensei knew exactly who it was that was next to him, just by the chakra signature.**

**With a sideways glance, Kakashi's lazy drawl asked, "What's on your mind Naruto?"**

**Naruto gave the man a respectful nod, before leaning against the opposite side of the post Kakashi was on, looking up at the sky directly. **

"Oh, he didn't just come out and say it." Tsunade noted quietly.

"That means that whatever he wants must be something important indeed." Jiraiya chimed in.

**For a couple minutes, the two just resided in silence. Kakashi was content to wait until Naruto spoke, if he even wanted to. Naruto was taking one final moment to go over his proposal and make sure there were no flaws or holes in his reasoning. **

"Oh, it must be _really_ good." Obito alleged.

"**Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi turned from the ocean to look into the near glowing blue eyes of Naruto. **

"**A confrontation with Zabuza will be unavoidable, will it not?" Naruto asked.**

"He knows this." Minato murmured, eyes narrowing.

**Kakashi raised a lone eyebrow. "Yes, but you know that Naruto. We have no choice but to fight Zabuza and his masked accomplice if we want this mission to be a success."**

**Naruto saw his chance, and had to work hard not to rush it. Calling upon the patience he had worked hard to build, and the lessons on etiquette drilled into him by Juu-sensei and Kai-sensei. "Confrontation; does that automatically mean a fight?"**

"Just like sensei." Rin giggled.

"Always wanting to use diplomacy." Kakashi snorted.

"When all you really want to do is just kick some serious ass. God, what a joy kill." Obito groaned, finishing up the trio's sentence.

**Kakashi, had he been anyone else might have grown a bit irritated at his student asking almost the same thing as before, and might even have wondered if his student was chickening out. But he wasn't, and Naruto hadn't asked the same thing as before. The wording of that question . . . there was a deeper thought behind this.**

"**You make it sound as if a fight can be avoided. I will tell you now Naruto that men like Zabuza cannot be swayed from their goal. You will learn as you go on in life that not all things can be solved with a silver tongue and genuine intentions." Kakashi may have delivered his talk with his same nonchalant nature, but the lecture was still there.**

"Is that what you really feel Kakashi?" Minato asked, shoulders shaking with laughter.

"Since you're dead, Naruto is the closest one I can vent on." Kakashi said, grinning.

"**That does not mean diplomacy cannot still be an option." Naruto argued.**

"**Diplomacy, eh? Well, take a look at the background story behind this. Do you know why Zabuza is a missing nin? He planned a coup d'état and tried to assassinate the Yondaime Mizukage. What were his reasons? Well, you can think that he did it because of the Mizukage's decision to purge bloodlines in his country, but I wouldn't put such noble beliefs to Zabuza's name. Unfortunately for him, the coup failed and he was labeled a missing nin, to be hunted by bounty hunters and ninja looking to collect on both his bounty and the fame of killing a man like Zabuza. **

"A bloodline purge? The Yondaime Mizukage is insane." Jiraiya spluttered, hands holding onto his knees tightly.

"That will hurt their forces like nothing else." Minato said, shaking his head at the folly of the Mizukage.

"**He's working for Gato now, any guesses why that would be?" Kakashi had an inkling of where the boy was trying to go, and wasn't sure whether to discourage him or not. For now, he'd see how far Naruto thought this through.**

"**It can be for nothing else but money." Naruto stated with assurance. "Gato is a man who hides behind those that are stronger, ruling the weaker and cutting their legs out from under them, if Wave is anything to go by. Also, I doubt he's a trustworthy sort, even in business ventures. I couldn't think what Zabuza would need the money for, but now I know."**

"He's working so hard just to avoid fighting those two . . . why?" Tsunade asked to seemingly no one.

"Well, no doubt a part of it is his admiration for Zabuza. But, he probably hates needless violence." Kushina told the older woman with a sort of dreamy air.

"**Oh? So you had already correctly assessed the pulling factor in this situation." Kakashi's eyes held the praise his voice would not give, and that was somehow more rewarding in Naruto's mind. **

"Aw, you're a good sensei after all Kakashi." Rin cooed, reaching over and pinching cloth-covered cheek. Kakashi jerked his head away with a grunt, rubbing the abused cheek.

"I think my sochi just about adores you Kakashi." Kushina giggled.

"**Pulling factor?" Naruto was obviously confused, so Kakashi explained.**

"**Missing nin aren't the type to trust with promises or contracts either. So, let's assume the untrustworthy Gato might try and cheat Zabuza of his money. Zabuza won't fulfill his end of the bargain if he suspects that. At least, he won't if he has any pride as a man left. Working for a guy like Gato, it makes you wonder. I digress; the point is that the money is the payoff for Zabuza." **

**Kakashi admitted, to a small part of himself at least, that he was enjoying himself right now. His still new genin was actively seeking the finer points of espionage and, if he was right, assassination. It was almost like old times at ANBU— and it was for that reason he had to be careful. It would be too easy to slip into that old ANBU persona . . .**

"Someone's getting excited." Obito snickered.

"Don't let your excitement cloud your judgment Kakashi. Naruto might not be ready for what he's trying to do." Minato warned, both as a sensei to another future-sensei . . . and as a worried (probably overprotective) father. Kushina's dark stare backed up Minato's words.

"Well, let's see what I decided then. Keep reading, sensei." Kakashi did not back down from their warnings, instead doing something possibly foolish and challenging them.

"**So, then there might be a chance for diplomacy." Naruto murmured, now drawing himself up and away from the post. Kakashi did the same, facing his young student with a hard look in his eye. This was a serious thing Naruto was trying to undertake, one Kakashi wasn't sure he wanted him, or any of the others, to undertake.**

"**What is it you want Naruto?" Kakashi's question was more like a demand.**

"**Kakashi-sensei, allow me and two of the others to do a . . . reconnaissance of Gato and his headquarters. If we could find evidence of Gato going to betray Zabuza . . . or even a way to take Gato down himself . . . it would not only save us the trouble of dealing with Zabuza, but it would do Wave and perhaps the entire Elemental Nations a world of good." Naruto was firm and unrelenting, the fires of determination swirling in sapphire pools. Kakashi had never been so proud.**

"He's not just talking about spying . . ." Tsunade's shocked voice slipped past worried lips.

"He's suggesting an assassination attempt." Kushina hissed out, fingernails digging into Minato's arm that was wound around her and slowly constricting in his tensed state.

"**You and two others?" Kakashi repeated the "stipulation" in Naruto's request. "Funny, I would have thought you would want to do it yourself?"**

"Don't encourage him!" Kushina hissed.

**Naruto did not smile, or even laugh as Kakashi thought he might have done. Instead he never faltered from the serious and professional demeanor, just as a ninja should, and that cemented Kakashi's belief in Naruto's plan a little more, even if it was not complete.**

"You sound like you're giving the all-clear for this." Obito frowned, turning to a stoic Kakashi.

"**Of course not sensei, this is something that cannot be done solo . . . at least, not for me at the current skill level. There are areas I am weak in that the others might show sufficient aptitude in to undertake this endeavor." Naruto answered.**

"No genin would be prepared to do an assassination, regardless of whatever skill set they might have." Jiraiya argued.

"That's why they won't be the one to do it." Kakashi's voice was deadly silk.

"**Naruto, you really want to do this then? You might be forced to kill some of the hired hands." Kakashi warned.**

"You're going to agree. I cannot believe you Kakashi." Minato growled, spearing the young boy to the couch with an arctic glare.

"Whoa, lower the killer stare Minato." Jiraiya suggested. "I may not agree with his choice, but I can guess his reasoning."

"_Sensei."_ Minato sighed angrily, about to say something but then returning to the story.

"**Hopefully it won't come to that, if not for my moral opinion on killing unnecessarily, then because killing his men at this stage will lead to suspicion and him making a move we might not be prepared for." Naruto said. **

"Reasonable." Tsunade grunted reluctantly.

"Logical." Jiraiya one-upped her.

"He's really going to do this." Kushina muttered with an evil look at Kakashi.

**He never let it show, but his knees were almost shaking, he was so relieved. His plan had been received favorably, he could tell by the interest now coloring the normally lazy jounin's tone. Along with the overwhelming relief was a sudden surge of excitement. If all went well, Kakashi would really let him do this!**

"**Naruto, you really thought this out. The thought you put into this is incredible for someone not just of your rank, but even for your age. As such, and because I'm your sensei, I have full faith in you to do this. As a matter of fact, I'll even allow you to come up with the two genin you want with you, though bear in mind I have the final say. I want your answer by tomorrow evening. If all goes well, we can put your plan into action in three days' time." Kakashi informed Naruto.**

"You're basing this . . . on _faith?_" Minato sibilated with a soft undertone of death. He didn't show it, but Kakashi knew that for all intents and purposes, he was probably hanging onto life by a thread.

"He would need to learn this eventually." Kakashi argued.

"When he's applying for jounin! He is a young boy Kakashi!" Rin took up Minato's side, rounding on Kakashi with a glare.

"I knew as much at ten, younger than he is now." Kakashi maintained.

"But he's not you Kakashi. Times are— or, they will be different. Kids shouldn't habe to learn things like that . . . not for a while at least. Not in peace times." Obito called Kakashi's attention as well as Minato's dangerous softness with a quiet and understanding voice. He understood what they were saying, but . . .

"I stand by what I will decide. You were all so impressed by his determination to be diplomatic, but now when you see what he must do to keep the diplomacy . . . suddenly, you lose faith in him? Minato-sensei . . . Kushina . . . don't you have faith in your own son?"

"Don't test me Kakashi." Minato snarled, startling everyone, even Kushina who had been about to go nuclear on Kakashi. "I have complete faith in that boy, even enough to make him the new jinchuuriki, you know that. I just don't think he should be undertaking such a thing when he's only just begun to learn water walking!"

"Maybe your right . . . but I want to believe in him . . . believe he can do great things, as great as what you probably believed he could do when you sealed the Kyuubi into him. Besides, he won't be alone. I will be with him and the other two genin to help guide them . . . think of it as learning on the job, some things are best learned hands on, right?" Kakashi appeased the older man, chuckling sheepishly.

Minato stared at the boy for a long while, before sighing in defeat. Kakashi let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, feeling relief and a new appreciation for life . . . for now. Kushina looked between the two of them a few times, before huffing a laugh through her nose.

"You've been properly convinced, Kushina? Funny, I thought it would have been harder to convince you." Jiraiya noted with a small smirk.

"Well, if Kakashi could convince an angry Minato . . . then it's enough for me?" Kushina laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

**Naruto couldn't stop his face from morphing into a starry-eyed one of excitement. "Arigatou, sensei." He murmured, still somewhat shell shocked. **

**Kakashi saw this and smiled warmly, and ruffled sunshine locks in fond amusement. Naruto grunted, but didn't outright protest. "Go get some sleep Naruto, you've done good work today." Kakashi spoke happily, patting an overjoyed Naruto on the back as the boy turned around to go back in the house. **

**As the door closed, Kakashi turned back to the mirror-like ocean, gazing at the twin moons, above and below. "Here I was thinking being a jounin sensei would be boring. It makes getting out of ANBU worth it if there are plot twists like this." He mumbled, turning his back on the picturesque sight with a happy hum as he too retreated into the bright warmth of the house.**

"Who's going to have more fun with this? You or Naruto?" Tsunade asked with amusement, looking at the silver-haired boy.

"Heh. I wonder . . ." Kakashi smirked, not revealing anything. Tsunade clicked her tongue in annoyance, looking away from the smirking boy, lest she . . . slip with her finger and perhaps, I don't know, flick him on the forehead into the opposite wall?

"So, one more chapter before bed?" Obito asked the group, looking around.

"I doubt the infiltration will be in the next chapter, but . . . yeah, I want to read more." Kushina affirmed, the others voicing similar sentiments.

* * *

**OK! So, how was that guys? Reviews are both welcomed, and adored. So . . . click that review button. Click it. CLICK IT. NOW! Ahem. i mean, please do so at your conveniance. **

**Love,**

**Blood Velvet ~3**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey there evryone! To my new readers from the last chapter, welcome! To the old ones, thanks for sticking around! Now, i got my sencond bad review, but i didn't feel bad! More confused, because they accused me of a bad story, when their own review was badly written and confusing. I lol'd, i won't deny it. Speaking of reviews . . . **

**Silverpop: Your review is my favorite by far . . . it made my day, and made me finish this up!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, he belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanse in this story.**

* * *

_Chapter Ten_

_Immerse in Shadows, Uzumaki Naruto_

"Alright, now who will be the next to read?" Minato asked, holding out the book with his thumb on the current page to the others.

Rin looked at the remaining contenders. "Rock, paper, scissors for it?" she suggested.

"Sounds fair to me." Tsunade shrugged.

Tsunade, Obito, Rin and Kakashi put their hands out between them in fists, shaking them three times as they chanted, "Rock, Paper, Scissors shoot!"

"Crap, paper." Rin grumbled.

"Scissors." Tsunade growled.

"Heh, looks like it's between me and you, Obito." Kakashi chuckled. The two played the game again, with Kakashi getting scissors while Obito had paper.

"To the winner go the spoils." Minato said with a smile, handing the book to the younger boy. Kakashi took it with a grateful incline of his head, focusing on the page and clearing his throat.

**The next morning found Teams seven and eight chatting together pleasantly as they ate their fill of breakfast, Tsunami and Tazuna watching in amusement and sometimes pitching into the conversation. Sadly, despite Naruto's attempts to bring the boy into the fold Inari had once again left the table early on, completely disgusted and angered with what he believed was the cheerful idiocy of the ninja in the face of such a threat as Gato.**

"I don't get how this kid could not have heard about the awesomeness that is ninja." Obito scoffed.

"He's a little boy, leave him alone." Rin scolded exasperatedly.

**As all this was going on, Naruto took advantage of the busy and distracting atmosphere to fade into the background, if you will, to observe his fellow genin. He pretty much had the two he wanted to take along already decided, hell he'd known even as soon as Kakashi cleared it.**

"Let's see how well this was thought out as well." Minato murmured with interest.

**Sakura was a definite no. She had been working on her abysmal ninja skills, but she still wasn't serious about it. Not to mention, sad as it was, she wouldn't know stealth if it came up from the shadows, bitch slapped her with a fish, and then disappeared in the shadows again.**

Kakashi burst into laughter after reading it, followed by the rest of the room after they'd gotten over the shock of hearing Kakashi's genuine laughter.

"What a colorful comparison." Tsunade managed through near crippling giggles.

"Ultimately true however. Unlike Naru-chan, she didn't train to remain hidden even in the brightest colors. That pink hair and red dress are beacons for the kill." Rin added, breathing deeply to return breath to her lungs after her laugh.

**Hinata was skilled, it was true . . . but she didn't have the fortitude yet to really do what it took to complete this.**

"Is he talking about her stuttering? That won't have much effect on the mission." Obito wondered, thinking it over. She certainly had the skill, so wasn't that enough?

"Skill doesn't do much if you freeze up after your first kill." Kakashi explained in an oddly gentle voice. Obito looked down at the table for a minute, before looking up and nodding, showing he'd understood.

**If Kakashi's words came true, he doubted she'd be able to kill someone— before they could sound the alarm at least. Though, her stealth certainly was impressive, if he recalled her tracking (read: stalking) him back in the early days of the Academy . . . **

"Stalkers already in the Academy! Minato-boy, you didn't even get any until you graduated early!" Jiraiya recalled, feeling proud of his little godson as he guffawed heartily.

"Keep talking sensei." Minato invited the older man with a deadly smile.

**Kiba was a definite negative. The boy also wouldn't know stealth if it beat him with a sock full of change out of nowhere. Not to mention, that no matter how skilled the boy was, he didn't have proper self-control. He could just see it now— Kiba would get caught up in a fight, or the intensity of the moment, and then bam! Cover blown, so, NO. **

**Now, Sasuke . . . as reluctant as he was to admit this— and he'd never say it out loud to the egotistical boy— but the boy was a superb ninja in his own right, even now at just genin level. He had the stealth, skills in taijutsu and ninjutsu, as well as the mindset to complete the mission no matter what. Now, was he worried that Sasuke's mindset might lead to possible fatalistic injury on the mission? Yes he was. But, hey, that's ninja life for you.**

"Not in Konoha. If you don't trust your teammate to help you out, don't pick them, or speak with your commanding officer, that's what you should do!" Kushina scolded her son.

"If only her were here to hear this." Obito lamented, crying out in mild offense when Kushina hurled a throw pillow at him.

"Despite all that though, I have to agree with him. Sasuke would be good for the job." Minato was only slightly reluctant when he said it.

**Shino was the next pick for his little operation. Those kikaichu of his were perfect for stealth and assassination missions, stealing the chakra of its victims unobtrusively until they noticed too late. Not to mention that he was also extremely logical, almost to the point of being cold— thank Kami for that Will of Fire Shino surreptitiously had— and he was also prepared to do whatever it took to get the mission done, within reason . . . whatever those parameters might be. **

**Yes, he'd made his decision, and he would tell Kakashi during training today. **

"Good decisions." Jiraiya esteemed.

"Oh I can't wait for when he becomes a chuunin." Kushina smiled.

"**Naruto, we'll be going to the bridge again today, but Kakashi tells me you have your own training you'd like to do today?" Kurenai's voice cut through his thoughts, though he was not visibly startled. With a bright smile, he turned to the crimson-eyed jounin.**

"**Yes, Kurenai-sensei. I'll be joining you guys later on today, but for a little while I've asked Kakashi-sensei to supervise my while I trained in my taijutsu style, see if there wasn't any tips he could give me."**

"**Is it the scroll I see you reading e-every night after dinner Naruto?" Hinata asked in interest.**

"Dedicated child." Rin murmured softly.

**Naruto nodded. "Yes, one given to me by a . . . interesting contact of mine. I suppose he could be called a friend, actually."**

"**And what is the taijutsu style called?" Sasuke asked brusquely, interested in knowing the taijutsu style that annoyed him ever since they became team members. It infuriated him that no matter what, he could never really win against Naruto, even though he was getting better at dodging the attacks. Oh, just wait until he got his Sharingan . . . that shit was so getting copied, and then Naruto would see how it was on the receiving end! **

"Just tear my eyes out now. The sharingan is getting no love." Obito said to Kakashi seriously.

"So, you weren't really gifting me with it . . . you were cursing me? You son of a bitch." Kakashi declared, looking just as serious.

"I may be your best friend, but that doesn't stop me from hating you with everything I have." Obito returned, shrugging carelessly. They only grinned at each other after their joke ended up making everyone groan.

"**Oh, the Kung Fu Hustle." Naruto answered proudly. Sasuke snorted out loud while Kiba barked out a laugh, making Naruto feel some annoyance.**

"**What a stupid name! That's not the real name, it cannot be. Answer the question." Sasuke demanded, irritated.**

"Demand something from my son one more time brat." Kushina growled a look promising pain to the boy in her eyes.

"He's not even born yet." Tsunade pointed out tiredly.

"But he will be." Kushina said smugly.

"**Well, the real name doesn't matter for me. When one is close to mastering the style, they can give their own name to it. I may not be a master, but the person who gave it to me also gave me special permission to go ahead and do so. So, I, along with Katsu, decided to name it Kung Fu Hustle." Naruto explained patiently, smile turning a bit plastic in his annoyance.**

"Yeah, tell them!" Rin and Obito shouted.

"**Makes sense you'd pick such a stupid name." Kiba snickered.**

"How dumb can you get?" Rin groaned, correctly anticipating the beat down Kiba was about to receive.

**Naruto felt a spark of anger at the audacity of the stupid little flea bag. How dare this insignificant **_**puppy**_** continue to defy his place and try to overtake him as alpha? **

"Control freak." Tsunade threw this at Minato instead, smirking as she saw his lower eyelid twitch on his right eye, before his face smoothed over into a mask again.

"Brat needs to learn his place, what can I say?" Minato said placidly.

**He didn't enjoy securing his dominance over others . . . except Katsu—especially in the future . . . but he would have to do it, and he'd be lying if he said he wouldn't enjoy it.**

"HENTAI!" Kushina, Rin, and Tsunade snarled.

"I swore I wouldn't cry in front of others." Jiraiya said almost to himself, though the others could hear him, even though his voice was muffled by the hand over his face.

"Sad for his fate against these three?" Obito asked, jerking a thumb to the hissing females.

"No, tears of joy . . . of pride . . . !" Jiraiya said, fake sniffling as if he were trying to hold back tears.

"**Kiba." Naruto sighed. Kiba immediately sensed something amiss, and froze uncertainly— one part cursing himself for always slipping around Naruto, the clear alpha of the situation, and the other part demanding he start running now. **

"Too late for that." Minato and Kushina matched bloodthirsty grins and evil voices, something that sent chills down the spines of the others.

"**Let's spar today, okay? Before I go with Kakashi-sensei, I mean after all, you were really good against those Zabuza clones. I'd really like it if we could spar together, you know, from one fellow Konoha nin to another." Naruto's tranquil voice had the interesting effect of rubbing Kiba's nerves raw with his anxiety and nervousness. **

"Many don't know this, but those sixth senses dogs have are actually able to pick up the vibes of an impending bitch beat-down." Rin informed with all seriousness and importance, as if telling them a little known fact. The others just found it freaking hilarious.

**But he had no choice, did he? Who knows, he reassured himself, perhaps Naruto doesn't even mind the jabs— after all, he never really bothered to hold back either in Academy, and Naruto had done nothing.**

"This isn't the Academy anymore!" Obito sang.

"**Yeah, sure." Kiba agreed boisterously, and Naruto's smile was sunshine, all bright and happy. The others however, unbeknownst to the poor Inuzuka, were just as nervous as the boy himself was not too long ago. They remembered well the icy commanding aura that materialized around Naruto that day Kiba had yelled at Inari. Naruto, without asking for it, had an aura that commanded obedience and respect, and perhaps, at its highest peak . . . subservience. **

"Nah . . . that's only for Ku— I mean . . . Katsu." Minato muttered, grinning wickedly when his girlfriend, being the only one who heard, whipped around to stare at him with something akin to trepidation . . . and a little anticipation.

"My pervert senses are tingling but . . . it's not Jiraiya?" Tsunade mumbled to herself, eyes full of suspicion roving over the potential perverts in the room.

**Breakfast ended in a more awkward, tense atmosphere despite the cheerfulness of Naruto, and the oblivious cockiness of Kiba. Even as the teams gathered up dirty dishes and helped clean up the kitchen and table, the wariness that now was enveloping the Konoha ninja were enough to unsettle the civilians. His unsettled nature, however, wouldn't stop Tazuna from watching what he was sure to be something fun. So he took steps to ensure that he would be there to watch . . . and perhaps Inari could benefit from seeing real strength in action.**

"Even the civilian knows it's going down." Obito snickered, hands tapping a beat out on his knees.

**As he and Kurenai were putting away plates, he quietly called her attention. "Er, Kurenai-san . . ."**

**Kurenai turned to Tazuna, polite curiosity on her face. "Yes, Tazuna-san?"**

"**Well, I imagine that the spar those boys want to do need to be supervised right?" Tazuna asked with gruff "concern."**

"Yes . . . some also like to bring bags of popcorn and their money to the table. Maybe some sake, for the older group." Tsunade suggested, sniggering when she high-fived a euphoric-looking Jiraiya.

**Kurenai nodded slowly, though she had an idea that what Tazuna was interested in was not in the safety of the boys . . . at least not hers. "Yes, they do. Technically, the respective sensei of each genin in the spar should be present. Spars between genin of different teams are good learning experiences."**

"**Well, that's what I thought." Tazuna said, almost to himself. "That'd be rather difficult if you were going to be guarding me right?"**

**Kurenai nodded, hiding her amusement. Tazuna only wanted to see a show . . . and if she was honest with herself, she was also curious. Being Anko's best friend, she had been treated to many stories concerning the blonde genin and his flame-haired companion, ad she had become interested in the two.**

"**Ah, I actually wanted to ask you about that." Kurenai played the typical ninja still trying to remain professional even through her sheepishness. **

**Tazuna nodded, as if he was about to do her a favor, and not the other way around. "Well, it's fine with me if you wish to stay. I can be a little late today." **

**Kurenai smiled, biting a small corner of her lip to hold back a giggle. "Why thank you Tazuna-san." With amused smiles on both their faces, the two adults continued to work on in silence.**

"Compromises can be such fun." Minato informed them all cheerily, monstrous grin showing off pearly whites.

**There was no putting this off; eventually, the cleaning was done, and Kakashi told the genin it was time to get started with their day.**

"Or for Kiba, time to go sleepy-time again." Obito muffled his snickers with his fist, though it couldn't quite hide the ferocious grin on his face.

"**So, first things first!" Kakashi clapped his hands, thankful for the mask that hid a wicked grin. "Let's just get that spar out of the way, what do you say?"**

"**Sure, it'll be quick anyway!" Kiba said loudly, smirking as Akamaru barked his agreement.**

"He's got that right." Everyone agreed, vindictive smiles blooming on their faces.

"**I have no problems with that." Naruto was polite and still smiling.**

"Like a BOSS~!" Obito and Rin sang under their breaths, double fist bumping.

**Kiba's smirk died a little when he saw that smile . . . he would just have to wipe it off that smug face. This narrator wonders why Kiba keeps forgetting that Naruto is a BOSS. You don't just win against bosses, but back to the story . . .**

"**OK, let's go to the backyard, it's large enough." Kakashi said easily, leading the procession that followed out the back door, but stopping on the porch whilst Kakashi, Kiba, and Naruto ventured out a bit farther. Kakashi reckoned that even if they didn't know jutsu destructive enough to need a lot of space, genin tended to go all out and it'd be best to be prepared anyway.**

"Good thinking." Minato approved, sending a smile Kakashi's way.

"**Alright, in the spar ninjutsu and weapons are allowed, but you are not to go for any killing blows. Nothing to maim or lead to lasting injury that could mess up your performance on the mission, understood?" Kakashi sharp eye stared the two genin down, who agreed quietly. **

"Yeah . . . I don't think that's going to work." Rin said matter-of-fact.

**Suddenly, he smiled. "Alright then! You'll keep going until there's either a clear winner, or I stop you and decide the winner. So, ready? OK . . . Hajime!" Kakashi suddenly was gone, and reappeared on the porch steps, settling down next to a watchful Sasuke.**

**Naruto and Kiba didn't immediately make any moves. Indeed, Kiba was feeling that old wariness and fear creep up on him again as he found he couldn't tear his eyes from the swirling depths of truest blue, almost seeming to suck him in. **

"Like . . . oh, I don't know . . . a whirlpool?" Kushina laughed at her own joke.

Obito clapped, twice, and slowly. "Oh, now I didn't even see that one coming." He said in faux amusement.

"Jealous that I said it first?" Kushina taunted, waggling her fingers at the snickering boy.

**Kiba suddenly felt a burning, white-hot anger explode inside him, and with a guttural sound of anger he looked at the alert and growling form of Akamaru next to him, and ordered passionately, "Let's bring him down Akamaru!"**

"Did he just look away from his opponent?" Obito asked, wicked glint in his eyes.

"Did he just look away from his pimp? Oh hell no!" Kakashi cracked.

**Akamaru responded with a bark of affirmation. Smiling widely, Kiba's eyes flickered back to Naruto and— BAM! Kiba felt a pain explode in the small of his back as he was propelled through the air, landing and skidding face down on the ground before coming to a halt. Not a second after that Akamaru landed whimpering by his side with a heavy thud.**

"D-D-DAAMN!" Jiraiya, Rin, and Obito yelled out, leaning back into their seats.

"**Akamaru!" Kiba yelled. Getting up quickly, Kiba rounded on the perpetrator— Naruto, who still had his knee kicked up high, leg still outstretched from the kicks it had just bestowed on the Inuzuka and his partner.**

"**Damn you! How are you so fast?!" Kiba demanded, growling.**

Looking all-too-modest, Minato raised his hand. Kushina playfully pushed him on the shoulder with the giggle as the others laughed.

**Naruto didn't answer, merely looked at him with cold, calculating eyes. Slowly, his foot came down, and he positioned himself in the stance of the Kung Fu Hustle.**

"**You looked away from your opponent too long. It was simple for me to kawarimi with a leaf on the ground behind you, and catch you unaware." Naruto answered.**

"Especially when one can do it without hand seals." Tsunade added in a superior voice.

"Like a BOSS?" Kushina asked with a smirk, giggling when Rin and Obito crowed in excitement, jumping up to exchange high-fives with her.

**With a shout, Kiba settled into a crouch in front of his partner, who was struggling to stand on all fours again. With a grunt, Kiba shot off, rather fast for a genin as he closed in on the still form of Naruto. Rocketing forward, he at first started to go for a right hook, but then dropped down and tried to sweep Naruto's feet. **

**Naruto jumped up, and without missing a beat, his foot lashed out at the side of Kiba's head and collided with a satisfying sound of pain being torn from a tumbling Kiba's lips. Alighting on the ground once again, Naruto spun around and kicked the boy in his ribs, making him go up— and then moved forward to have an elbow in Kiba's back make the feral boy come crashing down. This time Kiba was prepared though, and it the ground with his hands, tucking forward to roll and coming out of his roll with a spring and two backflips to get some distance. When he landed, he was joined by a now partially recovered Akamaru.**

"**Lucky shot!" Kiba shouted at the blank-faced Uzumaki.**

"Lucky _shots_, you mean." Jiraiya stated.

"**What . . . you mean all three of them?" Naruto asked with a sardonic smile.**

"**Grr!" Kiba shot forward again, determined to bring Naruto down. This time, though, instead of going straight in, he created bushin clones of him and Akamaru to confuse Naruto and run around him in a circle.**

"**That would work . . . on an Academy student." Naruto observed, before suddenly turning on his left foot and catching the real Kiba with a right hook to the jaw, then pivoting on his heel and sending a hard kick to Akamaru. Both of them flew back and hit the ground.**

"**What?!" Kiba spluttered.**

"**Bushin clones don't have shadows. But you do. Not to mention the fact that bushins don't have the same smell . . . the same sound. You ought to know better than that, **_**Inuzuka**_**." That last word, Kiba's surname, spoken in that chilling tone . . . seemed to be the indicator to a change in the fight.**

"Yeah, that's the sound of shit getting real." Kushina said, like that was obvious . . . actually, it really is . . .

**A change that was not good at all for the poor Inuzuka. Making two shadow clones, the two clones shot forward and grabbed a growling and barking Akamaru, holding him down and away from Kiba. Naruto walked forward slowly, and though the others couldn't see the expression on his face, it had to be something since all the color from Kiba's face just drained away.**

"We like to call it . . . the Flash Doom face." Team Minato answered in all seriousness, prompting a burst of laughter from their sensei and the other adults.

"You laugh now . . ." Rin shook her head.

"It's all fun and games . . ." Obito started off somberly.

"Until sensei decides you fucked up, and show you the face." Kakashi ended, shaking his head at the tragedy.

**A moment later, they understood. What happened next was . . . plain and simple, a thrashing for Kiba. The poor bastard never had a chance to even backpedal because Naruto was just there, and he wasn't letting go until he was good and ready.**

"Sounds like you." Minato mentioned to Kushina.

**Of course, Kakashi had gotten up earlier when it seemed that Naruto would never stop stomping on Kiba's midsection, but a clone kept him from doing it.**

"**Kakashi-sensei." The Naruto-clone spoke so seriously that Kakashi had to hear him out. "Don't interfere. This is a matter that you should understand well. Kiba knows I am alpha of the genin, but he still continued to overstep his boundaries. You, a wolf in your own right, know how this must be."**

**Kakashi sighed. Indeed, being with his own dog pack summons for so long, he knew the . . . shall we say, etiquette required. But still, it didn't look like Kurenai was buying it.**

"**He's going to put him in a coma!" She cried, flinging an accusing finger at the real Naruto, who had now moved to continually backhanding Kiba.**

"Not only did he keep back-talking Naruto, he never gave him his money either." Obito said.

**Naruto snorted, even as Kiba's screams of pain were dying away to groans of agony. "If that's all it takes to kill him, he wouldn't have made it very far in the ninja world anyway. He agreed to the spar; now just hold on for a little longer. Boss won't be much longer; we think Kiba's starting to get the picture."**

**As the clone said, about eight minutes later Naruto came sauntering back, dragging a now unconscious Kiba with him on the ground, before hauling him up and proffering the body to Kurenai-sensei.**

"Hot damn." Kakashi muttered, and kept on reading.

"**Anko-nee tells me you know some simple medic jutsu. Should be just enough to heal him up so as not to be a burden on the day we face Zabuza." Naruto said cheerily, not even blinking as Kurenai's ice-cold glare attempted to freeze him. Stiffly, Kurenai took Kiba from Naruto.**

"**I know he was being rude, but was that really necessary?" Kurenai asked sharply.**

**Naruto nodded, now totally serious, something that shocked Kurenai. "Believe me, yes it was. It's . . . well, probably his mother, the Inuzuka clan head Tsume-sama, could explain it better than me. For now, just please understand that this is the way insubordinate, disobedient pups like him are to be dealt with."**

**And that was that. **

**While Kurenai set a bandaged Kiba into his futon in the house, Kakashi and Naruto went off further into the woods, both rather aware of the attempted boring of holes into their backs by a set of black eyes. **

"**You might want to give Sasuke a nice B-ranked fire jutsu to appease him." Naruto said conversationally, once the feeling of daggers being stared into your back disappeared as they went deeper into the forest.**

"**Yeah . . ." Kakashi agreed absently. Kakashi and Naruto suddenly stopped, and leaned against the nearest tree as they looked at each other.**

"**Judging by your performance in the spar . . . I'd say you don't really need any tips from me in training it. By the way, did you use the chakra sticking exercise to keep Kiba in your grasp?"**

"Now that's a novel idea." Kushina said resolutely.

"Using chakra to stick to your enemies and keep the hits on coming, it's great." Jiraiya said, wondering at the simple brilliance of it all.

"**Nice of you to notice. I did, but only for the first five minutes. After that . . . he just didn't have the strength to move much anymore." Naruto admitted with a chuckle.**

"So Kushina at that moment." Tsunade snorted.

"**Ruthless." Kakashi commented.**

"**I do try." Naruto said demurely, taking a bow.**

"**So, are you here to tell me your picks for the two genin you want with you?" Kakashi asked, turning the topic to more serious matters.**

**Naruto nodded, all kidding put aside for later. "I have, Kakashi-sensei. I choose Sasuke and Shino to be on this recon mission with me."**

**Kakashi nodded slowly, thinking over the two choices as his eye drifted around the rather scenic clearing they were in. **

"**Good choices, the both of them. I'm glad you're really taking this seriously. I won't ask for the why's since I'm sure you've thought of them extensively, and they're probably the same as what I'm thinking of."**

"**Sensei . . . when do I have permission to carry this out?" Naruto asked, the excitement not quite perfectly hidden.**

"It might seem exciting now, but when you're actually doing this . . . will the gravity of the situation really hit on you?" Minato wondered.

**Kakashi looked at him seriously, and Naruto straightened up again, he had been leaning forward a little bit in interest. "Naruto, there's something I have to tell you about this mission you've decided to undertake."**

"**Yes, sensei?" Naruto asked promptly, looking directly at his superior.**

"**When we were attacked by the Demon brothers, and after Tazuna had explained what was really going on, do you recall that I sent a letter to the Hokage via one of my nin-dogs?"**

"**Yes . . . a greyhound, if I remember correctly. I'm assuming you've been in contact again with the Hokage?"**

"**Yes, while I was supervising the others training on the tree, I sent the same greyhound, with information of Zabuza's employment, as well as his accomplice. However, there was one other letter sent . . . the letter stating the additional mission some enterprising young genin wished to undertake."**

"Please tell me Sandaime-sama saw the folly in this." Rin prayed fervently.

**A smile flickered onto Naruto's face before it resumed its marble-like countenance. "Did the Hokage decide not to let the mission happen?"**

"**No, no, I expressed my views clearly about how I thought this would be a good idea. I just received the hawk with the answering message earlier this morning, while everyone else was still asleep. Kurenai also knows about this, and though she had some reservations, the go-ahead from the Hokage managed to . . . silence her doubts."**

_**Silence, but not banish. **_**Naruto thought shrewdly, but it didn't really matter. It was now official, and he was going to do this with Shino and Sasuke. **_**Hell yes**_**. **

"_Hell no_." Kushina's mumbled whine escaped through her lips half-heartedly. Minato heard her and kissed the top of her head, snuggling her closer.

"**No, what I wanted to tell you was that . . . the Hokage has decided to take this opportunity to . . . do some good. For everyone of course, but most especially for Konoha. The Hokage has decided that this will be an assassination mission."**

"Wily old monkey just wants a nice big fat cut of those profits from Gato's corp." Jiraiya snorted.

"I wonder if he'll destroy the company or take it over?" Minato asked. Jiraiya shrugged, not knowing the answer himself.

**Naruto gulped. Did the Hokage expect them to . . . ? "Are we . . . that is, Shino, Sasuke, and I . . . will we be the ones –?"**

"NO!" Everyone said firmly.

"**No." Kakashi's forceful answer made Naruto startle a bit, and so Kakashi softened his tone. "We don't make our genin do the dirty work . . . not until they reach well into their chuunin careers at least. I will be the one to do so."**

**Naruto's concern switched from his wariness of killing, to his worry over Kakashi's health. "But, sensei, you're still not strong enough yet right? I mean, you still need the crutch!"**

"Aww! You've got a protective little brother figure!" Kushina cooed, getting up and skipping over to Kakashi, squishing his cheeks and shaking his face between her hands from side-to-side.

"Ugh, come on . . ." Kakashi grumbled, reaching up with the hand not holding the book to pull gently at Kushina's wrists, glaring at Minato for just watching and shaking with mirth.

**Kakashi smiled at the boy. "Well, no need to be so concerned Naruto." He reassured the genin, though his usual lazy tone did nothing of the sort for the blonde. "The crutch is really just a precaution now, I don't need it anymore. As a matter of fact, by tomorrow I'll have full mobility, if not full strength. Even at half-strength though, I'm more than a match for some common thugs and wannabe-samurai."**

**Of that, Naruto had no doubt. "Ok, sensei. So, when are we going to do this?" Naruto asked his last question again.**

"**If I can find out the location of his hideout, then tomorrow night." Kakashi answered shortly. Naruto nodded.**

"That's rather soon." Rin fretted.

"Any later and we might have to face Zabuza, then the plan would be for naught." Kakashi reminded her.

"**How will you find that out?" Naruto inquired.**

"**Ah, well, I sent a couple of shadow clones in a henge, out to do some snooping. They should be sending me some Intel before the night is over. Still, I'd like you to keep your ears out for anything." Kakashi said.**

"Hmm, sort of a sloppy plan, really." Jiraiya critiqued, folding his arms.

"Well, we can't all be spy masters Jiraiya-sama." Kakashi shot back with an apathetic tone of voice.

**Kakashi suddenly switched gears and resumed his lazy, hip-and-cool attitude. "So, let's just head on back and start with our duties. For now, don't worry too much about it. I'll be helping the three of you prepare. Sasuke's made it to the top of the tree now, so he'll be going with the rest of you to the bridge, in place of Kiba."**

**In companionable silence, the two walked back to the house, surprising the other genin as they thought it would be a while longer before Naruto and Kakashi came back.**

"**I thought you guys were going to work on taijutsu for half the day?" Sakura asked, looking at the two from her seat on the porch steps, waiting for Kurenai-sensei to come out and lead them to the bridge again.**

"**Well, there really isn't much I could say to Naruto, since I'm unfamiliar with the taijutsu style and I don't want to say anything that might conflict with the style. Anyway, I'll be leading the team to guard the bridge today."**

"**What about Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura asked, shocked.**

"**She'll be putting the med-skills she has to use on Kiba for as long as she can. So, the teams are as follows! Shino, Sasuke, and Naruto are going with me to the bridge. Sakura and Hinata, stay here and guard the house."**

"**Hai, Kakashi-sensei!" The genin said swiftly, breaking up into their respective groups.**

**Kakashi and the genin escorted Tazuna to the bridge, noticing that there were few workers.**

"**Tazuna-san . . . there were twenty of them yesterday. Now there's only fourteen?" Naruto muttered to the grim-faced man.**

"The closer they get to completing the bridge, the more scared they are of Gato's wrath." Tsunade summed up, shaking her head.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to be scared at the beginning of the project, rather than when it's about to be finished?" Obito asked quizzically.

"Humans are strange creatures, after all." Kushina murmured, as if that were an answer.

"**Well . . . they're scared of backlash from Gato. I'm more afraid of the repercussions if we don't do this." Tazuna said gruffly, before opening his toolbox and getting to work.**

"**Come on, everyone pick a spot." Kakashi said, grabbing the genin's attention again. Doing as told, they each picked a spot around the area Tazuna was working on, and surveying either their surroundings, or the work being done by the workers. For a while, the four of them stayed in their positions, growing a bit bored. Then, Naruto got up from his slouch on the steel beams, and ambled over to Tazuna, who was deep into some schematics.**

"**Hey, Tazuna-san, I might be able to offer some assistance in the way of numbers." Naruto started, grinning at the man who turned to him with a slight scowl, half of his mind still on the plans before him.**

"Yay, more shadow clones!" Obito hailed.

"**What's that boy? Just the four of you won't solve my problem with lack of hands." Tazuna grumbled, peering up at Naruto from where he was crouched.**

"**No, I mean I can make solid clones— great for cheap labor. Hell, it's free. I can make as many as you need! I may not have much experience in bridge building, but . . . I figure your other workers can help with that and take a team for themselves; teach the clones some stuff. When the clones pop, their memories will come back to me, so I'll know a bit more each time. What do you say?" Naruto pitched his idea rather well, if the gleam in Tazuna's eyes were anything to go by.**

"**You do that, and I'll name the bridge after you!" Tazuna cheered, slapping his thighs as he got up, turning to the young blonde.**

"**No need for all that, but . . ." Naruto chuckled, putting his fingers in the correct hand seals and murmuring, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"**

**Immediately, a haze of smoke covered the immediate area, and wafted away to reveal two-hundred eighty clones, all milling around and greeting the gob smacked workers. **

"Not as much as his debut into the ninja world." Kakashi said loftily.

"Still a hell of a lot though, even Sarutobi in his prime could only make about 50, and Minato can make 60." Jiraiya insisted.

"**Just how many clones are there?!" Tazuna yelped, holding a hand to his helmet as if it might fly off. The others as well were looking rather shocked, staring with incredulity at the sheer amount of Naruto's there were.**

"**Oh, two-hundred eighty of them. Enough for each worker to get a team of twenty." Naruto answered with a flippant tone of voice. In unison, each Naruto on that bridge turned to face Tazuna and asked cheerfully, "What are your orders, boss?"**

**Tazuna's jaw was still unhinged and swinging for a few moments, before he cleared his throat. Slowly, he chuckled, which eventually turned into laughter, before guffaws escaped him with incredible force. After calming down, Tazuna put his hands on his hips and started directing his workers to take twenty clones each, and show them the ropes.**

"**We'll be done with this bridge in just about a week, boys!" Tazuna crowed, reveling in the relieved and loud cheers of his fellow people of Nami. **

"Oh good, he won't have to spend too much time from away from home." Rin effused.

**Meanwhile, Kakashi snorted softly with amusement as he put away his book in favor of watching the amusing antics of his student's shadow clones. He had never seen shadow clones argue with each other before . . . he briefly wondered if perhaps that was bad news for Naruto's mental health, but then brushed off the concern. It would only be Naruto to have completely independent shadow clones.**

"The clones have their own personalities?" Tsunade asked, with raised eyebrows.

"I didn't think shadow clones could do that." Jiraiya admitted.

"Well, they are separate entities in a way, but with the personality of the caster of the jutsu, so it's just a show of Naruto's unpredictability that the shadow clones are like their own people." Minato illuminated, seeing this as the only logical explanation.

**Sasuke and Shino watched the clones work with barely restrained interest, though Sasuke's was more strained to be withheld than Shino. Sasuke's teeth were grinding to dust in the back of his mouth at the sheer amount of chakra it had to have taken for Naruto to do that . . . that sort of power would be well appreciated, by him . . .**

"You can only appreciate power after you've done the hard work to achieve it." Obito admonished.

"Well said Obito." Minato commended, causing the boy to scratch at his nose with a bashful smile.

"**Sasuke, hey!" Naruto suddenly popped up in front of him, forcing Sasuke to take a step back in surprise. With a growl, he bonked the boy on the head, believing it to be a shadow clone, but was mildly surprised when instead of Naruto popping into oblivion; he winced and rubbed at the top of his head.**

"**Well, that was rude, wasn't it Sasuke?" Naruto asked rhetorically, with a reproving look on his face. Sasuke snorted, but looked away for a minute before his eyes flickered back to Naruto's. Naruto hid a smile at that action, because he knew it meant Sasuke was feeling almost sorry.**

"And that's an improvement from him not caring at all!" Rin piped up optimistically.

"**What do you want, Naruto?" Sasuke grunted, watching his teammate straighten up and look at both Shino and him with a look of triumph.**

"**Sasuke, Shino, I have a favor to ask of you. But first, I have to explain something." Naruto said quietly, motioning the boys to come closer, so that they wouldn't be overheard, just in case the other Naruto's couldn't keep the others away.**

"**A couple nights ago, after my first bridge sentry duty, I was thinking about the whole situation in Nami . . . about Gato. And, I was thinking about our impending confrontation with Zabuza and his accomplice. I was thinking, how . . . a fight wasn't really necessary, that we could avoid conflict with Zabuza and the addition, as well as perhaps figure out a solution to Gato."**

"**Gato, Uzumaki-san? Would his business with Nami not be finished if we thwarted Zabuza, thus allowing the bridge to be completed?" Shino asked, head tilting just ever so slightly to the side.**

"Heh, for a man with money and a soul black as dirt, it would merely be a bump in the plan." Jiraiya snorted derisively.

**Naruto shook his head. "Would it really? Perhaps he would back down a bit from Nami once the people's morale was heightened, but what if he just saw it as a minor setback? His campaign against Nami would be even worse than it is now. Or what if he sets his sights on another place? One that might have a relation to Konoha, and affect us?"**

**Sasuke snorted. "Highly unlikely, and even if it were so, I doubt the repercussions for Konoha would be that bad. If he became too much trouble, then we could always kill him."**

"The popular fallback of every shinobi." Kushina quipped.

"**Why wait?" Naruto asked even more quietly than before, face grave.**

**Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the same time Shino stiffened slightly. Was Naruto actually saying . . . ?**

"**Uzumaki-san, what are you asking of us?" Shino asked, and though his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, Naruto fancied they were gazing straight through him to his very soul.**

**Naruto stared at each of them levelly, his voice cold. "Sasuke, Shino, will you accompany me on a recon and assassination mission to Gato's hideout?"**

**Sasuke's eyes widened as he ran the words through his head again. They were going on a recon and assassination mission? **

"Field trip!" Obito called out.

_**Why is this being asked of us, if we are only genin? Why is Naruto asking us this, and not Kakashi? **_**Sasuke wondered shrewdly. **

"**Naruto, what is your involvement in this? Shouldn't Kakashi be telling us this?" Sasuke asked. **

**Naruto chewed on his bottom lip, wondering how this would go over with the power-hungry boy. **

"Well, there's a first time for everything." Rin muttered hopefully.

"**Well, it's because technically, I'm the leader of this mission . . . for you guys anyway. When I brought it up to Kakashi-sensei, once he approved it he named me team leader, though he will be coming with us and lending his advice."**

**Sasuke sneered, and opened his mouth to tell Naruto exactly what he thought of having to follow someone like him, when—**

"You and your glass half-full mentality." Obito nagged at Rin.

"Pot meet kettle." Kakashi supplied, smirking at the dirty look thrown to him by Obito.

"**It seems fair, as you were the one to think the furthest ahead of all of us. Additionally, Kakashi-sensei will be with us, so if any mistakes were made he'd let us know or help us correct them, yes?" Shino asked, logic acute as always. **

**Naruto nodded, the uncomfortable knot in his chest loosening a bit with, what seemed to be Shino's approval. "Yes, and beforehand he'll be telling us the mission objective and any tips or some such we can use."**

"Can't wait to hear that." Jiraiya muttered, grinning when Tsunade nudged him in the side with her elbow.

**Sasuke suddenly thought of something, and had to ask. "Naruto, who was it that chose this team?"**

**Ah, an opportunity, and one Naruto all but pounced on. "I chose this team to accompany me." He said simply.**

**Shino quirked one eyebrow, shock as far as Naruto was concerned. Sasuke's reaction was a bit more pronounced; a raised eyebrow along with his jaw going slightly slack, but not enough to look gawping. **

"**You chose us?" Sasuke repeated, feeling surprise, smugness, and some suspicion.**

"Because my sochi is the bigger man, that's why." Kushina said firmly, brushing back strands of red hair from over her shoulder.

"**The better question is, why?" Shino asked.**

"Did an Aburame just make a joke?" Kushina asked in shock.

**Naruto turned with amused incredulity to Shino. "Did you just make a joke? Nevermind, what's important is answering the question. I chose you two because of your exceptional caliber in the ninja arts, as well as the fact that I know you two can get the jobs done— no matter what the job might be." The last statement was added as an afterthought, but the dangerous edge to his voice lent verification to the fact that it was by no means the least important.**

**Shino and Sasuke understood immediately, and nodded with tight faces . . . or at least, Naruto thought Shino's face had tightened. **

"**When will this be?" Sasuke cut to the chase, excitement and the desire to prove himself coursing through his veins.**

"**By tomorrow night, if all goes well. I don't think I need to impress upon you the importance of keeping this confidential?" Naruto asked them with a cocked brow, satisfied when they answered with negatives in a serious, curt manner.**

"**Good." He said. Then, just as suddenly as he popped up, Naruto whirled around and was lost in the sea of passing clones and workers, all laughing and working hard. **

"He's been so much like sensei this chapter!" Rin squealed.

"Hasn't he? I'm not sure who he has more of in him— Kushina or Minato." Jiraiya said reflectively.

**The two genin blinked, before Sasuke clucked his tongue and resumed his guard duty, same with Shino. Unbeknownst to the two, Kakashi also slipped back into his guard position after having heard their favorable answers, as well as some good fortune from his clones. **

**He had found Gato's headquarters.**

"It's down to the last stretch now." Tsunade murmured, leaning her elbow on the back of the couch and holding her head up.

**Several hours later they had returned back to Tazuna's home, the man himself in high spirits. With the help of Naruto's clones, they had gotten a week's worth of work done in a day. And, as Naruto assured him, since now the clones would know what to do, they could get even more work accomplished tomorrow!**

"Hooray for mass production!" Obito whooped.

"Hooray for big businesses!" Rin chimed in.

"Boo." The others cried at the two genin.

"**Yes indeed, with that bridge bringing in new life to this little country, I'll pay double what I owe to the Hokage!" Tazuna boasted as he dug into his dinner that night at the table. Both genin teams were present, with the exception of Kiba, though he was looking better than he had at the beginning of the day.**

"**I'm sure the Hokage will be most pleased." Kakashi said pleasantly. Though his genin were keeping an eagle eye on the man, they couldn't see him remove his mask at all— and yet somehow, little by little, food was disappearing. **

"Kami that's annoying." Obito muttered.

"Hmm? You say something?" Kakashi asked the boy, hiding his grin when the boy turned an interesting shade of red from anger.

"**Neat trick." Naruto commented.**

**Kakashi chuckled. "Funny, a little firebird told me the same thing." **

**Naruto raised an eyebrow at the strange comment, but let it slide and returned to trying to coax some sort of conversation out of Inari. The little boy was proving very stubborn in his surly silence, but he would win! **

"Aw, he's so cute." Rin and Kushina cooed.

"Which one are you talking about?" Minato wondered with a grin.

"**Excuse me, Tsunami-san, but that picture . . . it looks like someone has been torn out of it." Naruto looked up to see Sakura pointing at a picture on the far wall, a family portrait it seemed; Tazuna, and a man who had his arms around Inari and Tsunami . . . but the face of that man had been torn out. **

"That's a strange thing to do." Obito grumbled.

"Jilted lover?" Kushina wondered.

"Debt collectors?" Jiraiya mused, pointedly looking away from his teammate.

"Traumatic death?" Tsunade asked, though it seemed more of a threat, as she looked pointedly at Jiraiya.

**Still, it was rude of Sakura to ask about something that was clearly personal to the family, if the man's face had been ripped out of the picture. To his surprise, Tsunami answered his teammate in a voice that was quiet and sadder than any he had heard her speak in before.**

"**That picture once held the face of Inari's father . . . his name was Kaiza." The morose look on her face prompted Naruto to send a dirty look to his pink-haired teammate, who flinched as she realized she had stepped on a landmine.**

"Well, children can often be rather blunt, she shouldn't feel so bad." Tsunade said knowingly.

**Tazuna, also more grave than the others were accustomed to, added, "He was known as the hero of this city."**

**SLAM! Inari pushed away from the table, hopping off the chair and stomping away and up the stairs. Tsunami called out to him worriedly, getting up to go after him. Just before she hit the stairs, she rounded on Tazuna with a ferocious expression.**

"**Father! I've told you countless times not to bring that man up!" With that last biting scolding, Tsunami rushed up the stairs.**

"Oh, so he must have died." Kushina commiserated with a somber look.

"I'm guessing the manner in which he died must not have been pleasant at all." Minato said softly.

**Tazuna sighed heavily, taking a swig from his ever-present sake bottle.**

"**The hero of the city? Sounds like a promising tale." Naruto said softly. **

**Tazuna snorted a droll grin on weather-chapped lips. "Well, it is, in a way . . . the story of why exactly Inari doesn't believe in heroes anymore. I'll tell you the tale of Kaiza: our hero of the land." **

"Like most little boys, his daddy was his hero. But when he realized his father was not invincible, he stopped believing that the world could be better than what it is now." Tsunade summarized sadly, feeling empathy for the little boy. How many times had she felt like that after Nawaki, and then Dan, had died?

**And what a tale it was, Naruto thought to himself later on in the cover of darkness. As everyone else slept, he remained awake as he ran through the details of the story one more time. Kaiza was a fisherman who had come to Wave seeking his fortune. Instead, he had gotten something greater— the love and admiration of a little boy, and eventually a family. Inari and Taiza, while not blood-related, were completely a father-and-son duo. Kaiza also became a hero to the town, his heroic actions and brave spirit giving the town someone to look up to. **

"Sounds like an admirable man." Jiraiya commended the man.

**That all changed though, with Gato's arrival. Gato began a slow, but sure siege of Nami. Kaiza was one of the few brave ones to try and stop Gato, but the people had only realized it while it was too late: when Kaiza was put to death in front of the entire town by Gato. After cutting off his arms he was beheaded . . . and right in front of Inari.**

"Sick bastard!" Obito hissed.

Rin couldn't even say anything, her hand pressed to her mouth in horror as tears filled her eyes. The others could do naught but bow their heads in sorrow for the pain the little boy must have felt . . . and was still going through.

**Naruto's fists clenched in anger as he thought about it. What sort of monster would do that, and put a child through that too? The amount of suffering the town had been put through . . . what Tazuna and his family had been put through . . . **

**Naruto could hardly wait for tomorrow night.**

**The next morning, there wasn't as much bustle and liveliness at the table as there had been on other days, especially since Kiba was still down, although able to move around much better. The tragic story of Kaiza was settled into their hearts, and the lack of Inari's and Tsunami's presence that morning only heightened it. Well, the latter was Naruto's doing, as he had insisted that Tsunami stay with Inari, while he cooked breakfast.**

"Considerate child." Kushina murmured with a soft smile.

**They ate quickly, though the others thanked Naruto for cooking, and it was Kakashi this time who stayed behind to guard the house, along with Shino, Hinata, and Kiba. Kurenai took the rest of them to the bridge, where she was treated to the rare (for now) sight of two-hundred eighty clones working around the bridge— hammering, nailing, toiling away, and with a professionalism she hadn't thought a twelve-year old would possess.**

**When she asked Naruto, he said, "The clones learned this yesterday, so they can do a better job of it now, and learn new things."**

"**Ah, so you know about that little trick of the shadow clones." Kurenai said, sitting atop the pile of metal beams next to Naruto.**

**Naruto laughed. "Yes and what a wonder it's been. Can you imagine how much training I could get done with these clones? Months of work done in days with the right amount of clones!"**

Kushina pretended to wipe a bit of drool from the side of her mouth. "Ah, the sheer idea is tempting . . ."

Kakashi snorted, while Obito shouted, "Why doesn't everyone do that then?!"

"No one, save perhaps the jinchuurikis, can handle that kind of mental stress from so much information, even if you were very careful about it. Even Naruto must be careful not to overdo it, the mind is a delicate thing." Tsunade lectured in a forbidding tone of voice, letting the kids know that they were not to attempt it.

"**Well, wouldn't push it too far Naruto; if you overload your mind, it can be fatal." Kurenai cautioned.**

"**As if Kyuubi would let that happen." He whispered to her, winking. Kurenai just barely stopped from stiffening at the mention of that dreaded beast. Not that she begrudged the boy his burden, but that night stood out forever in her mind as one of stark horror. Before she could get too lost on memory lane, Naruto's voice pulled her out of it.**

"**Kurenai-sensei, would it be impertinent of me to ask you about yourself, as a friend of Anko-nee's?" Naruto asked her.**

**Kurenai blinked twice. The question wasn't that odd, but somehow it struck her as being so.**

"Probably because it was asked so politely." Kakashi said in amusement.

"Impertinent? Who says that anymore, I ask you?" Obito asked.

**After a moment, she answered.**

"**No, that's fine. I've actually been rather curious about you and your friend." Kurenai confessed, smiling at the boy.**

**Naruto smiled. "Question for a question then?"**

"**Sure." Kurenai agreed, before starting off. "You're a very polite boy for one so young, Naruto, especially considering . . . well, I just wondered how that was so? It couldn't have been Anko."**

"**Decidedly not. It is actually all the doing of my best friend, Katsu. We took . . . lessons together, tea ceremony, calligraphy, and such. I was so busy learning, I never had the time to fly off the handle as I used to when I was small. Though as I'm sure you've guessed, the old Uzumaki Temper is never far away.**

"The old Uzumaki Temper?" Minato repeated, struggling to control the massive grin on his face as he looked down at his lover.

Kushina shrugged with no small amount of reluctance. "Well . . . it is rather legendary in some parts of Water Country. Or rather, it was."

"No, still is." Jiraiya assured her, snorting when Kushina stuck her tongue out at him.

"**My turn now— when did you and Anko-nee become friends?"**

**Kurenai laughed softly. "Well, we were school mates back in the Academy, but we never mingled together much. She was much different back then . . . we didn't really start to hang out until a long time after Orochimaru defected— I know she told you, so don't give me that shocked face— when we were part of the same Chuunin guard squad. Having to be together all those days, guarding the gate, we just . . . started talking, and from there that was that.**

"**So . . . what is your favorite memory with Katsu?" Kurenai switched it up by asking about a subject that was dear to his heart.**

"Which one isn't" Obito simpered.

"You laugh now, but its lines like that, that get you laid my young friend." Jiraiya said with a perverted grin— one that was quickly smashed in by Tsunade's fist.

"**Ah . . . such a question I don't think I can answer. The first one that comes to mind though is when she baked me a birthday cake all by herself. Nami-baba— that was her baa-chan— told me that she combed the eastern and western section of Konoha for orange icing for the cake." He laughed softly, warmth sparkling in his eyes.**

"**Your turn now." He smiled, turning those sparkling blues on her.**

**They asked more questions of each other, Kurenai making sure to ask a healthy amount of questions concerning Katsu— she was curious about the girl, to be sure, but she did it mostly to see that wide, almost goofy smile light up his face like a sparkler. **

Team Minato coughed in unsion, Obito going so far as to double over and have his hand flop onto the table with a finger curiously pointed at Minato.

"Oh, it's laps for all of you when we get back home." Minato promised, smiling at their immediate protests.

**In turn, he asked her questions about her genjutsu, Anko, and some embarrassing stories told by the damn Snake Mistress which she vowed to get revenge over. **

**Eventually, and with new information on construction, Naruto and the others trooped back to the house. When Naruto moved into the living room, having been firmly barred from the kitchen by a giggling Tsunami, he found himself corralled in by Sasuke and Shino. Well, that was an exaggeration, but he felt that way. Shino had sat on the far end of the couch, but he could feel a sort of tension buzzing around him like the kukaichu under the covered boys' skin. Sasuke stood by the window in the wall behind the couch, but occasionally he would attempt to bore holes in Naruto's back with his stare.**

"Maybe they're not as stealthy as he thought . . ." Tsunade sniggered.

"Kami help them on this mission." Kakashi muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

**Naruto wanted to tell them to clear off, but he had more restraint than that, and just settled for ignoring them best as he could while reading up on an a way to time the explosion on an exploding tag, as well as make something other than fire explode out of them. It was most intriguing.**

"Why, kami, why?! Why did he have to learn about advanced exploding tags?!" Obito sobbed, banging the coffee table with his fists.

**For seemingly no reason at all, the other Konoha nins found shivers going down their spines, and a sense of foreboding filling them.**

"You should be afraid." Kushina confirmed with a wicked smile.

**After two additional chapters, Tsunami called them in for dinner, which they all took with gratitude, sinking into the chairs of the kitchen. Inari was, once again, not present. Dinner was a bit more cheerful than breakfast, but still somewhat subdued. The only meaningful thing that took place was the pointed look Kakashi gave Naruto as he said, "Best not to overload yourself by reading so much at once Naruto."**

"Hmm . . . the jury is out on that one." Jiraiya decided, not sure how that hidden message would rank with other standard ones.

"Hope remains." Kakashi muttered sarcastically.

**Naruto grinned sheepishly as he closed the fuuinjutsu book and put it in his skin seal. "I can't help it; I want to do so much!"**

**Shino and Sasuke caught the hidden message, but said nothing, revealed nothing in their body language. Soon dinner was done with, and the kitchen was cleaned quickly. The hours after dinner were the most nerve wracking. Naruto sometimes felt like the others somehow had an inkling of their plans, and were staying up purposely.**

"Pre-assassination jitters; remember when we used to get them Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked her teammate.

"Yeah . . . the good old days." Jiraiya said in nostalgia, a wistful smile playing across his lips.

**His fears were unfounded though, as eventually it was decided they would all wash up and head to bed. **

**After a while, and some arguments between Sasuke and he, the lights went out and the people inside the house lay down to sleep. Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino as well, figuring some sleep no matter how small was better than none.**

"Heh, they were smarter than me . . . I was so keyed up I couldn't sleep." Kakashi mumbled to himself, so quietly he was sure no one would catch it. Unfortunately for him, Minato did.

"When the hell did you go on an assassination mission?!" Minato demanded sharply, and Kakashi flinched.

"Uh . . . moving on." He muttered hurriedly.

**At midnight, though Naruto didn't know that, he was awoken by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up from the hand, to the arm it was connected to, and saw his sensei looking down at him with a smile.**

"**Time to go, Naruto." Kakashi whispered. At Naruto's nod, he got up and went over to Sasuke, who jerked awake as soon as he was touched. Both boys, dressed into their clothes as quickly as they could without making any noise. Kakashi slipped out while they were doing so to retrieve Shino.**

**After dressing and double-checking their kit, Naruto and Sasuke ghosted out the door, meeting up with Kakashi and Shino in the hallway, and then creeping down the hallway to the window Naruto had used earlier that week to sneak out. One by one, they dropped from the window to the ground.**

"**Kakashi-sensei, what about the window?" Naruto asked him. Kakashi looked up, as they did as well, to see Kurenai look down on them with a heavy look.**

"**Good luck." She whispered, throwing one last look to Kakashi, before moving back into the house and closing the window softly.**

"A warning if you come back with those kids in worse condition than when they left." Kushina translated, throwing her own look to Kakashi.

"If Naruto is anything like you—which we know he is— then that's a tall order." Kakashi admitted nervously.

**Kakashi turned back to them. "Move out." **

**On that command, he leapt into the trees, the boys following. They leapt through the trees quickly, melding into the shadows and avoiding any patches of light— well, Kakashi did that for the genins' benefit. **

"**Now, when we get to the headquarters, you are to follow the orders of your team leader, who I have designated as Naruto. However, I will give you signals to look out for throughout the mission should I deem them necessary." Kakashi said quietly, knowing the others would hear it as they were so close. **

"**Hai." They all responded in hushed tones. Their trek through the forest continued, and by the time Shino started slowing down from the amount of chakra he was using, Naruto was starting to grow concerned. Then, Kakashi halted, and they were barely able to stop in time not to overshoot him.**

"**Alright, we're here." Kakashi said. The boys turned to survey the compound . . . which looked more like a vacation spot. Naruto sneered at the obnoxious display of wealth, when not too far there lay an entire town wasting away from hunger and death. Sure there were the expected guards milling around the grounds, and gates, and probably even more thugs inside than they knew. But for all that, everything else was lavish, sophisticated . . . and gaudy.**

"**So . . . let's go over some things." Kakashi said pleasantly, eyes twinkling with mischief. **

"And that's the end of the chapter." Kakashi announced, closing the book with a snap.

"Good, now you and I can discuss what it was you said earlier." Minato said with a cold smile.

"Uh, yeah . . . I'm really tired so—" Kakashi choked on his next word as Minato's hand shot out to grab his collar.

"Now." Was all Minato said, but that was all he needed to.

"We're, um . . . . just going to go ahead." Rin said, backing away like the rest of them.

"Traitors." Kakashi growled, glaring at the others as they quickly scampered into their rooms. With an audible gulp, he turned slowly under Minato's hand, gazing up with trepidation into his sensei's stern face.

"Now . . . I know for a fact that only jounin do assassinations . . . and you're still a Chuunin Kakashi. Mind explaining things to me?" Kami strike him down if that smile wasn't the scariest thing Kakashi had ever seen.

* * *

**Alright, review and let me know what you think! Your support is, as always, greatly appreciated.**

**love,**

**Blood Velvet ~3**


	11. Chapter 11

**OK everyone. This is it. The last chapter of my weekly-updating schedule. School starts up now, and for now my focus will be solely on that, ok? I'm sorry, that's just the way things go in RL right? But, i hope this is enough to satisfy you for the time being. **

**DISCLAIMER: I won nothing of Naruto, only Masashi Kishimoto does. Nor do i own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Eleven_

_Danse Macabre, Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

The next morning a wary group walked out of their rooms into the kitchen. They never thought they'd hear such evil laughter coming from Minato, but last night proved them wrong. Not surprisingly, Kakashi was the last person to leave his room and join them all in the kitchen. Those that were setting the table kept their heads down and focused solely on the placement of utensils, while the ones sitting down ducked their heads or looked at the ceiling.

Minato looked around at every one of the cowards with an unimpressed look, before locking eyes with Kakashi. "Kakashi-kun . . . ohaiyou."

"Ohaiyou sensei." Kakashi said lazily, giving the man a two-fingered salute as he slid into his seat.

Obito, sensing no hostility in the air, figured it was safe for him to speak. "So, starting to act more and more like you're future self huh? You sat down just now like you _didn't_ have a ten-foot pole stuck up your ass."

"Keep talking, and my _foot's_ going up _yours_." Kakashi countered in a mock playful voice. Obito got the message, turning away from his teammate with a nervous laugh. Rin saw this and just sighed wearily, not even bothering to try and play mediator.

That small interaction let the others know everything was all clear, and so breakfast resumed in its usual lively atmosphere. The now customary tray being filled, with a pitcher of drink, they migrated to the living room and took their spots.

"Who will read today?" Minato asked.

"Eh, I don't feel up for it today. I'd be so nervous I'd ruin the reading." Rin backed out.

"Er . . . I feel like I couldn't do this chapter justice." Obito said, basically agreeing with Rin.

Tsunade shrugged. "Then I'll read it. Hand it over please?"

Minato did, and Tsunade took it with thanks thrown in his direction, busily flipping through the pages to find the correct one. Upon finding it, she took one last drink of iced tea from her glass, and started to read.

"**Ok, here's a Hatake special: Espionage for Dummies/Genin in a few quick steps!" Kakashi joked, with thumbs up. **

"**Just get to the point already." Sasuke said curtly, frowning.**

"**So cold." Kakashi muttered with a sullen look, before quitting his joking manner and becoming dead serious again. "Listen, I'll be giving you guys except giving you some advice, and helping you steer clear of any confrontations that can be avoided. How do I do that? Simple, I give each of you a radio."**

"Shouldn't you be going in there with them? You're supposed to kill Gato and all!" Kushina asked sharply.

"Let the kids test the waters first, I'll be there if it really starts to hit the fan." Kakashi said, waving away her concerns.

**Kakashi produced from his weapons pouch three different tiny radios with a single thin headset that looped behind the ear. Quickly, they set up, and Kakashi tested them out to check for good quality.**

"Ah, I remember when those things first came out. Things became a lot easier, towards the end of our genin days." Minato sighed, remembering the excitement they all felt over the new gadgets.

"**OK, this is what you do. Understand that it won't be as difficult getting past these thugs as it would be getting past shinobi, but that is no reason to be sloppy or anything less than perfect. They may not be able to sense chakra, but they can hear a creak on the floor, or a thump on grass . . . small noises like that. You learned the tree-walking exercise, put it to good use. Don't worry about inside, I'll be cutting the lights off after I get in.**

"You didn't explain to them how!" Rin cried out in protest.

"Naruto chose them for a reason. They ought to be smart enough to figure it out, and if they're not . . . hello, teammates." Kakashi argued.

"**Your mission is to find out where Gato keeps his important documents, and retrieve any you think would be of value. If you have any questions, ask your squad leader. Follow your leader's instructions to the letter, do you understand? If Naruto says to engage and kill, then you **_**engage and kill**_**. If he says do not engage and fall back, **_**you had better fall back**_**. Any insubordination will be reported and put on your file as a black mark." Kakashi's voice may have been quiet, but the intensity and near harshness of his tone left no less of an impact.**

"**Hai, sensei." The three genin said firmly. Then Naruto spoke up with a nod of his head.**

"**Sensei, if I may add another part to the mission?" he asked.**

"There's more? What does he want to do, end world hunger?" Obito complained.

"**What else needs to be done Naruto?" Kakashi asked.**

"**There is still the matter of Zabuza, if he thinks he can still be paid he won't stop. Let us find some reward money for Zabuza so he can back off." Naruto explained.**

"Plus, you know, should Zabuza suddenly find his heart and decide to . . . I don't know, refuse the money . . . then, I guess, you could always keep it for yourself." Obito said nonchalantly, eyes zigzagging across the room.

**Kakashi looked away in thought, humming thoughtfully. "It makes sense . . . a surer way to stop Zabuza than just toppling Gato. He might still try for fun anyway. I will allow it." Kakashi confirmed.**

"**Thank you, sensei." Naruto murmured.**

**Kakashi smirked. "For that bit of planning ahead, I give you a reward! A relatively safe way to enter the building, assuming you don't alert the guards on the outside, or anywhere near the area I'm about to tell you. The easiest way to get in is the third floor window directly on that wall— the guards are all pretty smashed from earlier today. Now, the tricky part is avoiding any light so as not to be seen and the guards, but it's better than some other points of entry. Ok, is everyone ready?"**

"**Hai, sensei!" Naruto spoke for his team, the other two just nodding shortly, bodies coiled and tensed as they prepared to spring. **

"**Go." Kakashi whispered, but by the time they heard the first sound of his voice, they had already sprung into the night. Kakashi sighed, making himself comfortable against the trunk of the tree as he grabbed a pair of binoculars from inside his vest.**

"**They grow up so fast." He murmured with slight pride in his voice as he held up the binoculars to his eye. **

"Kakashi, why do I get the feeling like you're going to try and replace me?" Minato said, eyeing the boy speculatively.

"Hey if the kid turns out as big a sensation in the ninja world as I think he is, it'll happen. Naru-chan will be calling someone besides you daddy sensei." Kakashi said in a wicked tone.

"I knew I should have left you in that bear trap on our first B-rank together." Minato grumbled.

**Naruto took to the head of the pack, Sasuke and Shino behind him to make a triangle formation between the three of them.**

"**Use your chakra to silence your footsteps." Naruto whispered behind him, and the disappearance of the sounds of grass bending told him enough. The three of them ran a little further, to the edge of the forest, before Naruto put his hands up for them to halt. Once they did, all three immediately crouched behind the large bushes for cover.**

"So far so good." Tsunade sighed, worrying the corner of her mouth with her teeth.

"**There are probably guards going around the outer walls of the gate, but we need to make sure none will come around while we climb over it." Naruto said, before turning to Shino.**

"**Shino, anything your kikaichu can do?"**

**Shino nodded. "Yes, they can scout the areas quickly, and they can also suck enough chakra out of the guards to render them unconscious."**

**Naruto shook his head. "That last part won't be necessary. Even if we knocked them out, it'd take too much time to hide the bodies, and they're missing presence might alert the others. For now, we do this without much fuss— quietly and quickly. Shino, if you would."**

"Very good . . . now don't get too cocky if you reach the wall." Kakashi murmured, lacing his fingers together and placing his chin on them.

"**Hai." Shino suddenly turned quiet, and the miniscule buzzing of kikaichu suddenly filled the ears of both Sasuke and Naruto, who looked like they were restraining themselves from swatting by their ears. The kikaichu were small and dark, so even as they left to scout the area in a cloud of each other, they were unnoticeable in the darkness with the clouds now covering them moon. **

"**So, where do you think Gato would hide the papers, or his money?" Sasuke asked, breaking the silence that had overtaken them.**

**Naruto looked at him with a small frown, not because of the question but due to his thoughts. "A man like Gato, he wouldn't trust anyone but himself to keep them safe probably. Either he has them, or he has the knowledge of where they are and we need to . . . persuade him to tell us. Now that I think about it, be prepared to deal with any bodyguards he'd have— both outside his door and in the room."**

"So not only is he performing espionage, he's considering interrogation too?" Jiraiya paraphrased with a raised eyebrow. He turned pleading eyes to his prized student.

"Minato, can I—?"

"No, sensei, you may not make him a child double agent for all the royal biddies in the daimyo's court. As a matter of fact, you may not be within twenty feet of my child from the time he's born." Minato cut the man off with a dry tone, and an icy look. Jiraiya shivered comically, cringing.

**Sasuke smirked. "Reconnaissance, assassination, **_**and possible interrogation**_**? And here I thought this mission would be boring."**

**Naruto smirked. Yes, now that Sasuke brought it up, he certainly had a story to tell Anko when he got home. "Yes, well . . . nothing wrong with getting a taste of future specialties we might wish to go into."**

"**I agree, so on that note let us go. My kikaichu have returned and state the all clear— apparently there's a dispute going on the opposite wall between two guards and the others are trying to calm them down."**

"You've just got to love lower-grade hired help." Obito said.

"**Let's go." Naruto ordered, rising with them as all three moved out. Running to the wall quickly, Naruto ran up the wall and stopped just as his head was about to clear it.**

"Excellent, make sure the coast is all clear." Minato encouraged.

"**Naruto?" Sasuke whispered, but Naruto shushed him with a hand motion as he carefully looked over the wall. Looking around he spotted some guards weaving through the shrub sculptures— but they wouldn't notice them if they were quick enough. No, it was the two guards leaning against the same wall he was standing on that would present a bit of a problem. Leaning back and looking behind him, Naruto made a gesturing motion with his hand.**

"**Can one of you hand me a pebble or something?" Naruto whispered. Shino leaned backwards and picked a sizeable pebble from off the ground, giving it to Naruto who received it with thanks. Naruto leaned back up and peaked just over the wall, looking around for the perfect— aha. There.**

**Bringing his hand up to by his cheek, Naruto's hand went back, and then his wrist flicked forward. The pebble flew to the right, hitting a water fountain with such force that a tiny bit of it crumbled away. The noise alerted the two guards below him, and they moved quickly to investigate.**

Jiraiya clapped. "Impressive— I thought for sure they'd try and take the guards head on, despite the noise that'd kick up. Take notes kids, not everything in the ninja lifestyle is flashy and widespread. Sometimes you just need to get back to basics— tricks, rather than frontal takes."

"No doubt a lesson repeated told to him in his pranks— I move for making pranking a part of the Academy. Perhaps not a class on it, but it shouldn't be frowned upon either. Just look at all the usefulness! Stealth, tactics, and creative thinking— what a ninja needs!" Obito put forth, Kakashi and Rin nodding in agreement.

"It has been so ordered." Minato acknowledged with a playful grin.

"**Now's our chance— be quick about it!" Naruto whispered as he vaulted over the wall, only just clearing it and running as soon as he hit the ground. He made it to the wall of the house, edging behind a shrub sculpted in the form of a woman. Crouching down again, Naruto started at two bodies suddenly next to him, but calmed when he realized it was just Sasuke and Shino.**

"Think the jitters are starting to get to him?" Kushina asked.

"Not yet . . . but it will when he's in the mansion." Tsunade swore.

"**OK, so how are we going to get to the window on the third floor?" Sasuke whispered.**

"**We should be quick about this; the guards will come back soon." Shino stated.**

"**We knock them out, and replace them." Naruto answered simply.**

"I thought he wanted this quickly and quietly." Rin said in confusion, turning to the resident spy master.

"Well, this is rather interesting . . . it might be him feeling pressured and therefore getting sloppy. Or, he just might have something going here." Jiraiya said in a distracted manner.

**Sasuke's brows furrowed. "What about before, you—"**

**Naruto nodded impatiently. "Yes, but that was outside, we're in now and the more guards we take out the easier it will be for everyone, especially when we're leaving. Besides, I can henge my clones to look like them, so as long as they can act the part, no one will know should they come up to them. Now, which one of us gets to do the honors?"**

"Well, as good a plan as can be expected from a genin . . . without the help of their jounin sensei." Jiraiya said with a pointed look to Kakashi.

"Hey, I'll _be there_ . . . in the background . . . cleaning up any messes they might make." Kakashi defended himself.

**A static noise from their radios caught their attention. **_**"You sure you want to do that Uzu? Might be suspicious if you just start knocking thugs out left and right, they'll notice if more and more of their comrades start acting funny." **_**Kakashi's voice came, lazy and half-caring, through the radio headset.**

"See? Checking up on my kids . . . and Shino." Kakashi defended, though Jiraiya's flat look suggested he wasn't impressed.

**Naruto snorted. "It was you yourself that presented the possibility of doing this. I can't help it if it's unavoidable . . . for us anyway. Shall I just leave the rest to you then?"**

"_**Just checking your resolve." **_**Kakashi said cheerily, then the radios went silent as Kakashi went off the channel.**

"**Getting back to the manner at hand, I can do it. I'll tie them up with ninja wire when I'm done and throw them in that greenhouse over there." Sasuke volunteered. **

"**You have five minutes, then I expect you to bring them back so I can make shadow clones." Naruto ordered. With a nod, Sasuke crept off to blindside the two henchmen.**

Jiraiya sighed. "Well, they're trying to make this as solid a plan as possible."

**Sasuke showed up four minutes later with knocked out thugs, both trussed up side by side. Naruto smiled, performing the kage bushin without a word, and with two barely there clouds of chakra two clones formed. Without being told they performed the henge and took on the appearance of the thugs, then trooped to the wall, lounging on it just as their counterparts had done.**

"**Put them away and meet us on the third floor." Naruto whispered to Sasuke as he created another clone to help Sasuke. As they drug the two thugs off with small grunts of exertion now and then, Naruto and Shino quickly ran up the wall, quickly coming up to the third floor window. Naruto was about to open it, when he thought of the guards that were no doubt up there. Scolding himself for his impatience, Naruto turned to an attentive Shino.**

"**Shino, scout out the hallway please, and check for cameras too." Naruto said as he pulled the window up just a crack, and Shino moved his hand to the windowsill, where some of his kikaichu scuttled out from his sleeve and went through the opening. Naruto and Shino waited, carefully looking around for any guards that might come around, but the ones that got anywhere near turned away after a nod to the guard clones, who nodded back— they never looked up.**

**Suddenly the kikaichu came back and trooped up Shino's arm. "There are two guards coming around the corner to the east end of the hallway, no cameras from what they could find."**

**Naruto grunted, looking at the wall in front of him as he thought it over. Well, when espionage and covertness didn't cover it . . . the old standby was good too.**

"Please tell me this standby isn't—" Minato started out warily.

"Beat the crap out of your opponent? Yeah, good old standby." Kushina grinned somewhat nervously as she too felt nervous for their son.

"**Guess we better get to that corner before they do and knock 'em out." Naruto said with a shrug. Shino's only response was a raised eyebrow, but he followed along nonetheless when Naruto opened the window fully and crawled in. Making sure to close the window behind them, Naruto and Shino ran to the end of the hallway, stopping just before rounding the corner as they heard the sound of heavy footsteps and deep voices laughing.**

"Should have checked themselves for cameras." Jiraiya sighed, shaking his head.

"Oh be nice, it's their first time without the proper training." Rin scolded lightly.

"**On three." Naruto whispered. "One . . . two . . ."**

**The thugs came around the bend, only to be met with the chakra-enhanced fist of Uzumaki Naruto, and both the foot and chakra-sucking kikaichu of Aburame Shino. They went down in two minutes.**

**Shino turned to Naruto as they drug the unconscious guards down the hallway. "Three."**

"Oh, _this_ Aburame is just a _barrel of laughs_." Obito praised, slow clapping.

**Naruto snorted, opening a door on the side he knew to be empty and throwing the bodies inside. He nearly laughed out loud when Sasuke's drawling, mock angry voice came from behind them.**

"**Having fun without me dobe?"**

"My dear, revenge-driven little cousin is joking!" Obito gasped, hand to his heart.

"**Not a chance." Naruto assured the boy as he turned to face him. Sasuke looked distinctly unruffled and almost bored with the mission— it was a type of arrogance Naruto had to admit he wished he could pull off.**

"Well, with as much of your father in you as there is, you can pull it off just as well as any Uchiha." Kushina chuckled at Minato's face, who wasn't sure whether or not he should take it as a compliment.

"**So, Gato's bedroom should be up here right?" Sasuke asked as all three boys walked slowly, cautiously back to the hallway bend.**

"**Yes. Now, as for finding out which one . . . I suppose we could henge into the guards we've met, and try to play off our misplacement as simple fun, but . . ." Naruto hesitated, ashamed to admit he hadn't thought **_**this **_**far through.**

"Well, it's harder to think of what to do on the inside— really, getting in is the easy part." Jiraiya said, feeling a little sympathetic for his godson.

**Shino spoke up. "An interesting plan, and one that holds a lot of risk to attempt, with a great chance of failure."**

"**The kind of odds I thrive in," Naruto cut in with a grin, before turning serious. "However, you're right. We can't afford such risks on this mission, but how . . . ?"**

**A tinny noise in his ear, a breathy chuckle. **_**"Luckily your fairy god-sensei is here to save the day. As good as your plans have been so far, I had a feeling you'd be kind of overwhelmed once you were in. That's why I'm here remember?"**_

"About _time_ you stepped in and helped these kids!" Tsunade and Kushina barked, glaring at Kakashi.

"Come on, they were doing ok up until this point! That's good!" Kakashi argued.

"**Kakashi-sensei." Naruto had to work not to speak too loudly in his relief. With a motion, all three boys settled against the wall before the cut into the other hallway, listening to Kakashi.**

"**What do you suggest we do? We . . . I could really use some help here." Naruto inquired softly, looking at his teammates on either side of him. Both boys wore looks of concentration on their faces, smooth and careful masks to hide away any feelings. **

"_**Don't worry, I'm right inside the house with you. Better yet, I'm inside the security room and looking right at you three."**_

Kushina hissed while Minato frowned in discomfort, thinking of what could have happened had Kakashi not cleared the camera room already.

"As I thought." Jiraiya nodded grimly.

**Naruto's eyes widened at the same time Sasuke and Shino's did. "Wha—?! We checked for cameras, there was nothing! If there were cameras the alarm would have been-"**

"_**It's okay." **_**Kakashi assured him with quiet confidence. **_**"Cameras can be tiny things hidden pretty much anywhere; I doubt I would have caught it at your age. Listen to me; forget about that— I can tell you the locations of some important rooms you'll want to check out."**_

"You just said that to make him feel better." Rin stated quietly.

Kakashi shrugged. "Depends on the circumstances, but he's been doing great regardless. They all have."

**Naruto squeezed his eyes shut to bury back the anger at himself for being so careless, and took a deep breath before opening them again. "OK, tell us where we need to go."**

"He shouldn't be so hard on himself." Kushina protested with a frown.

"Maybe, but it might also be for the best if he does. Knowing your mistakes so you won't make them again, make contingency plans for such things." Minato responded quietly.

"_**It'll work better if you guys split up— Sas, go to the third room on the right on the second floor, end of the hallway. Shi, to the room on the first floor, next hallway it's on the left, first thing. The way's been cleared for you, no thanks necessary. Ruto, I'm sending you to Gato's room— There's another hallway, through the door on your left, and it's the very door at the end of the hall. I'll meet you up there once you're done getting any info."**_

"**How come he gets to torture Gato all by himself?" Sasuke grumbled into the radio, not noticing the faint paleness of Naruto's pallor.**

"Just when I thought he was becoming a good person." Obito sighed sadly.

"**I won't do it if it's not needed, Sasuke. So we can all just skip that particular lesson." Naruto answered whisper-soft.**

"Good, he should never be eager to do that." Minato said firmly.

"_**It's true Sasuke. I wouldn't allow you three to do it anyway, even if it came to that. I'll be taking care of everything." **_**Kakashi said in a voice that, even over the radio waves, sounded final and absolute. **

"**Hai." All three boys uttered shortly, and then they were gone. Sasuke was making his way stealthily to the second floor, making sure chakra padded his footsteps enough so that not a single step on the stairwell creaked. Shino turned the corner of the hallway and let his kikaichu scout the room before slipping in to the pitch-black room. Naruto turned around to brace his back on the wall as he saw the door he needed to enter through. Oddly enough, **_**now **_**all the butterflies he believed dormant in his stomach were now taking flight in a tremendous show.**

"Deep breath kid, can't back out now." Jiraiya said, and was amused to see half the room follow his advice as they waited on tenterhooks for Naruto's story to continue.

**Naruto shook his head, mouth thinned into a determined line. "Here we go." Naruto mumbled. He took two strides forward and opened the door widely, before stepping in and letting it close shut quietly behind him.**

"Stupid! Just go ahead and alert the guards!" Tsunade hissed in fury as the others tensed up at Naruto's audacity.

**He made a show to pat himself off for imaginary dust or lint, seemingly unconcerned with the three surprised samurai (to call them such was an insult to the samurai of Iron Country) guarding the door he needed to get through.**

"What the _hell?!_" Everyone shouted.

**Walking forward with a jaunty step, Naruto let loose a megawatt grin to his opponents as he just walked cool as you pleased forward, closer to them and their swords with seemingly nothing on him. **

"**Evening, gentlemen, I don't suppose you'd be willing to just let me through? I'd be much obliged, and . . . well, who doesn't want to let their boss got assassinated by a ninja?"**

"**The gents who want to get paid. Sorry kid, you're dying tonight." A skinny man with stringy sea-foam colored hair walked forward, grinning as he unsheathed his blade. Then he froze, blinking rapidly with his sword half-out as Naruto suddenly shot forward next to him, the loop of his kunai jammed into the back of the man's neck. Shock etched on his face, the knocked out man fell to the floor with a heavy thud. **

"Oh, well, that's why he wasn't concerned." Obito laughed off his tension from earlier.

"Man, and here I thought he would have had a _problem!_" Rin giggled.

'_**Not like Gato hasn't heard me already.' **_**Naruto shrugged. With shouts, the last two men came for him with speed that wasn't too shabby for wannabe samurai. Still not fast enough to catch him though— not after all the hell Anko and Kakashi put him through in training. **

**Using his kunai to catch the swords as they fell in tandem, Naruto slipped under his arm and twisted to get in the largest man's guard, catching him with an elbow to the gut. As he fell clutching his stomach, Naruto ducked under the swing of the other man's sword again and his foot shout out to knock the man down. As he fell, Naruto grabbed his arm and swung him around to crash into the big one. While both were still down, Naruto knocked them both out chops to the neck. **

"Clean, efficient— the neck chop is underrated, it really is." Tsunade lamented, Jiraiya and Minato nodding along with her in commiseration.

"**Man, what a pain. I need to kick my training into high gear when I go home so the next time this happens I won't be so slow." Naruto noted to himself as he rotated his right shoulder a few times, walking up to the door. **

"Seemed pretty fast from what I was hearing." Rin protested.

"There's always room for improvement." Minato lectured his genin.

"Ugh, he's a perfectionist like sensei!" Obito said the word perfectionist like it was a dire curse.

**He looked down and grasped the door handle, twisting it a few times, marveling at the fact that it was actually unlocked.**

"**Tsk, tsk. Someone got overconfident with their money's influence, didn't you Gato?" Naruto murmured in playful reproach as he opened the door, head automatically tilting to avoid the two bullets whizzing past his head. Rolling quickly to avoid three more, he moved left, then slid to the right as he dodged the bullets being belted out by Gato's little pistol. He smirked when Gato pulled the trigger, only to be met with the sounds of clicking as he realized the gun went empty.**

"Like a—" Rin and Obito sang.

"No! Enough with the boss comments they are getting old!" Jiraiya cut the two of them off with an annoyed scowl and an exaggerated sweeping motion of his arm.

"Like a BOSS." Kushina said bluntly, folding her arms and raising a challenging brow when Jiraiya whipped around to stare at her accusingly.

"**S-stay away!" Gato shrieked as he tumbled out of bed in his haste to get away from Naruto. Naruto smiled as he shook his head, running forward and grabbing Gato by the collar of his pajamas, hauling the bastard up. Looking him up and down, Naruto was very disappointed in the supposed monster. He was just a short, squat little old man with clearly no strength of his own.**

"The biggest guys usually are no-strength leeches, Naru-chan." Tsunade said reflectively, head tilted to the side as she was briefly pulled by memories.

"**My apologies, Gato-san . . . but you have some information I need." Naruto said in a tone of mock regret. Pinning the little bastard to the wall, Gato's legs flailing in mid-air, Naruto adopted a pleasant tone as he spoke.**

"**Gato-san . . . just cooperate and I'll let you live." Naruto promised. "However, please remember I am a ninja— and of a decent caliber, I'd like to think— so if I think you're lying to me . . ." his fists came slowly together, choking Gato with his own pajama collar. "I'll kill you." **

"The most important thing about a bluff is that you believe it as well— otherwise you're opponent or whoever you're bluffing too can tell." Kushina cautioned Rin and Obito.

**Gato wheezed as he turned red, tugging fruitlessly at Naruto's hands. "I'll tell you! Just let me go!" **

**Naruto loosened his hands, and Gato could breathe again. He dropped Gato but didn't let him go, dragging him to a small table and chair set in the room and throwing Gato in the chair.**

"He's not doing too shabby for interrogation— at least as far as intimidation goes." Jiraiya said, giving the boy props.

"**Now that you're comfortable, mind telling me where you have your paperwork?" Naruto asked, leaning against the side of Gato's chair.**

"**And what do you need those for?!" Gato asked irritably, massaging his throat. He froze in fear when right on the forming bruises on his neck, a kunai rested delicately.**

"**I asked you a question, I would like an answer." Naruto rebuked casually, allowing some killing intent to rise around him. Gato started sweating, feeling a killing intent similar to Zabuza's and his little tool.**

"Killing intent equal to a no-doubt seasoned missing nin? My son does me so proud." Minato claimed, hand to his chest.

"**They're . . . in that safe." Gato stuttered out, trembling pointer finger indicating the safe in the corner of the room. Naruto hummed in thought, fingers tapping on his thigh. As he suspected, Gato had them close at hand. He'd need to inform Sasuke and Shino.**

"Excellent, it's all too easy sometimes to forget your teammates in the heat of things— an action that could get them killed." Tsunade commended Naruto.

"**Come with me." Naruto ordered, jerking the man out of his seat and dragging the stumbling, tripping man to the safe. He threw the man down in front of it. Gato, glared at the boy, furious that the little brat would treat **_**him**_** in such a way! Didn't he know he could get any hunter ninja he wanted to go after him?!**

**Naruto obviously didn't, or more likely just didn't care, because he said shortly, "Open it." **

Rin and Obito bumped fists while giggling almost maniacally, their actions portraying what they wanted to say.

**Gnashing his teeth, Gato did so, carefully putting in the combination code to unlock the safe. A small click— the safe had opened. Nervously, Gato looked over his shoulder to see Naruto's back, the boy touching a hand to what he supposed was a headset for a radio. **

"Stupid, never turn your back on an enemy, civilian or otherwise— _especially _otherwise!" Kushina hissed in outrage.

**Smirking, Gato quickly turned around and opened the safe as quietly as possible, and then reached for his bags of money— **

"**I don't think so." Gato squeaked in fear when Naruto's playful voice sounded just behind him, and then the back of his shirt was seized and he was thrown bodily onto his bed. Spluttering, Gato squirmed around until he sat up with a trembling huff, seeing Naruto take out all his papers and money. Gato's teeth grit, but no matter— the boy would leave him alive after he had gotten what he wanted, so he would just grab the rest of his money and papers later, and make a few bounties for the little rat's head.**

"No son of mine would leave loose ends." Minato snorted.

"Besides," Kakashi chimed in with a smirk, "no one said I would leave you alive."

**Shuffling the papers, Naruto murmured to himself as he skimmed through the documents— all very important. With a pleased chuckle, Naruto hefted the bags of money onto his back as he turned to the glaring Gato.**

"**Your cooperation was much appreciated, Gato-san. However, this isn't all the documents, right? There is more, isn't there?" Naruto asked the man cagily, a knowing glint in his eye. **

**Gato's heart jumped, but he struggled to maintain his composure as he lied through his teeth. "No, I don't know what you—"**

"**Yes he does Naruto, he's just being stingy." Kakashi's lazy, half-amused voice slithered out from the darkness, making Gato's heart stop for a moment as the jounin emerged from the shadows like a silver wraith, appearing behind Naruto.**

"**I know, but, what shall we do?" Naruto asked, eyes going up to his sensei in honest curiosity.**

"**Let me see those documents?" Kakashi asked, hand held out. Naruto gave them to his sensei, and Kakashi looked through each with a considering gaze.**

"**Very good Naruto, you've got some interesting finds. Sasuke also managed to unearth some interesting things, and Shino has a few bags of money from the other room. You guys have done enough. Can you make it home by yourselves?" Kakashi murmured, ruffling Naruto's sunshine-blonde hair.**

"No." Minato and Kushina said in a disapproving manner.

"**Yeah, they're out there?" Naruto asked, already turning to leave.**

"**Yeah, just go on, and keep them safe . . . taichou." Kakashi's teasing whisper left Naruto smirking widely as he vanished into the darkness.**

**Gato couldn't move, couldn't even let out a terrified squeak as Kakashi trained a solitary, but no less intense eye, on Gato.**

"Yeah it's tough for people without a full set of any functioning pair; they have to work _twice_ as hard as others to be _just_ as good." Obito sighed, yelping when a glaring Kakashi punched him in the ribs for his double meaning.

"**Good evening, Gato. You were lucky to have my student ask you some questions earlier— he's knew to the interrogation scene. I, however, am not." Kakashi's voice was like the silk of a high-end kimono, as it seemed to ensnare Gato. Gato could do naught but gulp in fear.**

**Meanwhile, Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino, were finding it much easier to leave the compound than before as they moved silently in the longer shadows of a nearly ended night. **

"I'm guessing you tidied up for them?" Kushina asked the boy.

"Without a doubt." Kakashi answered breezily.

"**That . . . was pretty interesting." Sasuke said, simply summing up the experience. Naruto laughed as they tree-hopped through the forest.**

"**Indeed, though mistakes were made, the mission was a success and quite a good one too." Shino stated in his usual monotone. **

"**Yes, there were some mistakes . . . and as team leader, I have to apologize for my lack of foresight in some areas during the night." Naruto said with contrition, not looking back to see the other's faces as they took in his words.**

"While it's good to be aware of the full responsibility of being leader of a team, he doesn't have to be that harsh?" Tsunade said, sympathy filling her for the boy.

"You are your own harshest critic— and that, sometimes, is a very good thing." Jiraiya countered.

"**Hn. What were you expecting dobe? Of course you would have screwed up." Sasuke scoffed, but Naruto didn't take offence to his words . . . too much, anyway. Naruto knew this was Sasuke's way of saying it was okay to make mistakes.**

"Really sucky way to go about it." Kushina sniffed, blunt as always.

Obito shook his head. "Kakashi . . . look after this little idiot in my stead, when you can manage some time away from sensei's kid."

"You can do it yourself." Kakashi shot with mild acid in his tone.

"**Uzumaki-san, seeing as this was all of our first time, mistakes were bound to occur, I am sure you did no worse than any other older ninja on their first spy mission, especially as team leader. You alone are not to blame for these mistakes. I could have sent more bugs to look specifically for cameras." Shino said.**

**Naruto shook his head with a soft smile. "Heh, thanks Shino. You ought to be ashamed of yourself Sasuke; you suck at cheering others up."**

**Sasuke snorted. "Like I'd want to cheer you up dobe!"**

"Someone's in denial." Rin sang.

**The next morning, back at Tazuna's house, Kurenai was waking the genin for the day, except for Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino.**

"**How come they get to sleep in?!" Kiba demanded in a groggy voice, restraining his yawns as best as he could.**

"Because they're better than you." Kakashi answered seriously.

"**They've exhausted themselves from training, so it's alright to let them lie in." Kurenai explained while ushering the kids downstairs. When the same thing was explained to Tsunami, Hinata and Sakura offered to assist in making breakfast in Naruto's stead. **

"**Damn, I was getting accustomed to seeing the clones filling up my bridge. Ah, well, enough work's been done these past two days that it's alright to do my own work today." Tazuna sighed in disappointment, finishing up his breakfast. With a smile to Tsunami who took his plate to clean, Tazuna moved back from the table and stretched.**

"**Well let's get going to the bridge." Tazuna grumbled, and with a nod Kurenai, Sakura, and Kiba followed. Hinata opted to stay behind and look after the three upstairs, as well as look out for Kakashi-sensei.**

"Don't tell me you went to sleep in a tree again." Minato sighed, looking at his student in question.

"What? They're comfortable." Kakashi said.

**Most of the morning passed without much fanfare, as Naruto and the others were still slumbering deeply in their rooms. Naruto was the first to wake up in the early afternoon. Blinking and disoriented at first, he shook his head to get the cobwebs out, and eventually remembered everything.**

**Naruto smiled, when his head popped up when the sound of little footsteps came down the hallway and stopped outside the door. The door cracked open enough to let small fingers curl around the door, before it opened up a little more to reveal Inari. Inari's eyes widened when he saw Naruto was awake, and he froze uncertainly.**

**Naruto waved cheerily to the boy. "Hello, Inari."**

**Inari blushed, and shuffled his feet uncertainly. "Idiot, you trained so hard you couldn't wake up this morning?"**

"It happens." Everyone said unashamedly.

**Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Well . . . something like that. I was having so much fun I didn't stop until much later than I should have."**

**Inari sniffed in disdain. "It's stupid to keep training, Gato will just kill you anyway." He told Naruto with absolute certainty.**

**Naruto laughed softly, and then waved the boy closer. Inari hesitated, before taking a few steps into the room. Naruto waved at him again, laughing at his shyness. It kept on like this until Inari was standing right in front of Naruto, looking suspicious. **

"Oh, the little boy must secretly like Naru-chan, I didn't think he'd come near any ninja." Rin said in a hushed tone.

"Naruto sounds like he's good with kids." Tsunade said thoughtfully.

**Naruto leaned forward, as if sharing a special secret with Inari. "You know Inari, you're right." He chuckled at Inari's shocked face. "Gato can definitely kill us— so you know what we gotta do?"**

**Inari looked sullen and closed-off, something that surprisingly made Naruto a little happy. If Inari was taking his words so hard, then deep down, perhaps he was hoping they could bring down Gato.**

"**Leave town?" Inari guessed dourly. **

**Naruto shook his head, eyes sparkling as he leaned even closer to whisper in Inari's ear. "We have to kill **_**him**_** before he kills **_**us**_**." The whisper was playful, but it chilled Inari throughout his body.**

"Oh, that's great thing to tell a child." Rin huffed, displeased with Naruto's actions.

"It is when the kid saw his father killed by that man." Obito argued, crossing his arms.

**Inari jerked back, shocked at what Naruto said to him. He started backing away uncertainly, not sure how to take those words. With an angry growl, he shook off the uncertainty Naruto's words had said to him, and shouted, "A stupid idiot like you couldn't kill Gato!"**

**As Inari scrambled out of the room, Naruto fell back to the ground in laughter, stopping only when a still sleepy Sasuke kicked him in the ribs to shut up. **

"Why is our son such a weirdo?" Kushina asked Minato. Minato sighed and patted her head.

"It's better than what we could have hoped for, what with him having psychopaths for parents." Minato said somberly.

**The day passed on with a little more interest than before once Naruto sauntered down the stairs, and kept both Hinata and Tsunami entertained. Hinata and he would see how many leaves they could circle around their arms, while he and Tsunami shared funny stories from their lives. By the time Tazuna and the others came home, Sasuke and Shino had made their way down to the kitchen and joined the others. Kurenai reported that the men on the bridge— now just eight of them— were whispering about the unease that was spreading through Gato's thugs, and something about Gato having gone missing.**

"Word travels fast, when it's something to really talk about." Jiraiya sniggered.

**Naruto's eyes danced with mirth while Sasuke looked down to control his smirk. Shino, of course, had the ultimate poker face.**

"Aburame!" Kakashi and Obito growled, shaking a rueful fist at the ceiling.

**Just before dinner started, Kakashi ambled in with his usual lazy grace, and merely said, "Yo," without his face once leaving his little orange book. Well, until he felt the flames of feminine wrath threatening is person from both Tsunami and Kurenai— that book practically disappeared. **

"**Kakashi, where on earth have you been?" Kurenai asked the man.**

"**Ah, well I took a nap in this super comfy tree, then I got lost when I walked past this weird temple thing . . . and can you believe I was driven even further off course by an angry badger? I had no idea badgers even lived in these parts." Kakashi explained with exasperation, like he was saying, 'what can you do?'**

"The first part I believe— the rest was total bullshit." Minato decided, ignoring the grunt of displeasure from Kakashi.

"**LIAR!" The table shouted unanimously— except for Naruto, who was muffling his laughter with his wrist in his mouth— and making Kakashi sweat drop.**

"Now you know how it feels, _bitch_." Obito sneered.

"I sincerely apologize for doubting you . . . about 50% more than I should have." Kakashi apologized with feeling.

Obito nodded in satisfaction, before stopping when the last part of Kakashi's sentence confused him. "Wait . . . what?"

"**It's all true, I swear!" Kakashi insisted, growing depressed when Naruto could no longer hold in his laughter and just about doubled up into hysterics. Tsunami and Tazuna followed with a bit more restraint as the Konoha team rounded on the alibi-equipped man. All throughout the chaos, Inari stared steadily at a near-crying Naruto, remembering his dad . . . and where heroics and laughing in the face of his enemies got him. **

"Ugh, come on kid— stop being such a damn crybaby!" Obito groaned, head falling back onto the couch.

"OBITO! He is a child!" Rin shouted as she hit the boy with her pillow.

**Eyes tearing up, little body trembling, Inari snapped and his hands came down forcefully on the table. It wasn't a terribly loud noise, and was almost lost in the noise from the others— but it was the look on his face, and the way he raised himself up on his seat that silenced everyone else as they listened to him.**

"**SHUT UP! You act all cool and talk all tough . . . but people like you are no match for people much stronger than yourself! They'll destroy you!" Inari shouted, glaring daggers at Naruto.**

"Even genin can topple a kage . . . if they believe in themselves, and their comrades." Jiraiya said heavily.

**The table froze in shocked silence, not knowing how to take this. Without even thinking about it, all eyes turned to Naruto, as if expecting a return serves from a game. Naruto, for his part, had straightened up and was now looking at Inari with something akin to confused desperation.**

"**Inari-chan, wait . . . what is this all about now?" Naruto asked softly, hands rising up to show he was no harm, as if Inari might be scared of him. The use of such a soft honorific after his name just angered Inari even further. He had never seen Naruto angry, or upset – well he was going to make him angry tonight.**

"The kid brings up a good point. I mean, I don't think Naruto's ever gotten _angry_ so far in this story." Obito pointed out.

"Well, this little boy certainly isn't going to bring it out of him if nothing else has." Rin said stoutly, frowning as she paid attention to Inari's rant.

"**You don't know a thing! This isn't your town! Just **_**watching**_** you **_**ticks me off!**_** You're always clowning around and having fun! You don't know a THING about **_**suffering**_** or what my life is like!" Inari screamed out, tears overflowing from broken eyes.**

Angry hisses and snarls of outrage burst forth from the vocal cords of everyone in the room.

"That child has no right to say such things to someone he doesn't even know, let alone my child." Minato said coldly, eyes glowing pale ice blue in his anger.

"To say that my son, the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi . . . knows nothing of suffering?" Kushina stuttered out, so angry that she was tripping over her own tongue as she nearly vibrated with fury in Minato's restrictive arms.

"That wasn't fair. That wasn't nice." Rin stated softly, nearly a whisper.

**Kakashi and Kurenai tensed up, knowing that as mild-mannered and polite as Naruto usually was, Inari might just have stepped on a landmine. Hinata also stiffened up, but not in wariness, but in anger at Inari's thoughtless words. The one who the words were meant for, however . . . **

**Naruto wasn't angry. Or at least, he didn't show it. Instead, Naruto sat in his chair and took the full force of Inari's anger, bitterness, and sadness. He did it without a smile, without much of any expression really.**

"Those words probably hurt him more than anyone else could know." Obito said sadly.

**Slowly, Naruto got up from his seat. Inari and the rest of the table winced, but did nothing yet. Then, Naruto's hand shot out so quick it was a blur heading straight for Inari.**

"He's going to hit Inari?" Rin gasped, knowing that this was out of character for Naruto.

"That's what you'd expect isn't it? Don't you know that this kid never does what anyone expects him to?" Kakashi chastised the girl, though there was no real bite in his tone.

"**Naruto no!" Sakura screeched, Kurenai and Kiba also jumping up. It was all unnecessary though, as Naruto's hand had stopped right above Inari's head, just as the child registered the speeding object coming toward him and flinched.**

**After a few moments, Inari opened his eyes, one at a time, to see Naruto just standing there, with a hand over his head, smiling warmly. It reminded him too much of his father's smile, and just as the tears started up again, Naruto's hand descended on Inari's head, and started ruffling his hair soothingly. **

"Naru-chan can always be the bigger man, no matter how good it might feel to get down on their level . . . what a good boy you will bear, Minato, Kushina." Tsunade sighed fondly.

"**Hey, Inari . . . you might be right. Having a tou-chan, and then losing him forever . . . I wouldn't know what that's like. Well, perhaps I do . . . but I was too young to even know anything about him, or my kaa-chan. I guess in that regard I'm lucky. But, you're lucky too right? You still have your kaa-chan and your jiji who love you very much. I think that I'm also extremely lucky, that as far as I can remember I haven't lost a precious person to anything but the eventual end of life. Still, you know, I'd like to think our pasts aren't that dissimilar." Naruto murmured pacifyingly, now petting Inari on the head twice before bringing his hand back to his side.**

"Your pasts are different. Your own is worse." Rin muttered to herself, not wanting to hurt sensei or Kushina.

"Heh, is it worse to have loved and lost, then to have never loved at all?" Obito uttered the old saying with a mocking tone, smile bitter cold for his poor sensei's child.

"In cases like these . . . that is truly the million ryo question." Tsunade answered.

"**What . . . do you mean you were too young to remember your parents dying?" Inari hiccupped, rubbing away tears from his face.**

"**I mean I grew up without knowing them at all." Naruto answered**

"**So, you were alone? How . . . how did you get to be so happy?" Inari asked, confused that the happy boy before him had such sad beginnings.**

"**I got over it." Naruto said bluntly, stunning Inari and the others with his answer.**

"Classic Uzumaki-style answer." Kushina told everyone with a hint of pride in her voice, though the source of her pride was bittersweet.

**While Inari tried to make sense of everything that had just happened, and the others now settled down into their seats with their thoughts, Naruto suddenly turned around to face the door.**

"**Naruto, is someone out there?" Tsunami asked.**

**Naruto suddenly spun around and laughed. "There will be. Hey, Inari, want to see a miracle?"**

"**The only miracle I want is Gato gone." Inari said quietly, now feeling shame overtake him after Naruto was so kind to him after he screamed in his face.**

"You should." Kushina and Minato said with a frown.

"**Naruto, what—?" Hinata asked, but was interrupted by a frantic knocking on the door. With a questioning look to Tsunami, who nodded in agreement, Naruto walked over to the door and opened it slowly. It was one of the workers who had left Tazuna a few days ago, panting and flushed as he braced his hands on his knees, winded from his mad dash to the house. **

"**Ah, Matsumoto-san, how are you this evening?" Naruto greeted the man, opening the door wider to allow the man to stumble in, clutching a stitch in his side.**

"**Kaito, what's wrong man?! Tsunami, fetch him a glass of water, one of you brats get the hell up and offer the man your seat!" Tazuna snapped as he rushed over to his friend's side, guiding the man to the seat Kiba had sprung out of. **

"You think they found out Gato is dead?!" Rin asked excitedly.

"Merry fucking Christmas Nami, courtesy of Kakashi." Kakashi murmured with a teasing bow as he was sitting down.

"Do I have to come over there and make you mind your words?" Minato asked with a dark tone.

**Tsunami came back from the kitchen with a cool glass of water, handing it to Kaito, who gulped it down as if he had been stranded in the dessert for days. The glass was finished quickly, and he passed it back to Tsunami with a grateful, "Thanks a lot for that Tsunami-chan, I needed that more than you know."**

"**Tell us what has you running around so late at night and in such a fluster too?" Tsunami inquired, hands wringing together in anxiety. She prayed it wasn't another raid by Gato's collective forces . . . **

"No, but that's probably coming soon if I didn't kill them all." Kakashi said knowingly.

"Do you think you would have?" Minato asked.

"No, even I have a kill quota I won't go above." Kakashi replied.

"**It's not just me! No, no . . . it's everyone running around to celebrate the news! Tazuna! Oh, it's wonderful . . . Gato is dead!" Kaito cried, grabbing onto the front of Tazuna's shirt and shaking the man, his relief coming out in loud laughter.**

The room whooped in congratulations for the Nami no Kuni.

**Tazuna choked, grabbing onto Kaito's hands to stop the shaking as he looked deep into Kaito's eyes, searching for some treachery. "Gato. **_**Is dead?!**_**" **

"**I can't believe it . . ." Tsunami whispered, hands coming up to her mouth as tears fell. She closed her eyes and wept in happiness as the men beside her celebrated.**

"**His body is strung up in the town square!" Kaito crowed, clapping his hands on Tazuna's shoulders. "Come, my friends, it's a sight you must see!" **

"**Father, wait, isn't that too morbid?!" Tsunami cried out as Tazuna and Kaito raced to the doorway.**

"Morbid . . . a word that has little meaning to me anymore." Jiraiya mused.

"**I want to come too!" Inari cried out, scrambling from his seat to his grandfather's side, clutching the man's pants.**

"**Inari, no!" Tsunami shrieked.**

**Naruto laughed and created four shadow clones. "Tsunami-san, Inari would probably benefit from seeing the monster under his bed strung up like a freshly-caught fish. You go too, just so you can make sure Inari doesn't become too scarred."**

"**But, I— oh my!" Tsunami was cut off from any protests she might have made as a clone scooped her up into his arms, another doing so with Inari, and Tazuna and Kaito hauled up on the remaining clones backs. With wicked laughter, the clones jumped off into the night and hopping through the trees, the surprised screams of their passengers fading in the night air.**

**Kurenai sighed in exhaustion. "Really Naruto, couldn't this have waited until morning?" **

"**He would have smelled by morning, and they would have cut him down by then. A decayed corpse is not the thing a child should see." Naruto explained himself.**

"**And a fresh corpse is?" Sakura shouted at Naruto, crossing her arms tightly. **

"**Less mental scarring." Naruto said with a shrug.**

"Whoa, how does he know that?" Obito asked warily.

Kushina shook her head forcefully, as if trying to get those thoughts out of her head. "I don't need to know that. I just don't."

"**I don't like how you say that so knowingly, but we'll leave that for later. Kurenai, take the genin to go and protect Tazuna and his family. Naruto, you stay behind so I can tell you exactly why it is frowned upon to use chakra-heavy jutsus like Kage Bushin the day after near chakra exhaustion." Kakashi gave everyone their list to do.**

"Nice cover for the real issue at hand." Obito complimented.

"**Aw." Naruto pouted, making the others snigger at him. Kurenai rolled her eyes, though she couldn't stop her smile from blossoming as she trooped out the door with the rest of the genin in tow, and hurried after Naruto's clones. **

"**Heh, so, what is it you wanted to say?" Naruto asked, dropping his mask of chagrin when the others were gone.**

"**Zabuza and his little friend are coming, so let's prepare for them." Kakashi said simply, moving out the door and around to the back of the house. Naruto laughed in delight, running up the stairs to get the money for Zabuza, and quickly running out to Kakashi's side.**

**There, directly across from them, was Zabuza and the masked ninja from before. Zabuza was leaning on his blade, looking at the two of them with boredom.**

"**Evening, Zabuza, you seem fully recovered." Kakashi's voice broke the silence between them as it cut through the air. Zabuza chuckled derisively as he shifted, standing up fully and sheathing his Kubikiribocho. **

"Oh, he's decided no fighting before the money was even shown?" Rin noticed with curiosity.

"Ah, well, bloodthirsty doesn't mean evil off the bat. Your enemy can still be respected as a proud ninja." Minato said.

"**Yes, all for naught it would seem. My contract has now been broken with the death of my employer. However," here he lifted a lazy index finger to point at Kakashi with no real fire. "I have it on good authority that you killed him. Now, normally, I'd kill you for killing my meal ticket— but, judging by your relaxed stances even though you're outmatched as it stands, something tells me you've got an ace up your sleeve."**

**Kakashi nodded. "Something like that. Naruto here figured that you'd want compensation for the work you have done so far . . . so we got you some of it, maybe it's all of it? I don't pretend to know Gato's payroll accounting."**

**With a look from Kakashi, Naruto stepped forward, holding up two bags of money. He threw the bags of money to Zabuza, who caught them with one hand. Handing one bag to his apprentice, and holding the other, they both opened them together and peered inside.**

"**Hm. Everything seems in order, and to let you know it's the exact amount he said he'd pay me. So, our troubles are over, and we all get to walk away from this thing unscathed. Kind of funny, this doesn't happen all too often with me." Zabuza chuckled.**

"**Imagine that." Naruto murmured only loud enough for Kakashi to hear as he returned to his sensei's side. Kakashi stifled a snort, just nudging Naruto gently in the ribs.**

"**Say Kakashi, how's about regaling me with the story of how you killed the slimy eat bastard before I go?" Zabuza asked.**

"**Well . . ." Kakashi hedged, looking to Naruto. At first Naruto was confused why, and then understood with some surprise. Kakashi was asking permission to tell the story, something that made Naruto a little smug . . . **

"It's your moment kid. Bask in it." Obito allowed.

"**Oh come on. I can keep a secret." Zabuza laughed.**

**Naruto turned to Kakashi and nodded. Kakashi agreed to Zabuza's request, and the two men walked forward to meet each other in the middle.**

"**Haku, why don't you take the other brat and go into town? You shouldn't be deprived such a hilarious sight either." Zabuza's request was framed more like an order, and Naruto found that a little brusque of the man. Haku, the now named accomplice, didn't seem to mid however as he/she (Naruto still didn't know) bowed and murmured a deferential "Hai, Zabuza-sama."**

**Naruto smiled at the approaching teen, who greeted him. "Good evening, Konoha-nin. Shall we head out?"**

**Naruto nodded. "We shall— and by the way, my name is Naruto. OK, Haku-san?"**

**Naruto could hear the smile in Haku's voice. "Sure."**

**With a wave to their sensei's both boys darted off into the trees, setting a quick pace that didn't seem to bother either of them. As they journeyed, Naruto decided to ask Haku some questions.**

"**Haku-san, how long have you been with Zabuza?"**

"**Since I was a small child, I can't really remember the exact age. He took me on as his apprentice after my parents . . . died." Haku answered, though he did not sound sad, and it didn't surprise Naruto.**

"What is up with these sob story friends Naruto just seems to attract?!" Obito squawked. Rin smacked him hard in the back of the head for his stupidity.

"Dude, hypocritical much?" Kakashi asked pointedly.

"**I'm sorry for your loss." Naruto said solemnly.**

"**Well, it is sad but . . . it wasn't the sort of tragedy you think it is. Naruto-san, I see that same determination in your eyes as I have . . . you want to prove yourself, your existence, to the world. Are you also alone?"**

"**Yes, but I never knew my parents. You seek to prove your existence to the world behind a mask?" Naruto continued with his questions.**

"**I only need to prove my existence to the world through the one that matters most to me in the world— Zabuza-sama. That is my reason for strength. What is your reason Naruto-san?"**

"That's an interesting thought." Minato said.

"One with merit— such philosophy lessons from a missing nin, just what is with the next generation?" Tsunade laughed.

"**To protect my precious people." Naruto answered immediately.**

"**That is an excellent reason." Haku praised, and Naruto was glad he did so. It meant they were the same. "Naruto, you know the only way to become strong then? By protecting your precious people."**

"**We are far too alike for comfort Haku-san." Naruto joked, making Haku chuckle. Naruto continued on with his questions. "Haku-san, where are you from?"**

"**I am from Mizu no Kuni." Haku replied.**

"Ouch." Kakashi winced.

"And the story gets sadder." Obito sighed, drooping forward like a dying flower.

"**Mizu?!" Naruto repeated with shock.**

**Haku chuckled. "I see you know of the darkness that plagues my homeland. Yes, it is as you are thinking— and yet, not entirely so. My mother was the only one taken by the bloodline purge. She hid it though, for a long time . . . when she found out I had it she made me swear I would never use it. But my father found out and . . . gathering the neighbors, he killed my mother."**

"That is not a true man!" Jiraiya cried dramatically, pointing a finger at the book.

"How horrible and fearful can people be?" Rin muttered sourly, fists clenched tightly in her lap.

**Naruto gasped audibly this time. "That— how could he do that?!"**

**Haku shook his head. "I don't know that either. Perhaps his fear of demons like me and my mother— those with kekkei genkai . . . it was too great and overpowered the love he might have had for her, and for me. He tried to kill me, but . . . I killed all them. Then, when I believed myself alone and useless, Zabuza came and gave me a purpose." Haku's voice had turned reverent when speaking of Zabuza.**

"Hero worship." Jiraiya and Tsunade groaned.

"**Hmm." Naruto gave a noncommittal answer. He could figure out that Haku's devotion turned him into Zabuza's . . . ultimate lackey. Well that was being kind— Haku was a tool. But, he could understand . . . giving the one who is your purpose in life everything of you, was the greatest gift you could possibly give, and even then it might still not be enough. Yes, he certainly could understand . . . even if he didn't agree with it.**

"Just don't let yourself become a tool for _anybody_." Kushina warned.

**They arrived at the edge of town, and without missing a beat they jumped from tree limb to rooftop.**

"**Naruto . . . may I ask you a question?" Haku asked as they jumped closer and closer to the glow of lanterns and the raucous cheers of a freed town.**

"**Yes Haku?" Naruto replied.**

"**Why did you and your teammates go through the trouble of killing Gato— and moreover, getting us our cut of the money?" Haku wanted to know this answer.**

Jiraiya sent a withering glare to Obito, Rin, and Kushina, just daring them to say it.

"Isn't it obvious?" Minato sighed, hiding a grin in Kushina's hair when Jiraiya turned to look at him without the slightest hint of mistrust.

"It's because he's a BOSS like that." Minato said with pleasure, grinning vindictively when Jiraiya looked as if he had taken a blow to the stomach— jaw dropping, eyes popping, the works. The others burst into laughter, and Minato didn't feel the slightest bit guilty— especially when Kushina gave him a kiss.

"**I didn't want to kill you and Zabuza . . . he's one of the ninja I admire, you know? No matter what you may think Haku— we would have killed you both. There would be no other option, not one that I would allow." Naruto answered. The answer, coming from any other person would have made Haku scoff . . . but the assurance, and the certainty in Naruto's voice . . . there would have been no other option. Haku believed Naruto. Somehow, someway, he and Zabuza would have fallen.**

"Damn, almost makes me wish we could have read about that fight— but, of course, I'm glad Naruto went the route he did." Obito said.

**It made him more grateful that Naruto was apparently a pacifist.**

**They stopped on the roof of a store, right above the crowd that was singing old sailor's tunes and dancing joyously. A few feet away from the lively party, Gato swung lonely on a noose tied to a tall light post. Dark blood stained his grey skin, his mouth twisted in a grimace of pain and horror. Naruto raised a contemplative eyebrow.**

"jeez, you didn't hold back huh?" Rin asked with a thoughtful expression.

"Um . . ." Kakashi hedged . . . he think future him probably _did_ hold back.

_**Kakashi-sensei is scary, **_**Naruto decided.**

**Looking around the crowd, Naruto spotted his fellow genin and Kurenai-sensei, keeping close to Tazuna and his family, but also enjoying themselves. Smiling softly, he watched Inari laugh at Tazuna's drunken singing, with a lightness befitting a child. **

"It's always such a relief when someone takes away the monster under the bed." Rin reflected.

"Especially the one in your closet— he's even _bigger_." Obito added.

"**You seem just as relieved as these people that Gato is dead, even if you are quieter about it." Haku observed, sitting on the edge of the roof with legs dangling over. Naruto joined him in the same position, leaning back on his hands as he turned to look at Haku.**

"**Well, the downfalls of the super bad guy— just like the comics right? Yeah, it's good to see kiddie stuff like this happen in our line of work, dark as it often is . . . besides, I have friends down there among that crowd who I am happy for." Naruto rambled, smiling at the antics of the once broken-down citizens of Nami.**

"_Hell yeah_ it's cool!" Obito and Kushina crowed.

"**You are incredibly kind Naruto." Haku laughed softly. **

"**No, really I'm just your average vindictive ninja." Naruto denied with a chuckle.**

"Both are true." Minato and Kushina said in amusement.

"**Haku . . . though this might be rude of me to ask, I request this only out of simple curiosity. Will you take off your mask?" Naruto asked his voice serene and calm as he turned his attention again to the street. **

"**This mask . . . my identity is important to keep. I'm not even in the Bingo Book, you know?" Haku avoided the question.**

"**No pressure. I thought it might relieve a weight off my mind." Naruto murmured.**

"Yes, reveal to us if you're a boy or a girl, _finally!_" Rin shouted.

"**A weight off . . . ? Oh!" Haku realized what Naruto was confused about, and laughed with abandon. Naruto stole a glance at Haku, visibly surprised at Haku's laughter, before shaking his head with a snort.**

**Haku stopped laughing after a while, hand rising to his mask. "For the sake of your weighted mind, I'll do it." With that, Haku plucked the mask off, and Naruto turned only to see—**

"**Kami DAMNIT!" Naruto cried in disbelief, spurning Haku into fresh peals of laughter. Haku was a very pretty person, to be sure . . . but Naruto could not say definitely that Haku was a girl. Damn androgynous bishie characters!**

"Ugh, Kami those are the absolute worst!" Rin grunted.

"Oh then you would have hated Kakashi-chan when he was small." Minato revealed with a grin.

"Sensei!" Kakashi yelped, visibly embarrassed as he cringed.

"**Oh, come on, you still can't tell?" Haku laughed, reaching up to untie the hair wrap and let long, silky black locks ripple down to ###'# back.**

"Oh now you're just being petty." Obito called out.

**Naruto groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "I can't . . . wait!" he suddenly perked up with a shout.**

**Haku leaned back, a little surprised by the sudden exclamation. "What?" he asked.**

**Naruto didn't answer, instead leaned forward and sniffed at Haku's neck. Haku froze, taken aback as Naruto returned to his position with a victorious grin.**

Minato and Jiraiya cringed. "No, Naru-chan, that's . . . it's bad enough if Haku's a girl, but Kami if Haku's a girl!" Minato chided.

"**You are a boy." Naruto declared, looking all too pleased with himself.**

Minato put his face in his hands, as Jiraiya clucked his tongue.

"It's okay . . . so he's bisexual? Big whoop, he's still a massive hit with the ladies." Jiraiya boasted, more to make himself feel better than anything.

"He is not bisexual; he's just unknowing of social norms in terms of other people's space." Kushina defended her sochi.

"**You smelt that?" Haku asked, still mystified by what had just happened.**

"**Yeah, you don't have that certain scent a girl has . . . if one's senses are sharp enough; it's a scent that cannot be hidden no matter what. Kami, how sad is this . . . you're even prettier than my girl teammate. Hell, as pretty as Hinata!" Naruto shook his head in amazement.**

"OH, BURN!" Obito hollered, flinging his hands up in the air.

**Haku looked at Naruto. Naruto looked at Haku.**

" **. . ." **

" **. . ."**

**Both boys burst out laughing, throwing their heads back to the sky as the stars bounced their laughter back and forth, adding harmony to the night's festival atmosphere, and not stopping even when Kakashi and Zabuza appeared behind them.**

**Zabuza turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi, you're crazy ass brat broke my brat."**

**Kakashi scratched his head. "Yeah . . . my bad on that."**

"And that concludes this chapter." Tsunade intoned, closing the book softly and placing it on the coffee table.

"Oh man, that was a good chapter." Rin sighed, sinking further down on the couch.

"Oh, let's read the next chapter!" Kushina pleaded, looking nearly desperate for the next chapter.

"Sure, let's have Obito read this one." Minato said, handing the book to the boy.

Obito sighed, but took the book.

* * *

**So how was that? A bit faster than you expected right? I had a plausible question of this story's pace from a reviewer, let me see . . . it was qurt7. The story may have been going slow for you guys, which is why i am asking you now: Do you prefer the detail i add to the story, or would you rather i sacrifice it for a faster pace in the story? Of course, being my nature, i doubt i'll be able to COMPLETELY not add in quite a few descriptive details, but . . . i can certainly cut it down.**

**So, read and review, okay everyone? Thanks for all your support!**

**Love,**

**Blood Velvet~3**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Didya miss huh? Well, after a wile away i managed to come back with this. You're in luck- seriously. It was like my skin was crawling as i was typing i wanted to get this out so BAD. I'm way too invested in this story, way too easily.**

**At any rate, boy have some exciting things happened since i was away. For starters . . . we found out who "Tobi" is!**

**HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO WRITE THAT INTO THE STORY? HOW? TELL ME. Ah . . . well, it's what i get for coming in so late with a fanfiction to the Naruto game, right? Anyway, this chapter, hmm . . . there are a few important things, and it leads up to an important thing next chapter- not canon though. But you WILL enjoy it. Let me stop bothering you, so you can read the chapter. next update? Uh . . . i'll work really hard to try for next month . . . homework for college is starting to go into full swing . . . so much damn reading!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does, nor do i own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Twelve_

_Regroup and Prepare, Uzumaki Naruto!_

Obito took the book from his sensei with a deep breath of anticipation. Turning the page to the next chapter with his thumb, Obito began.

**Teams Seven and Eight spent another week in Nami no Kuni, though the real surprise was that Zabuza and Haku stayed around in the area too. The others found it a bit suspicious, but Naruto was more than glad to entertain the two of them, and quite enjoyed needling the larger, stronger, more mean-tempered Zabuza to the point of great rage.**

"Sounds to me like Naruto earned himself two new friends." Obito commented loftily.

"Two new _powerful_ friends." Kushina added, proud of her son.

**Haku once spoke to Naruto about this.**

"**Naruto-san, why do you persist in angering Zabuza? You know one day you might make him mad enough to not go easy on you." Haku simultaneously asked and warned the younger boy. Naruto looked up from his seat on the pier behind Tazuna's house, grinning wickedly.**

"**I'm counting on that." Naruto revealed.**

"Oh, he's using Zabuza to train like Minato-sensei trains us sometimes when he's annoyed with us!" Rin said in happy realization, clapping her hands together.

"Oh yeah! Pick a direction and start running—" Obito started.

"And Kami help you if I catch you before time is up." Minato finished, eyes glowing with wicked humor as memories of terrified genin and desperate plans ran through his mind. They never did win . . .

**Haku looked momentarily confused before his eyes lit up with both recognition and the smile that spread on his face. "You're using him as training."**

**Naruto nodded, unashamed. "What better way to increase your speed and stamina than to run from a missing-nin armed with a monstrous blade after your blood?"**

"Run from a dude who can jog faster than you can sprint?" Jiraiya countered, looking directly at Minato.

"**So, you've been using me brat?" A deep voice growled from behind the two kids, making them start slightly in shock. Turning around they faced a dark-looking Zabuza, beefy arms folded imperiously across his chest as he glared down at the two of them. Naruto chuckled as Haku sighed, already seeing the chase about to happen. And happen it did— Naruto vaulted up and immediately started running on the water, Zabuza hot on his heels and trying gamely to stab a zig-zagging Naruto anywhere he could get him.**

**Besides those all-too-often occurrences, the days were spent same as the days before, though now a bit more relaxed without the thought of fighting Zabuza in their heads to weigh on them. Though the near constant presence of Zabuza wasn't really doing much for them either . . . **

**Speaking of constant presences, they also had to get used to Inari acting as Naruto's second shadow, following the blonde genin nearly everywhere it was possible to.**

"It's cute how Naruto can just get the little kids to hero worship him." Tsunade chuckled.

"Sounds like good big brother material." Kakashi commented in an off-hand manner, looking away from Minato and Kushina's shocked stares.

**Naruto had even obliged the boy with piggy-back rides around the bridge . . . while he was practicing water-walking. When asked why he was so accommodating to the child, Naruto looked faintly puzzled and replied, "Well, it's the kind of stuff I'd have wanted someone to do for me, I figure all little kids might be the same way. Have a ninja show them the really cool tricks and all." **

"Oh. My feelings . . ." Obito muttered, clutching at his chest as if he was in pain.

"I call piggy-back rides!" Jiraiya shouted, before yelping when Minato's fist landed in his gut.

"The fuck is wrong with you, didn't I say before you're getting nowhere close to my child?! You're relegated to kitchen duty at birthdays. Ride-along's are a father-son outing." Minato growled.

**No one asked after that, the reminder of his orphan past leaving them uncomfortable.**

**Haku and Naruto also grew closer, speaking about their training habits, their precious people (or person, in Haku's case, at the moment). Naruto told him a lot about afternoons spent with Teuchi and Ayame-nee-chan at Ichiraku Ramen, detentions with a failing-to-be-stern Iruka, lunches and talks with Hokage-jiji, banter with Anko-nee-chan . . . but most of all Haku was regaled with tales of Katsu.**

"He's got it worse than anybody I've ever seen." Obito shook his head, a little nauseated by the pure devotion. Such potential, and it would never be reached because he's been taken since he was six . . .

"Now you understand my pain." Jiraiya said. Minato flipped him the bird.

**Haku was interested in all this, and especially eager to hear about Katsu. He equated her to being someone as precious to Naruto as Zabuza was to him.**

"**I know you have to have a picture of her— go on and show her to me. I showed you my face after all; you can trust me to keep her a secret." Haku pleaded. Naruto blew out a gusty sigh; his bangs suspended in the air for a moment as he leveled Haku with a considering stare. Haku resisted the urge to twitch under the weight of Naruto's stare, almost as if he were being stared through.**

"You're better than we are, even to this day." Kakashi, Rin, and Obito muttered sullenly.

"**OK." Naruto relented at last with a small smile. **

"**Great, let's see the she-brat already." Zabuza grumbled, popping up behind the two kids, ignoring their glares of censure.**

"**Whatever, not like you didn't sense me coming anyway." Zabuza dismissed with a wave of his hand, and Naruto huffed in aggravation even as he fished out Gama-chan and opened up the fat little frog's mouth.**

"**A frog purse?" Zabuza snorted. "How unexpectedly kiddie if you."**

**Naruto shrugged. "It was given to me— well; it was dropped off for my birthday. I have no idea who gave me this, or the goggles I keep at home. They have orange lenses, and they're really cool— if I ever go to Suna, I'll be good with those." He explained as he pulled out the mini picture frame that held two pictures on either side.**

"Obito paused in his reading as he figured out the identity of the surprise gift giver. "It's you, isn't it Kakashi? Sounds like you gave the kid goggles like mine."

Kakashi nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I probably gave him the goggles, but not the wallet. That would be . . . ?"

Jiraiya piped up. "Probably me. Though I'm sure I searched high and low for a _toad _wallet before conceding to the frogs."

**Turning it to them, he showed them the picture of him and Katsu that was taken two months ago. They had their right and left arm linked together, their own hands on their sides and their other hands flashing a victory sign to the camera, monstrous grins nearly splitting their faces. **

"**She's really pretty Naruto-kun." Haku complimented Katsu, turning away from the picture for a brief moment to smile at Naruto. "You also look very happy." He continued.**

**Naruto smirked. "Yeah, she's my best friend."**

"**And that's how they always start, don't they?" Zabuza snorted in amusement as he straightened up from his bent position to be level with the two. **

"No, isn't it usually rivals?" Tsunade murmured to Jiraiya, who snorted with laughter.

**He turned and sauntered away, having seen what he wanted to. Haku giggled into his hand when Naruto turned to him with a wryly amused look on his face.**

**Naturally, Naruto was forced to show Tazuna and his family as well, and made to endure some teasing. Naruto was happy in the full atmosphere surrounding the newly-revived town, and the bridge builder's family— he would miss them all when they had to go. Still, he couldn't deny that he was eager to get back home to his other family too. **

**So on the last two days of their stay in Nami, Naruto asked Kakashi-sensei permission to go into town on his own for the day. Kakashi agreed, and let Naruto on his own. Hinata and Sakura joined him on the first day, as they also wished to go into town for a little shopping. Naruto knew instinctively that he had just been forced the task of bag-carrier for those two . . . he sighed and accepted it, knowing that's all he— as a man— could do.**

"My son . . . you're going to be just fine." Minato's voice trembled as tears pushed into his eyes, his face of pain something mirrored by all the males in the room.

"As long as he remembers that . . . ! As long as he knows not to disobey . . . !" Obito sniffled, shaking a rueful, trembling fist.

"By Kami . . . he just might _make it!_" Kakashi howled.

**Well, it wasn't too bad really. They didn't buy too many things, and had the presence of mind not to ask him too deeply about what he thought suited them. Just general things like, "What do you think of this style?" and "What do you think? This color or **_**that**_** one?"**

"Kami help him if they had asked whether or not they look fat in this." Jiraiya shivered even as he spoke to the others. Minato was careful to keep his face smooth and "open", not letting a grimace give him away even as his two foolish genin did. The glares coming at them from the women were enough to cow them.

**Naruto did his best to answer as truthfully— that's a crock of shit, he just went with whatever they wanted, and only intervened tactfully when not even he could lie about it. **

**He also got some things too— he had taken a liking to a rather ostentatious yet incredibly cool coat rather like something a pirate king would wear that was long, tumbling to the floor like a trench coat. Ah well, he could just grow into it, or have Katsu make a few adjustments. It was brilliant, bloody scarlet lacquer with gold designs like filigree on the lapels around the buttons, cuffs, and down the sides of the coat on the front.**

"When is he going to wear that? Not on missions certainly, that is totally inappropriate for a ninja." Kushina complained.

"Hey, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for him to wear it. I doubt our musuko is the type to be frivolous with spending, especially given his childhood." Minato defended his son, also thinking the coat sounded rather cool.

**He got things for Anko, Iruka, Ayame and Teuchi, as well as jiji and Naegi . . . but he wasn't able to find anything for Katsu. **

**So on the second and final day of their stay here in Nami, Naruto went off with Inari into town, in search of the perfect thing for Katsu. While walking through the town Naruto was a little taken aback by the many cheery greetings and glowing looks he got from the townspeople. The others had all spoken of a change for the better in the attitude of the people, but he didn't recall Hinata or Sakura getting the kind of cheering he was. He looked down to Inari as they slipped into a jewelry store.**

"For a second I was worried he was going to get her a _T-shirt_ or something . . ." Rin snorted.

"What's wrong with a T-shirt? The touristy ones have funny stuff on them!" Obito cried out in confusion. Rin silenced him with a slap on the shoulder.

"**Inari-chan . . . do you know what that was all about?" Naruto asked as they walked up to the glass cases at the front of the store, perusing the wares.**

**Inari tugged at the rim of his little hat, a gesture Naruto had come to know as his nervous tick. With a light blush on his face, Inari answered with something like exasperated humor in his voice.**

"**Yeah . . . jiji has been having a lot of fun celebrating all this week. Keeps going on and on about how you befriended Zabuza and Haku, and convinced them not to kill you. And, uh . . . he might have also mentioned the hundreds of clones you make every day to help build the bridge." Inari admitted with an almost guilty look, as if he was the one blabbing drunkenly instead of his old grandfather. **

Jiraiya snorted, disgruntled. "That kind of gossip can land you in hot water with the more troublesome groups . . . not to mention if you're enemies catch wind of it there goes the element of surprise."

"Well, he'll just have to work on getting more surprises." Kushina replied, utilizing time-tested Uzumaki logic. Sad thing is, it always worked for _them_.

**Naruto never lost his patient smiling face, though you'd have to be blind not to notice the angrily pulsing vein at his temple. "Ah . . . is that . . . so? We may have to ask your jiji to stop telling such lies." **

Kushina gave Minato an amused look. "Maybe it's kinder to the world if I don't have a child with you."

"Sounds like a challenge." Minato chirped.

**Inari blanched, feeling extremely sorry for his jiji. **

**They went through two different jewelry stores, and Naruto grew more frustrated after each one. There was nothing there that really popped out to him, nothing he could get for Katsu. He couldn't blame the store owners however; they had been often looted by Gato's thugs. Sighing, he turned back to tell Inari that they would just go to a shop and get her something there, when he blinked at the spot Inari had been previously. Looking around, he spotted Inari who was straining on tip-toe, looking through the window of a little shack of a place. **

**It looked very old . . . rustic, really. Painted in a faded aquamarine with vines crawling up the white stone columns on each side, and nestled far into the corner of the marketplace, nearly overtaken by the woods next to it. In the front was an old, embellished sun dial in need of a good burnishing, and a door that seemed to be screened with maps of the seas—No wonder that he had missed it, really, but if Inari was drawn to it . . . **

"Oh sure, trust the just-got-out-of-the-toddler-stage kid." Tsunade grumbled.

"**Inari-chan!" Naruto got the boy's attention as he jogged up to the store. Inari jumped a little, before turning to Naruto.**

"**My kaa-chan told me about this store once. It sells a lot of old-style stuff . . . and things from the sea. Jiji said he once got obaa-chan a bracelet made of sea stone from here. You think there might be something good in there? You guys aren't exactly close to any beaches are you?" Inari asked, looking up at Naruto hopefully.**

"Now that sounds interesting." Tsunade smirked, propping her face on her fist.

"Sea jewelry, huh? Brings back memories . . ." Kushina mumbled, smiling wistfully.

"**Hey, that's not a bad idea Inari-chan!" Naruto's face lit up with his own hopeful smile. He reached down and patted Inari's head. "Come on, if I get something good in here I'll take you for lunch— whatever you want."**

**They stepped into the store, and paused just inside the doorway as the door swung closed behind them. The lighting was dim in here, but it was more for atmosphere than anything. The only sources of light were the occasional lanterns swinging from the ceiling, held by the ropes and fishing nets covering the ceiling and swooping down from it. The store wasn't exactly cluttered, but there were a lot of things— old books, rolled up maps, lanterns of all sorts and sizes, and sea glass. Oh, about eighty percent of the things in the store were made with sea glass or the stones on the beaches— vases, statues and figurines, but most importantly— jewelry. **

"Is sea glass pretty, Kushina-san? I've never seen it before." Rin asked the red haired older woman.

Kushina nodded happily, recalling her own adventures perusing the beaches for the pretty bits of sea glass, or some wave-smoothed stones on the shores of Water Country with her siblings and cousins . . . the memories now bittersweet, even after all this time. "They come in quite a few shades, you know, and years of being tossed around by waves have smoothed and rounded out all sharp edges, and gave them these sort of frosty etchings. I think I have some old pieces of jewelry back home, so I'll show them to you sometime."

"Cool." Obito murmured as Rin squeaked happily.

"**Jackpot!" Naruto and Inari sang under their breaths as they scampered to the glass cases displaying the beautiful pieces. There was so much to choose from . . . but he found one— it was perfect, something totally original, and no one else in Konoha would have it.**

"He sure does try hard for Katsu." Kakashi commented.

"It happens when you've got that certain someone." Minato acknowledged, smiling at Kushina's heated cheeks as she looked down at her idly fidgeting fingers.

"Or it's just genetics for him to be so whipped." Obito muttered teasingly his alternative theory to the others, who stifled their laughter.

"**I found it Inari-chan! Now, if only the shop keeper would show up . . ." Naruto said, still totally focused on his brilliant find, so he didn't notice the presence coming up behind him and Inari.**

"If you're not home then the mission's not over, so don't ever lower your guard in a foreign place." Jiraiya lectured Minato's little students, who nodded as they paid attention.

"**Have you found what you wanted?" The voice made Naruto whirl around, heart beating a furious tattoo on the inside of his chest while Inari shrieked and staggered to the floor. A gentle-faced, softly wrinkled old woman smiled at them in unabashed amusement, soft brown eyes twinkling. Her steel gray hair was worn in a simple bun held by a long gold pin with a green orb of sea glass at the end, and she was wearing a soft mint green yukata.**

**Naruto took a deep breath in through his nose and blew it slowly out his mouth, as he helped Inari up. "Yes, I've found something I wanted. I'd like to buy this lovely piece— right here." He pressed a finger to the glass right over his find. A charcoal grey ribbon held a tiny pearl and a silver plated round cage, inside of which were two little blue ovals of sea glass. **

"Oh it sounds lovely." Rin murmured as she imagined it in her mind's eye.

"I think my third oba-san had something like that . . . it was a classic style back then too." Kushina recalled, index finger tapping her lower lip.

**The woman smiled, deepening the smile lines around her mouth as she moved around to the back of the cases and to the wooden counter where the cash register sat.**

"**Ah, you've a good eye for beauty young man . . . something rare in ninjas, or at least so I believed. You know, those little pills of sea glass are **_**cornflower**_** blue, which is very rare? Perhaps you might also like that gold necklace, with the cobalt blue sea glass pendant? It would match your eyes." The woman chattered happily as she rang up the total price and moved to retrieve the ribbon accessory. **

**Naruto's lips quirked up at the corners. "No, but thank you. That will be all."**

"**Your total is 1200 ryo." The elderly shopkeeper chirped, looking expectantly at Naruto. **

"Jeez, are they liquidating or something? That can't be the actual price." Jiraiya snorted.

"More like his newfound hero-status coming into play here." Tsunade observed with a wry smile.

**Naruto frowned, knowing instinctively that the price wasn't right. "Ma'am, that simply cannot be. If these sea glass, in that color at least, are so rare then surely they must be worth more?"**

**The woman nodded. "Oh yes, they are worth so very much! But worth does not automatically translate to price. Uzumaki-san, you and your friends have done a great thing here. Please, as my gift to you— anyway it's not like it's for free, you are still paying for it." The woman's eyes twinkled as she spoke, mischief glinting in their swirling sienna depths.**

**Naruto frowned, but soon capitulated with a huff of laughter. It happened too often back in Konoha that he would have to pay far more than others for even simple things, and now here he was paying probably half for such marvelous jewelry. **

"Konoha's a rough place for outsiders huh?" Jiraiya griped as he rubbed his head.

"Hmm . . ." Obito and Kushina hummed noncommittally. Minato, Rin, and Kakashi turned arctic glares on the man for his callous reminders of their status, past and present.

**Paying the woman, he asked for the necklace to be put in a gift box and wrapped, which the woman did so happily. Thanking her profusely, Naruto and Inari left the shop.**

"**Let's go get lunch! What are you hungering for?" Naruto asked Inari, who furrowed his brow in deep thought.**

"**Um, let's go have some sushi!" Inari shouted happily, grabbing hold of Naruto's hand and tugging him along as he ran up the street. Naruto laughed as he followed the boy through the marketplace, returning the greetings of others along the way.**

"Ha! It's funny 'cause fox spirits like sushi." Obito laughed.

"No." Everyone else said bluntly, stony faced as Obito sweat under their stares.

**And then, it was time for the teams from Konoha to go back home. Zabuza and Haku decided to bypass the crowds waiting for the Konoha ninjas, and said their goodbyes at the house.**

"**Haku, take care of yourself, ok? And come visit in Konoha once in a while— Zabuza's the missing nin, not you." Naruto told the older boy.**

**Haku chuckled. "Sure, Naruto-san, we'll see. And you get stronger so we can have a proper spar when I do. Ah, speaking of that . . ." he turned to Zabuza, who was waiting in gruff silence after exchanging a terse nod with Kakashi and Kurenai as his form of farewell.**

**Naruto also looked at the man, waiting. Zabuza fished something out of his pocket and tossed it to the blonde genin. Naruto caught it with one hand, noticing the seal on it.**

"Oh, what's the gift?" Obito mumbled.

"**It's a blood seal, but not one specifically for your blood type. You can think of it as an extra perk— help you with learning blood seals when you modify it to your own blood. That scroll has a nice little B-rank jutsu, the Suiton: Water Fang Projectile. Even if you don't have water element it should still be easy enough for you to learn with practice and those shadow clones. I want it perfected and able to go mage-seized by the time we meet again." Zabuza ordered. **

"How cute, he just gets everybody wrapped around his finger!" Kushina cooed, excited at the prospect of her baby having the same element as her.

"**Hai, Zabuza!" Naruto chirped with a ferocious grin as he put the scroll through a loop on his belt, securing it with a nice pat. **

"**Well, let's catch up sometime Zabuza, over sake." Kakashi said with a smile.**

"Don't drink." Minato warned.

"You're just saying that because your tolerance is shit." Kakashi jabbed. Minato's eyes widened a fraction, before narrowing with a tiny pout on his lips.

**Zabuza snorted. "Sounds like fun— maybe in a few years . . . we'll see how Mizu is doing by then. Later." And he turned abruptly, striding off into the early morning mist and almost immediately disappearing. Haku followed with one last wave and a goodbye to the whole group, who returned it before he too vanished. **

**The whole town turned out in front of the bridge to send them off in style. At the front were Tazuna and his brood.**

"**I can't thank you guys enough for doing this all for us. Whenever Konoha needs some serious repairs done, you guys know who to call for a super great discount!" Tazuna grinned as he shook hands with first Kakashi, then Kurenai. He waved to the other genin before turning to Naruto and patting him solidly on the shoulder.**

"That's going to be you, finalizing the business deals your son's handy friendships make." Kakashi told Minato.

"Yeah, maybe I should just go ahead and get into the merchant business, forget about Hokage." Minato joked.

"**Boy, we sure are going to miss you around here Naruto."**

**Naruto smiled as he patted the hand on his shoulder. "Likewise, but you guys have my line— send a letter every now and then ok? I'll be sure to do the same."**

"Letters? That might be dangerous; his future enemies could see them." Tsunade muttered as she brought her fist to her mouth.

"Or a very handy spy network done by someone you wouldn't ever suspect." Jiraiya interjected gleefully.

"Or just, like a sweet thing to do with no need to overthink these things at this stage!" Kushina scoffed.

**He looked down to see Inari struggling to hold back his tears. It was a failure though, as his eyes soon overflowed with the fat, salty tears. "Aw man, I said I wasn't going to cry again . . ." Inari mumbled as he wiped furiously at his tears.**

**Naruto smiled and ruffled Inari's hair. "No way, it's fine to cry when you're happy. Didn't I just tell your jiji we'd still keep in touch?"**

"**Will we ever see you again?" Inari implored, looking up with big, teary dark eyes.**

**Naruto nodded. "Yup, you sure will. One day . . . just be patient until then."**

**With a final goodbye, Kakashi and Kurenai steered their genin down the bridge and back in the direction of Konoha.**

"Mission success!" Obito crowed, high-fiving Rin.

"Ah, ah, don't celebrate so quickly. The mission is neither over, nor a success, until you are safely within Konoha's walls." Minato lectured his team with a little smile.

"**So what are we going to name it?!" A man in the back of the crowd hollered. The others civilians soon murmured similar things, all eyes turning to Tazuna.**

**The man in question scratched his head curiously. "Well . . . actually I already promised the name of the bridge to a certain blonde brat, so . . ."**

**Inari tugged at his grandfather's pants until the older man looked down in question. "Jiji, then name it: The Great Naruto Bridge!" Inari shouted excitedly. As Tazuna mulled it over, the citizens were testing the name on their tongues, seeing how it rolled off, how it felt to say it. The general opinion was a good one indeed, and so bearing that in mind, Tazuna made his decision.**

"**That's a great name Inari! For the one that helped us get our hope back! This bridge shall be The Great Naruto Bridge!" Tazuna hollered, laughing raucously as the townspeople cheered enthusiastically.**

"Jeez, not even a real teenager and he's got a bridge named after him." Obito sneered.

"Hell; give the kid a 'Flee on Sight'!" Jiraiya said with a monster grin. Minato growled at his sensei's offensive language, even as Kushina shook with laughter in his arms.

"He won't have to do much more to surpass his tou-chan's popularity." Tsunade remarked with a sphinx like smile.

"**Damn it's good to be home!" Kiba crowed as they got closer to the check-in post at Konoha's front gates, the large wooden doors bearing their leaf insignia looming proudly over them.**

"Whoa, hey, time skips?! Nuh-uh, no way, we want the small, itty bitty details of the walk home!" Obito cried out in outrage.

"Eh, after the walk to Nami, I guess the walk back was boring." Minato shrugged, not feeling too cheated. It was only two days after all.

"**Don't celebrate too early," Kurenai warned her brash genin, "we still have to report to Sandaime-sama about our mission. You can go home when he says you can, and not a moment before."**

**Kiba grumbled under his breath, but made no move to disobey the order, so Kurenai returned her attention to the gate chuunin as the opened it for them. Naruto's movements caught her attention from the corner of her eye— he was waving cheerily at the pair on guard with a grin of familiarity.**

"**Hiya Kotetsu, Izumo, how's the sentry life treating you?" Naruto asked them cheerily, and it struck her as rather odd how informal he was with them. In all her time with the boy he had been good-mannered and rather formal to most everyone.**

"**Oh, it's no run through landmines, but it's good enough for us." The one who spoke— Kotetsu if she remembered correctly— had long spiky black hair, though his bangs were trapped behind his hitai-ate, and a goatee on his face, about as tall as Kakashi with tanned skin and a long bandage on his nose and cheeks.**

"Whoop! Kotetsu and Izumo! YEAH!" Obito whooped, jumping up from the couch to fist pump with a gusto.

"Friends of yours, Obito?" Minato asked with surprise. He knew that the boy was friends with Gai, Anko, and Asuma . . . but those two? Well, thinking about it, it made sense . . .

"Kami yeah!"

"Oh kami those two are something." Kakashi and Rin muttered, reluctant amusement tingeing the former's voice.

"**Are you ever going to sign up for something besides guard duty and office work? Better yet, you guys ever going to become jounin?" Naruto asked them with a look of resigned amusement on his face.**

"Eternal chuunin! WHOOOO!" Obito applauded, even as the others threw pillows at him to quiet down.

**Izumo had a bandana hitai-ate covering brown hair, with bangs that fell over his left eye and hair that fell out in long tufts from the cloth. His jounin shirt had a long neck that came up to over his chin like some sort of guard. He was just as tall as Kotetsu, and just as tan. With a snort of laughter, he said, "What, to get ourselves killed? No, we'll leave that stuff to the ever reliable jounins like Kakashi and Kurenai."**

**Then, as one, Kotetsu and Izumo became starry-eyed, grinning fools with— did they just make a genjutsu of **_**sparkles**_**? — As they yelled at Kakashi, "Work hard for our sakes old buddy old pal!"**

"So they become friends of yours too Kakashi?" Kushina snorted, grinning at the younger boy.

Kakashi shrugged. "More like . . . with them, most everyone is a friend."

**Kakashi looked away from the tree line to them. "Hm? Did you say something?"**

**Kotetsu and Izumo's hands shot up to form a thumbs-up. "That's **_**gooooood**_**!" they sang.**

**After that little debacle, and as Naruto waved goodbye to the comedic duo of best friends, they moved into the village and trooped to the Hokage Tower. The genin chattered behind the two jounin as they moved further into the village. **

**They eventually got to the Hokage's office, where they greeted the secretary and knocked on the door, awaiting a summons.**

"**Enter." The aged voice came through the door, and with one last cheery wave from Naruto to the secretary, they went in. Sandaime was, as ever, sitting regally in his chair behind the wooden desk, one arm folded on it while the other was propped up, chin in his hand. He coolly regarded all the ninja standing to attention before him; his face softened, and he smiled warmly at them all.**

"Tch! Who does that old monkey think he's fooling? Old men shouldn't act so cool." Tsunade harrumphed good naturedly.

"**Team Seven and Team Eight! You not only succeeded in getting your client home safely, you've also undertaken a serious A-Rank mission. It was good fortune indeed that no bloodshed was uselessly undertaken. **

"See? You have to have a kid with me. It's good fortune." Minato pointed out to Kushina with a straight face.

**You can all head to the Payroll office and collect your payment, after your team leaders have reported to me." Hiruzen congratulated them proudly, smiling at the bashfully proud and blushing faces of the genin before him.**

**When Hiruzen heard about Naruto's actions in the first Zabuza encounter, he turned narrowed, disapproving eyes to Naruto, who was looking at a point directly above his shoulder. "I'll be telling Iruka about this."**

"Le _GASP!_ The fury of the big brother?! NNNNOOOOOO!" Obito wailed, dropping to the floor on his knees.

"Cut it out Obito." Minato scolded half-heartedly.

"**Urk." Naruto grunted, sweating, but his eyes never wavered from their spot. The others except Hinata threw him confused glances— they knew he was close to their old sensei, but not that close. **

**The report continued, now with Kurenai stepping in at times to explain certain parts, or to comment on training. Eventually, it winded down, and Kakashi ended with, "That is the report for this mission."**

**Hiruzen nodded, understanding. "Very well. Again, excellent job to you all, and you can all go. Since the mission was so taxing for first-time genin, you'll all get a week off before your next meeting with your sensei, but don't take that as an excuse to slack off. Ah, Naruto, a minute please? There's a couple things I have to ask you." **

"Yay! First mission's report!" Everyone cheered.

**Naruto nodded, having never moved from his position even as the others started milling towards the door. "Hai, Hokage-jiji." **

**With curious glances to their blonde teammate, the others eventually left, leaving only Kakashi, Kurenai, and Naruto alone with the Hokage.**

"That's kind of nerve wracking though." Rin pointed out somewhat nervously, as if she was the one facing the inquisition.

"Sarutobi won't be too rough; kid's after all just that— a kid." Jiraiya dismissed.

**Hiruzen smiled at the boy, whose lips twitched once, before waving him on. **

"**I'd like your report on the infiltration mission, Uzumaki-kun." Hiruzen prompted, sending the boy a conspiratorial wink when he used his last name.**

"Ooh, I like the sound of that— Uzumaki-kun, all official." Kushina grinned.

"Better believe it's going to be _Namikaze_-Uzumaki-kun this time." Minato muttered playfully in her ear.

**Naruto straightened up just a little more. "Hai, Hokage-sama."**

**And so he told the old man everything that had gone down, not letting out a thing, and not giving any excuses for the mistakes he had made— fully acknowledging them and owing that he had obvious weaknesses. At the end of his report, Kakashi stepped forward and handed the Hokage his sealing scrolls containing the sensitive documents as well as the bit of loot they had helped themselves to.**

**Hiruzen set away the scroll containing the documents for a later date— Kakashi had made the nature of them known in his letters, so he'd look them over in privacy. As for the monies . . . unsealing them, he hefted the four bags and weighed them carefully, as well as looking in each of them. Once he was satisfied he put the bags to the side as he returned his attention to the attentive ninjas before him.**

"**Naruto, first I want to ask you: Do you really think your mistakes were as bad as you make them out to be?" Hiruzen queried softly.**

"No." Kushina, Rin, Obito and Tsunade defended.

"Eh . . ." Minato shrugged, knowing that he was only still a fresh genin, but knowing too that such mistakes could kill later on in life.

"Yes, and he should be aware of them— very aware." Jiraiya argued, shooting them sharp glances for coddling the boy.

**Puzzlement flickered across Naruto's face as he really thought about the question. "I think they were serious mistakes, ones that could have made things a lot more troublesome than things should— no, than we wanted them to be."**

**Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction. Missions should go according to book— but any ninja that really believed that was a fool and a suicidal one at that. "While I commend you on realizing your mistakes and cataloging them to work on, this was your first infiltration mission— keeping that in mind, I think you did a fantastic job both as an amateur interrogator and a team leader. You chose well and lead them commendably, making sure they weren't put in too much danger. So, congratulations on a successful first-time leadership." Hiruzen's eyes crinkled at the corners from his grandfatherly smile.**

"Hooray, congratulations!" The whole room was filled with the cheer/scream.

**Naruto's lips twitched as he fought to control his facial muscles, but he lost to the megawatt grin that scrunched his twinkling eyes and nearly split his face. "Thanks, jiji." He mumbled bashfully. **

"**So, with all that being said— Kakashi and Naruto, you will be given your pay for the extra mission at a later date. I think that will be all for now. Oh, but before you go and get a rather nasty shock, Naruto . . ." Hiruzen paused, feeling mildly guilty for making Katsu suffer this.**

"What happened to her?" Rin fretted.

"What did she do?" Minato corrected, spearing his own girlfriend with a look. She chuckled nervously and looked away from him, clearing her throat.

**Naruto looked curiously at his grandfather. "Nasty shock? Jiji?"**

"**Well . . . Katsu fainted at work today, and— there he goes . . . he didn't even let me finish and say it was no longer serious." Hiruzen sighed when his door banged against the wall from the force of the pull against it. Kakashi and Kurenai chuckled as they left the office at a vastly more sedate pace. When they pulled the door closed, a crack in the walls from the doorknob hitting it was revealed, making Hiruzen growl in irritation. **

**Naruto took all the shortcuts he knew to get home, and got there far quicker than he ever had before. Scrambling at the lock, Naruto rushed in and hurriedly shut the door while taking his sandals off at the same time. **

"Jeez, this is why you don't fly off the handle and jump to conclusions." Kushina sighed heavily, shaking her head.

The rest of them as one turned their heads to Minato, who coughed once and refused to look them in the eye. "Single, lonely, and bitter the rest of you are." He muttered.

"We're too young to be bitter." His team chorused indignantly. _Psh_ . . . this narrator could say the same for many _Naruto_ characters in the original canon-timeline, but that's a conversation left for another time.

**A happy squeal cut through the air, halting him in his mad dash. "Okaeri!" Katsu chirped, her voice coming from the living room.**

"Aw, how cute." They all awed.

**Naruto sighed, an unknown weight floating off his chest when he heard her voice strong and as happy as he had last heard it. "Tadaima." He called casually, shuffling into the living room.**

**Katsu was curled up on the couch by the armrest, covered in a throw blanket with a half-eaten apple in one hand, and a manga novel in the other. Some sappy little shoujo, he was sure. She had a sort of muted vibrancy about her; like her energy was still recovering and her cheeks were pale, not her usual healthy glow. She beamed at him with a sunny smile, eyeing him expectantly. **

"It's the other way around, isn't it?" Kakashi countered quietly.

**He raised an eyebrow, folding his arm as he looked her over. She flushed, mouth twisting as she looked away. **

"**And what happened to you today?" He asked. She shifted in her seat, corners of her lips turning down.**

"No escaping this." Jiraiya muttered in amusement.

"**Oh? Suddenly so quiet," he commented. "Hey, I hear you fainted right? I guess it was from working too hard? But you know, I suddenly had a thought." He stepped closer.**

"Did it hurt?" Obito blurted.

"Hey!" Kushina snapped, taking that as a dig against her son.

Obito cringed, and apologized, explaining himself. "Sorry! It's just something I always wanted to say to sensei when he started off like that."

Minato turned confused, wide clear blue eyes to his most rambunctious student. "Oh? And just why would you say something like that?"

Obito rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically. "Oh, come on! A _smart blonde? _— the material is just too good to pass up sometimes!" He was rewarded with the guffaws of the non-blondes and two high-speed pillows to the face. Curiously enough, speed makes feather-soft pillows feel like books to the face.

**Her eyes darted to his feet when they moved, but flickered back to some spot on the wall as her flush deepened, brows furrowing. **

"**You're made of tougher stuff than that. You don't just faint from working like that . . . so it occurred to me— you've been far more busy than anyone knows, right?" Two steps closer.**

"**Not much . . ." she grumbled, chewing at her lip, still refusing to look at him.**

"Bzzt! Wrong answer, Kat-su-hi-me-_chan_!" Obito and Rin chided jokingly.

"**Oh?" Both eyebrows rose, before coming down in a scowl. "And then I had another thought. You are very good at prioritizing things. So, even if you had been doing some extra things— I'll go ahead and guess training— then you still should have been alright, if not a little tired . . . but, what if you weren't prioritizing the most important things?"**

**Face tomato red, Katsu lowered her head to rest on her arms, folded on the armrest. She now reluctantly met his gaze, since he was practically right above her.**

"Ooh . . . you're in trouble~" Kushina hummed under her breath.

"**You haven't been eating, probably not even sleeping properly." He accused anger apparent in his tone. She flinched, her eyes wandering away for a bit in clear guilt, before she blinked and her eyes were right back on him again.**

"**I-I! I was walking a couple days after you left . . . I went by the river, and I saw these ninjas sparring on the water. I asked Anko-nee, she said it was a chakra exercise, and then she showed me it . . . I wanted to get it done fast, I guess . . . because that's how we always trained . . . So! So— well, you know, I really got into it. And about the food, I meant to eat dinner and stuff, but it seemed pointless to make anything with my being so busy. And this morning I— well, I got up early to train." She mumbled out the last part, and he fancied that if she got anymore red, steam would start coming off her.**

"Probably at the break of dawn." Tsunade snorted, a smile playing at rose lips.

"**So I can guess that you haven't eaten a proper meal since not long after I left huh? And how early?" he wanted to know.**

**Katsu grumbled out an answer. **

"**What was that?" He insisted.**

"**Four in the morning." She ground out.**

Minato whistled, impressed at her initiative despite his disapproval of her lack of health-consciousness. "That's a bit earlier than even the break of dawn."

**Naruto snorted— it figured the only reason she would faint was because of near chakra exhaustion. He told her so, too— "You're damn lucky you didn't succumb fully to chakra exhaustion!" **

"**Sorry, really I am . . ." she drooped, before suddenly perking up. "But I mastered it this morning before I went to school! I did, so I won't have to work so hard on it anymore!" She looked up at him with hope shining in those gold eyes, and he didn't have the heart— all the tension just evaporating. He was just no match for her, really . . . **

"Damn son, I thought for sure with your mother's personality in you it'd combat that weakness of ours . . . forgive me, I've made you susceptible to the female wiles . . ." Minato murmured to himself, though Kushina caught it too being so close to him.

She snorted. "You, susceptible to female charms . . . yeah ok. Took me years to get you to even look at me as a woman— you too-cool-for-hormones jerk."

Minato smiled a secret smile. "Oh, I always knew that."

"**Ha . . . next time you do that I won't be so easy to appease. I'm cooking dinner tonight, so you can have a nice extra helping." He told her, leaving no room for the protest clearly written on her face. With a sigh, she just nodded, and resumed reading her manga. She raised the apple to her lips, but he snatched that away before she could take a bite. Grinning at her cobra-glare, he turned around and padded into the kitchen, throwing the apple away as he got things ready to go. **

"Can I just say it again? A man who can cook . . ." Rin sighed, hands covering blushing cheeks as she daydreamed of a prince who would cook happily for her.

Obito turned to Kakashi. "You think it counts if you try your hardest?" he muttered to him.

Kakashi thought about it, and nodded. "At the very least you get a pity date out of it. Go for it dude."

"**Oh! Before I forget . . ." he said, fishing out the gift box from his pocket and returning back to the living room.**

"The moment of truth." Jiraiya said in a hushed, ominous tone that was at odds with his carefree grin.

**Katsu pushed herself up to lean on the sofa's back. "Hmm, what is that? Ooh, is it a gift for me?!" She asked eagerly as she looked at the small box in his hand.**

**Naruto smiled. "Yes, I thought I'd get some souvenirs— and I got the best one, of course, for you." He placed the box in her cupped hands, and watched with both anticipation and nervousness as she opened it quickly, not making too much of a fuss in tearing the paper and placing the ribbon aside gently.**

**Opening the box Katsu gasped when she saw the ribbon choker nestled amongst its silk wrappings. Gently taking the ands between her fingers she lifted it up and looked at it from all angles, too stunned to speak.**

"Nailed it! _Like a boss_~!" Obito and Rin sang with a high-five.

**Naruto couldn't take the nerves anymore. "Well?"**

**Katsu looked at him, though her eyes strayed to the necklace. "Put it on for me." She said instead, giving him the necklace and putting her hair up. Naruto did with a barely concealed smile, now having the answer to his question. **

"Go ahead," Jiraiya prompted Kushina, who looked about ready to burst, with a fake smile. "Squeal one more time."

**Katsu felt the little silver cage at the top of her sternum, just below the hollow of the throat as she got up to look at it in the mirror. Breaking her silence she suddenly squealed, "So **_**cute!**_**" and launched herself at Naruto. He caught her with a grunt as she babbled out thanks and compliments on the jewelry. He chuckled and listened to her for a while as he got her back on the sofa, and with a feeling of extreme accomplishment he returned to cooking dinner. **

"Enjoy it, it doesn't happen too often in a man's life." Jiraiya said sagely.

**For a time the only sounds in the house were the clanks and shuffling of various pots, pans, and ingredients being moved around as convenience suited. Naruto was careful though to not get too lost in the almost cathartic rhythm of cooking and kept an ear out for any sounds of discomfort or such from the hime. **

"An attentive, caring man who can cook." The woman sighed.

Minato gave Kushina a mock dubious look. "So, if I can figure out how to cook something besides just breakfast, will you fall even _more_ in love with me?"

Kushina nodded with a large smile. "It's a given."

"**Naruto?" A soft, tentative calling of his name.**

**He paused briefly before resuming stirring the potato and leek soup, making sure to keep an eye on the rice and fish sautéing in the pan. "Yes, hime?"**

"**Will you tell me about your mission? Are you allowed to?" **

Jiraiya snorted with surprised laughter. "Permission . . . pfft!"

**Naruto smiled and replied, "Am I allowed . . . that's a good one. I'll tell you all you want to know hime after dinner. Hey, it's a bit quiet in here don't you think? I think the remote for the stereo is on the coffee table in front of you; turn it to something good please?" **

**Dinner was given the muted background of a number of artists with an acoustic guitar. Maybe it was the new fad for music now, whatever— Naruto didn't pay it too much attention when Katsu was recalling all the details of the past two weeks he was out. She had run into Konohamaru a couple times at the supermarket before work with his little friends, a girl named Moegi and a boy named Udon. Iruka was having a time with them— Konohamaru had apparently found out about Naruto's title of Prankster King and was dead set on claiming the throne for his own. **

"Go back to your goal of becoming Hokage— we were wrong, that's way easier than trying to overtake an Uzumaki in pranks." Obito said.

"Not impossible— just highly improbable. Minato is too nice to prank anyone, and no Nara would ever find it not-troublesome enough to do it." Kushina agreed somewhat.

**Anko came by nearly every other day to either eat or check up on her— though both ended up happening anyway. She had only seen jiji when he ordered something to be delivered from the **_**Sakura no Chawan**_**, she said she felt kind of awkward just waltzing up there since she wasn't even a ninja. **

"I'm sure sensei knew that and made more orders than really needed to that particular bakery." Tsunade smirked.

"Shouldn't he, as Hokage, be impartial?" Rin piped up.

"When she says more, she means he ordered three things. And he probably got two other people to make the orders." Minato countered.

"**You know jiji will just think it's total bullshit." Naruto pointed out.**

"**He won't say it like that." Katsu protested.**

"**Not in so many words." He shrugged.**

**Besides working and going to school, she had been practicing her taijutsu— both styles, much to his pleasure— her Bo staff, and the water walking. Oh, and one other thing happened just the day before . . . something rather disturbing— to Naruto.**

"**Ah . . . and . . . I was confessed to." She admitted softly, hand rising to her mouth as a pretty blush covered her cheeks.**

"Right in the pride." Minato commiserated.

"FIX THAT." Obito commanded.

"You know the way to fix it . . . make her wear that super expensive jewelry you got here. As good as a ring for twelve year-olds." Rin advised slyly.

**Naruto spit out the tea he was drinking with a force enough to leave him coughing. Katsu nearly doubled over in laughter, but straightened up enough to pound on his back a couple times.**

"**Gently, dammit, you'll break my back— who the hell— you haven't even been working there long!" He tried to— deny, puzzle? Whatever it was, he was thoroughly shocked. **

Kushina clucked her tongue. "You shouldn't be she's a very pretty girl that for all intents and purposes is single and free to be pursued."

"Yeah, funny how you thought the same thing." Minato said nostalgically, eyes far away as good memories of crossing off— uh; dissuading her other suitors came to mind. He didn't notice the amused/shocked looks coming from the others.

"I taught you something after all." Jiraiya sniffed, filled with pride.

**Katsu shrugged, a tiny smile playing at her lips. "Well, yes . . . but it seems he had been watching me on my walks to school to, so . . ."**

**Naruto repressed the childish urge to scowl at her for her smile. "He's a stalker and you're happy about that?" **

Rin nodded perkily. "Stalkers— or fanboys for you guys— are just a way of measuring you're popularity!"

"And how many have you had?" Minato asked, amusement warring with incredulity at the minds of females.

"Ah, unfortunately only three back in Academy . . . small, I know." Rin sighed regretfully.

"_Three?_ I got three new people to add to the List." Obito grumbled to himself.

**Katsu looked at him with an annoyed huff. "He's not a stalker, I know his sister and have seen him a couple of times, and he's a sweet boy really. Besides, I'm not happy about that, I—" **

Jiraiya winced. "Ooh, no picking up for the enemy of your not-really-but-wants-to-be boyfriend."

"What?" Rin asked, giving the larger man an amused look.

"**That you are happy about the fact that you were confessed to?" He finished lighter than he felt. There was a fucker in Konoha that needed to learn his place . . . oh; he'd make time for that.**

"Always time for that in a good ninja's schedule." Obito assured.

**Katsu gave him an embarrassed grin. "Look, it's not like I accepted it. I thanked him for his feelings— I'm happy about that, you know . . . it's nice to know that you can be thought of that way. But, I had to decline . . . so now your eyes can go back to blue, Naru." **

"Ooh, jealousy is an ugly thing." Tsunade chuckled.

"Except when it's wearing the face of a hot guy— then it's sexy and seen as 'possessive'." Rin and Kushina put in that little clause, grinning at each other when they realized it was said at the same time.

"So you _were_ doing it on purpose." Minato murmured to himself, recalling past events that shan't be spoken of in polite society . . . for the good of everyone's mind.

**Naruto gave her a wicked grin. "I'm fine, everything's cool . . . but I don't suppose you've got a name, address, and knowledge of any fears or phobias he might have?"**

**Katsu shook her head. "You honestly do scare me . . . I admire that. Now stop dallying and tell me everything about your trip, and what that scroll is on your side!" **

"What a freaky duo." Obito laughed.

"They deserve each other." Kakashi agreed.

**That night the Kyuubi pulled Naruto to his mindscape instead of allowing him to dream— though it took Naruto a few moments to realize that he wasn't still dreaming. **

"The Kyuubi has that kind of power?" Minato asked with surprise, looking at Kushina.

Kushina nodded. "I've only had that experience twice in my time as the jinchuuriki . . . and when I was sleeping. Maybe it's the only time he can do it, when your guard is down the most?"

**Blinking in the dim light of his mind's tunnels, he smiled as he started forward. Once again the path twisted and curved, but he never once felt like he'd be lost. This was a path he'd always know, had always known . . .**

**Arriving into Kyuubi's room, he smiled up at the towering pair of scarlet eyes that assessed him.**

"**Good evening, Kyuubi." Naruto greeted as he walked forward to the gate. "I'm glad you called for me, otherwise I would have come down myself in another week or so. It's been sometime since our first meeting."**

"Ever the polite one, to anyone it seems." Rin murmured.

**Kyuubi growled, his eyes never wavering. "I see your pointless use of pleasantries has not gone away, so perhaps you aren't quite the liar I had imagined. But you know . . . don't you, why I brought you here?"**

"Oh! That deal they were talking about back in Nami?" Tsunade realized.

**Naruto nodded, working to not make his smile wider. "Yes, have you decided on your answer to my proposed arrangement?" **

**Kyuubi's eyes went up and down in the dark— he nodded. "Yes . . . I have seen your memories . . . they are no more pathetic than I expected from a human— at least you take your training seriously . . . and your training partner . . . she is also your mate?"**

"What's pathetic about human memories?" Obito snarled, shaking his fist at the book.

"Whoa, wait . . . mate? He _mates_? There's jinchuuriki _mating?_" Jiraiya reiterated, looking at Kushina with a wickedly perverted grin.

"Er . . . I've heard from around that it's more common on male jinchuuriki's than females . . . probably more popular with the guys, but the strength of it is dependent on the bijuu you hold." Kushina admitted with a blush, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"So how does it go?" Tsunade asked, curious and amused at the intensely interested face of Minato.

Kushina blushed deeper even as a reluctant grin quirked her lips. "Well . . . it might be different; I don't want to give you a wrong answer."

**Naruto shook his head. "There is no claim on her but what sentiment's worth. She is too young." **

"_She?_ Aren't _you_ too young?" Rin objected.

All eyes turned to Kushina. With less of a blush and more of wicked mischief, she said again, "Like I said, it depends on the strength of your bijuu."

"So you made me wait an _extra three years?_" Minato deadpanned.

**Kyuubi hummed in thought, though of course it was really a resounding growl. "Despite your human faults, I suppose things are interesting enough in the outside world to merit my agreement to your request. You show promise in handling the heightened senses given to you, and you seem more capable to wield our great power than the previous jinchuuriki. I will handle opening up the links here, that power I can control here at the very least. It shall be done in three days— you'll have the weekend to become accustomed to it."**

**Naruto gave a small bow, putting away the information of previous jinchuuriki for later. "You're generous Kyuubi— I hope this proves as mutually beneficial in practice as it did in theory."**

"Ah! He's got a clue to finding out about you, Kushina-san!" Rin cheered.

"Ooh, yay, hurry and find me!" Kushina urged, grinning wildly.

**Kyuubi snorted as he moved his face closer; bringing it out of the shadows so Naruto could now see at least part of him. "There is no generosity fool . . . merely grudging convenience. What shall you do about this place?"**

"**About that . . . I've got some ideas, but I need to go back and look at a couple things. I had this idea that I think would be perfect for your character, you'll be able to comment on it now when I show it to you."**

"He never does anything halfway." Minato chuckled.

"**Very well." Kyuubi growled. "The conditions have been met. Don't bore me . . . Uzumaki Naruto." Those final words were whispered with malicious amusement as he sunk back into the dark, leaving Naruto to see his own way out.**

"Challenge Accepted." Obito said smugly.

"**Until next time . . . Kyuubi." Naruto whispered.**

**The next morning Naruto woke up earlier than usual, so minding Katsu's still slumbering form he eased carefully out of bed and tiptoed out the room. Footfalls making a soft padding sound against the wood, he ventured down to the living room and out the door to the slowly brightening light of new dawn. With a yawn he moved to the wooden banister around the front porch and leaned against the wooden post where it ended by the porch stairs. His eyes roamed the landscape lazily as he wondered just what he was doing up so early after a mission, and what he intended to do now. **

"Train?" Kakashi suggested.

"Get a new hobby?" Obito retorted.

**A noise from above drew his attention to the sky, and he spotted a slowly circling figure— a bird. Ah, he noted in recognition, it was one of the messenger hawks. He was only wearing an a-shirt, therefore leaving his arms bare and very much susceptible to its razor sharp talons, but he paid no attention to that fact as he let his forearm raise into the air as a signal for the hawk to descend. The intelligent creature alighted upon his arm with a sharp squawk and even sharper, bloody scratches—**

Kushina winced, sucking in a breath at his cavalier attitude to injuries. She understood it to some extent, having the same advanced healing, but he should still be careful!

**Regarding him with one sharp eye as its right leg rose up to proffer the message to him. **

**He untied the little scroll from the bird's leg, giving it a soft stroke along its back and a scratch just under its jaw before the hawk flapped his wings and left again. Ignoring the red marks on his arm he opened the scroll and read it.**

_**Dear Naruto,**_

_**I'd like to speak with you about your finances— or rather, the options for them when you've got the time. I warn you now though, anything after noon will be next to impossible. So drop by the office this morning if you can.**_

_**Jiji**_

**Well, now he knew what he'd be doing. Looking up from the letter he saw the day was nearly at the usual village starting time. He'd best hurry and get to jiji's office before the first round of paperwork. He started back into the house, reminding himself to burn the scroll when he set it on the mantle, and bounding up the stairs. Katsu was just stirring when he entered the room and made a beeline for his closet.**

"**Hm? Naruto . . . got a team meeting or something?" Katsu mumbled as she opened groggy eyes to peer at the clock. **

"**No, I have a week off remember? Jiji asked me to the office to talk about something though, so I'll be leaving now before he gets too busy to see me." Naruto replied as he chose one of his off-duty clothes, a light blue oxford over a white t-shirt and blue jeans. **

"Simple, yet stylish." Kushina noted with satisfaction, before turning to Minato. "Why can't you ever get out of those jounin clothes?"

"Er . . ." Minato hedged, but the others understood. If he had so many admirers _now_, Kami knew what would happen to the poor man if he ever went out dressed in causal fashion. He'd probably get gang-raped. And it wouldn't just be women either . . .

"**Hmm . . . ok, want me to save you some breakfast?" Katsu asked, pausing to yawn. **

"**I might be gone until lunch, so it's fine." He answered as he went off for a quick shower. **

**By the time he left the house Katsu had started to get ready for the day as well, and had informed him that Iruka might be coming over today at lunch time with her on her break from work. Promising to be back at the house by then, he left the house.**

**He stopped just outside of the yard. Hands making a familiar cross, five kage-bushins popped into existence. "I want one of you to go to the library and look up information on how to get started with water jutsus— the rest of you will go to the lake about ten miles from here and do water-walking, sparring occasionally. Once this guy gets the info, he'll pop, we'll know, and you had better start practicing! Start popping after lunch one every ten minutes." **

"Quite a training method, ne?" Jiraiya asked with an impressed grin.

"If anyone can do it, he can." Kushina advocated.

"Pretty smart of him too." Kakashi added.

"**Hai!" the clones shouted before running off to their assigned tasks. **

**Hopping along the roofs of the bustling village, Naruto watched the millings of the villagers absentmindedly as he went on his way. Not even bothering to go in the regular way, Naruto hopped off his last roof and onto the Hokage Tower itself, sauntering up to the window. Waving cheerily to the ANBU that popped up momentarily from their hideouts to make sure nothing was amiss; he opened the window of jiji's office and slipped in.**

"How bold." Rin giggled.

"When an Uzumaki gets familiar, manners and propriety get kicked out on their asses." Jiraiya said with a grin to the Uzumaki princess glaring at him.

**Hiruzen sighed. "If there are doors in this place, it's for the specific reason that they are to be used."**

"Clearly they are just decorative." Minato snorted.

"**And they are . . . by your secretary." Naruto assured the old man before hopping off the window sill and moving around to the front of the desk. Slipping into the cozy chair he chirped, "Ohaiyou jiji, you asked to see me?"**

**Hiruzen nodded, taking a few papers from the side of his desk and shuffling them. "Yes, Naruto I wanted to ask if you think it's about time to get a bank account."**

**Naruto's smile slipped off his face as he regarded the Sandaime impassively. "I would sooner trust a tiger with my money."**

"That sounds more like bitter subject than regular old distrust of the administration." Kakashi commented, curiosity glinting in his dark eye.

**Hiruzen sighed, regret building in his chest. "I can certainly understand that . . . but you must give me some credit child. The bank account will have myself and another I trust as its guardians. Your name won't even be mentioned— just a beneficiary— and the bank who will oversee your funds won't ask any questions."**

**Naruto eyes narrowed subconsciously as he thought over the words. Hiruzen had to hold himself back from glancing at the picture on the nearby wall when Naruto focused back on him with a single minded intensity.**

Obito and Rin drew in a breath through ridiculously toothy grins. "Like a—"

"_Namikaze_ now shut up and keep reading." Kakashi snapped.

"I had no idea my name was synonymous with being a boss." Minato mused, making Kushina snort in laughter.

"**Who is the other person? Are they connected to me in some way?" Naruto asked.**

**Hiruzen inhaled sharply; **_**He always hits things spot on— how did he know the right question to ask? **_**He smiled and nodded. "Yes, but I'll leave who he is for later— you'll probably be meeting him soon. Do you accept? I'd have to get the money you wanted to put in by tomorrow evening— enough for a checking and savings account."**

"Just how much money did he have lying around the house?" Obito asked incredulously.

**Naruto knew a change in subject when he saw one, but made no comment. **

"**Yeah, I'll get to it jiji. Thanks for this; I was starting to run out of places to stash the money around the house. I was briefly considering buying cookie tins and burying them." Naruto laughed.**

**Hiruzen chortled. "No need for such extremes my boy. What are you going to do with the rest of your day?"**

"**Actually, I was hoping to stay here for a little while longer? I was hoping you might share a story or two of your genin days while handling the dull paperwork."**

"Fun times." Jiraiya snorted.

"**My own personal days as genin? Or my days training genin?" Hiruzen expatiated with a grin.**

"Real fun." Tsunade grumbled.

"**Your preference." Naruto grinned.**

**Naruto spent an hour and a half there with Sandaime before departing and leaving the man his sea coral snow globe that he very much enjoyed— using the door much to Hiruzen's thankfulness— and still had a few more hours till lunch. He spent the time going around to his friends and giving them the souvenir gifts he had gotten for them from Nami. Anko had an uncharacteristically bashful grin when she unwrapped the black and aqua wave-patterned silk robe; **

"Aw, that sounds cute." Rin pouted.

**Ayame squealed over her white and blue dolphin scarf and Teuchi thanked him for the cookbook containing recipes from Water Country— and he would give Iruka the history book on famous pirates and ship captains when he saw him for lunch in a moment.**

"What nice gifts!" Kushina cooed.

**Naruto walked back to the house, nearly there when Anko jumped down from a tree to keep pace with him.**

**Naruto gave her a curious look. "Joining us for lunch, nee-chan?"**

**Anko nodded with a grin of secret amusement. "Uh-huh, Iruka tells me there's a tasty chocolate cake waiting as well."**

**Naruto huffed. "What's the point of cooking so much lunch when you have to go back to work soon? She's too accommodating to you moochers." **

**Anko scoffed and cuffed him in the back of the head, laughing at his yelp of pain and subsequent growl.**

"**A proper lady would hold back." He growled.**

Kushina turned her nose up at the grins directed at her from the others. "Oh, please, don't even Tsunade."

"Eh, I can hold back if I choose." Tsunade argued.

"Che, yeah, when is that ever going to happen?" Jiraiya muttered before yelping in pain from Tsunade's kick.

"Not today it seems." She answered innocently.

"**No one ever has, or ever would, accuse me of being a lady— least of all proper." She quipped promptly. Naruto couldn't stop the smile that quirked his lips, and Anko mirrored it.**

**Together they trooped up to the porch, though Anko stopped right at the steps and took a step to the left. **

"I think something funny is going to happen." Kakashi said gleefully.

**Naruto glanced at her strangely, but she just gave him a peace sign and a grin. Shaking his head he opened the door and turned to step in— until a rolling pin smashed into his face.**

"BOOM! HEADSHOT!" Obito roared in glee.

"She found out about Zabuza, it seems." Minato said, feeling bad for his son . . . but not bad enough to stop laughing.

**It hit him with such force that at first only his head moved back as if it were being dragged by an invisible force backwards . . . then the rest of his body got the message that he was being sent flying— and so he did, right off the porch at the foot of the stairs in a heap.**

"That's some arm she's got on her." Tsunade observed, respect showing in her eyes for the decent take down.

"Why do women make ordinary objects painful?" Kakashi mused to himself.

**With a groan of pain he peeled off the cooking tool that seemed to have stuck to his skin a little form the force of its impact. He started to rise to his elbows when a viciously angry voice yelled from inside the house: **

"**WANT TO TELL WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU JUMPED ON YOUR ENEMIE'S SWORD UZUMAKI?!" **

**Startled and afraid, Naruto's head jerked up to see Katsu— dear Kami what was that dark aura?!— now looming in the doorway with a smug Iruka behind her, smirking at him.**

"Oh so he didn't even try and punish Naruto himself . . ." Obito realized.

"Since he knew Katsu would do such a bang-up job of it for everyone." Minato finished, smirking.

"Touché, Iruka . . ." Kakashi applauded.

**And he had brought the bastard a **_**present!**_

**Groaning, his head dropped back to the ground. "Hime, I can explain,**_** really**_** . . ."**

* * *

**As always, review. They give me warm, fuzzy feelings that are conducive to writing as you well know . . . ;D**

**Love,**

**Blood Velvet.**

**P.S: If i change my pen name, for hose who put me as favorite author, will the name change in your alerts or will you have to favorite me again or something?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello again dear readers! This . . . i can work with this schedule. One a month? Let's hope it can contiune like this. Hooray for light HW! Anyway. I am no longer freaking out about the whole Tobi thing . . . i have a plan. And it's both heart wrenching and awesome. but that's not for another . . . well, it's a ways away. So, this chapter, like the last one, is kind of a filler, but one that both explains, and ushers in the second Naruto Arc. Like, the Xcution "arc" in Bleach. We all know that was filler. And it hurt so bad- cuz it was so BAD- that you sort of wish it had just ended with Aizen. but this new war is trolling on levels yet unseen before in BLEACH. Kubo is on some psychadelic shit. But enough of my rambling!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, that belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do i own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen_

_Look Deep Inside, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

The next day saw a refreshed group sitting in the living room. Without a word, Minato handed the book to Rin, giving the girl a smile when she was brought out of her daydreams.

"Your turn Rin, no getting out of this." Minato joked with his gentle smile was still in place.

Rin nodded, excepting the book. She flicked through the pages, reading the numbers under her breath before making a low, "aha!" sound upon finding her chapter for the day.

**Naruto sat at the living room table after swallowing his last bite of dumpling, the only one on his side while Anko, Katsu and Iruka formed a unified front on the other end. He had just gotten through recounting the entire first meeting with Zabuza while eating lunch, and was awaiting some sort of reaction from the impassive-faced girl staring him down with molten gold eyes.**

"Ah, there's no helping it . . . it's the couch for you." Tsunade sighed in mock regret.

Rin shook her head. "How weird is it that it's actually a viable threat for a twelve year-old?"

**A pause. "And?" Katsu asked.**

**Naruto blinked and asked, "And what?"**

**Katsu sighed impatiently. "Where is the autograph? Since you put so much into it, let's see it."**

**Naruto wasn't sure where she was going with this— by the looks of it neither did Iruka or Anko— but he complied. Gesturing for her to wait, Naruto walked up the stairs to their room and rummaged around in his chest for it. Taking it down with him, he passed the paper to Katsu. She took it carefully; examining it with the sort of vague interest one would an advertisement. **

**After a minute she set it down on the table and passed it back to him without a word. He took it and looked at her curiously. She kept up her blank face for another minute before her lips twitched with suppressed amusement. "We'll buy a frame for it." She murmured, mouth curving into a lovely smile.**

"No man, come on, what the fuck?" Obito whined.

"Obito!" Minato growled.

"No— no! How does he just do that? There's no . . . penalty!" Obito continued, ignoring the warning from the older man.

**Naruto smiled in abject relief whilst Iruka spluttered. "B-but he was reckless?! You were supposed to bring him to heel!" Iruka rounded on Katsu with the accusation.**

**Katsu's left eyebrow quirked up at the fussy chuunin. "Oh, but I did."**

"Not from where I'm standing." Kakashi murmured.

Kushina chuckled. "Subtleties are lost on men."

**She turned back to Naruto, and barked out, "Naruto, what will you **_**not**_** be doing in the future?" **

**Naruto's response was immediate. "I will most certainly not disobey the orders of my jounin-sensei especially in regards to my safety, nor will I egg my opponent on when so close to them, even if the intention is to catch them off guard— or seek to gain any spoils that come with facing an impressive opponent if not either expressly ordered or I have no other choice but to do so. Not at least until I hit jounin, and even then it's pretty iffy." **

Jiraiya whistled while Kakashi and Obito muttered, "Damn."

**Katsu smiled at the still frothing-at-the-mouth Iruka. "See, he even specified it for me! A rolling pin to the face is really quite a good enough explanation on my part— besides, his plan helped the senseis out a lot didn't it?"**

"That was a mistake on Iruka's part— he sought out the help of the partner-in-crime." Tsunade lectured, with a disappointed shake of her head.

**Iruka continued to splutter incoherently. Eyes shining, Katsu continued, "However, if you feel there is more to say— and I'm quite sure you do . . . then really, you're the better person out of the two of us to lecture him. You're the chuunin after all, what can I as a lowly civilian, say to him?"**

Rin snorted. "Lowly civilian . . . and sensei's just a nameless jounin."

"There's a hell of a lot you can say to him— and the boy will listen." Tsunade drawled.

**Iruka stopped spluttering long enough to try and piece together strings of words. "You're not a lowly— but you're supposed to— he'll **_**only**_** listen to **_**you**_**— you're just as **_**bad**_** as he is— ANKO! Stop laughing and help me!"**

**Anko would do no such thing however, even going so far as to fall over and wheeze for the precious air her bright red face indicated she so clearly needed. Iruka growled, pinching the bridge of his nose, before addressing the two youngest.**

"**Clearly the both of you need a lecture!" he scolded, features set into 'stern task master' mode. **

**Katsu smiled at the boiling teacher. "I'll have to take a rain check, Iruka-sensei, I've got to get back to work." Before Iruka could get a word in edgewise, she had taken their plates, stacking them swiftly and with practiced ease and quickly making a beeline to the kitchen.**

**Iruka opened his mouth to call after her retreating figure, but he sighed gustily. Turning to Naruto, he said, "I know you're free, but is there any half-assed excuse you'd like to use on me?" **

"Half-assed— there is no such thing for an Uzumaki!" Kushina cried out.

**Naruto's face twisted in offense. "I never give half-assed excuses— I never do half-assed things period! But if you must know, I have some serious training to do. I'm trying to learn a water jutsu and it certainly isn't going to just appear in my brain."**

**Anko got up from the floor, panting lightly. "Learning elemental jutsu . . . is tough stuff even for chuunins brat." She huffed as she gave him a considering glance. "It's especially hard if the jutsu you're learning isn't your primary affinity. You say water, huh?"**

"**Yeah, and . . ." Naruto blinked as he suddenly got a rush of memories from his library clone, and was surprised when the last thing 'he' did was make another clone to read some more books. **_**Okay . . . **_**". . . it's a B-rank, given to me by Zabuza."**

"**So you really did make friends with him." Iruka mutters pensively. "Well, all I can tell you is to just work on the exercises you can find for water jutsu control— probably the ripple exercise. You put your hand just above water and push a little chakra down to make wave, or if you master it just a ripple. It takes really good chakra control."**

"But if it's not his primary affinity— then it's fine if he just works at it and eventually gets it. It won't be as strong if he was to have a water affinity, or even if he did those exercises, but it might affect him when he is trying to learn his primary affinity." Tsunade argued.

"**Thanks, sensei, I'll work on it." Naruto grinned.**

**Iruka nodded as both he and Anko clambered up. "Well, we had better go. I've got classes to attend to and Anko, you're working on something . . . ?"**

**Anko grinned, the trademark bloodthirsty one that sends shivers down lesser ninja's spines. "Yeah, brat you're going to enjoy it too when I'm done."**

"Doubt it." Obito said knowingly.

"**Oh joy, oh bliss." Naruto deadpanned as he followed them out. They said their goodbyes as Naruto locked up, Anko and Iruka heading to the village center, Katsu back to work, while Naruto ventured further into the forest where the lake was.**

**Upon arriving there he saw his clones hard at work, each 20 feet away from each other as they worked on the exercise. He walked up to the clone directly across from him, who had just taken a break.**

"**I wonder if it's really necessary to learn this step. This is really only for people who have the affinity and need to train in depth for it." Naruto commented to his clone, watching the other rise and wipe his forehead with the back of his right hand.**

"**Well . . . probably not, but this will make it easier to control when we start practicing on the jutsu. Learning how the chakra forms to make water jutsu work, this ought to help." The clone answered with a look of concentration.**

"Eh? But sensei, if we go back to what Tsunade-sama said . . . won't him working to make his chakra flow in the way a ninja with water affinity does, affect him when he's trying to learn his own affinity should it be different? Won't the chakra be too used to being manipulated a certain way, and make it more difficult for him?" Obito asked, shocking the others with how in depth his question was.

Minato smiled proudly at his student, seeing that deep thought was put into that question. "That's very good Obito, but it's not as cut and dry as that. The reason why it's so hard in the first place to learn your elemental affinity is because your chakra is used to flowing . . . straight, for lack of a better term. When you learn your affinities, there are certain ways you have to manipulate the chakra to get it right. Like for wind you have to make your chakra sharp, and so on. But, your chakra will always go back to its 'default setting' . . . that straight path. So, while his chakra will probably retain the memory of how to work itself into a water chakra type, it won't make it difficult for him to learn his primary one. That will be more in depth than what he's doing anyway."

"**Only if you pay attention. Just doing this won't make it come to you; you have to think about the actions." Naruto reminded.**

**The clone snorted. "No need to remind **_**me**_**, boss." **

"**Insubordination!" One clone still working at the lake coughed, prompting his 'brothers' to snigger. **

_**Another day or two of this, and then I can start working on the jutsu. Hmm . . . since I've gotten my feet wet with this, I should try and find out my primary affinity. The Higurashi's should have some chakra paper. **_**Naruto thought, adding it to his list of things to do.**

"Wind, it's going to be wind, I know it!" Minato cheered.

**Naruto sighed, shaking his head as he watched his clones start arguing. He never heard sensei complain about **_**his**_** shadow clones being rowdy. **

"His shadow clones don't put up that composed face he has with most others, so you can really see what he's truly like by paying attention to the clones." Obito remarked.

"Yeah, and I am seeing pure Kushina, despite his looks." Jiraiya noted, amused at the Uzumaki heiress' gleeful look.

**It was like that for the rest of the day, with him deciding to stop training when the clones looked ready to throw down. Growling, he dispelled them all and returned home. Katsu cooked a simple dinner, but it was no less delicious and filling for someone who spent the entire day training. He managed to convince her to take their bath together, and by the time he had sunken into the cloud-soft sheets of the bed with a luxurious sigh and large smile, he had forgotten all about the stubborn clones and decided that the day had been pretty good. **

"Katsu doesn't seem the weak-willed type, or the type to be easily manipulated, so just how is he convincing her to take baths together?" Rin wanted to know, still rather embarrassed with the whole situation.

"The powers of the pervert are strange and mysterious indeed . . . but most certainly powerful." Jiraiya chuckled evilly, his chuckles then cut short with Tsunade's right hook.

**The next day, however, seemed to be just a repeat of the previous.**

"**Remember your schedules— in about fifteen minutes start popping out so we can amass the total experience. We might be able to make a bit of headway with this. If I think we've done enough I might try working on the jutsu soon after enough improvement." He informed the clones, who all whooped with renewed energy and poured all their concentration into it.**

**Soon the popping of clones filled the air as one by one, they returned to Naruto and he assimilated the extra memories. He stopped his own progress as the clones integrated into him once more. He took some time to go over the memories, mulling them over like new flavors, before deciding on his next course of action.**

"**Hmm." He turned his hands over, palm up as he stared at them, considering. Water chakra was supposed to flow smoothly, just like a slow-coursing river, or so the book described it. Slowly, carefully, he turned them around again and placed them just atop the water's surface. He closed his eyes and concentrated on finding his chakra. When he did, instead of just using it right off the bat, he took the time to observe his chakra— to try and identify the feel of it, to feel it's force as it ebbed and flowed around and through his body.**

"A sort of short-hand meditating, it's handy when you don't have the time for full immersion." Jiraiya advocated, looking at Minato's students specifically.

**It was . . . definitely strong. He didn't know how to describe it exactly— like a tidal wave, or the maelstrom his name signified— whatever it was, it was powerful and wild, nothing at all like the calm and liquid flow water chakra ought to be.**

"Doesn't sound much like any chakra type for elements, but chakra rarely does." Tsunade commented.

"It sounds more like the elements themselves— like his chakra isn't a type, it is that element. It sounds close to fire . . . or wind." Obito added.

"Or the stormy oceans his name implies." Jiraiya pitched in, smiling at a smug Kushina.

**But he could harness it, and he could control it to resemble such to the best of his ability. Taking a deep breath, he moved chakra right onto his palm, but as it flowed from his center, up his chest and down his arms, he was fixing it around. He took as thin a line as he could from his center to his arms, and focused on slowing it down, calming it. He found it easier by matching the chakra's pull to his breathing. In— he pushed it back, out— he sent it forward slowly. Just like a wave, like those waves that lapped on the shore of Inari's house back in wave.**

"How very interesting a concept." Tsunade mused. "Kushina, would you describe it like that?"

"Hmm . . . not while it's still inside my body. When I was training with it, I was told to push the chakra out into the water, the try and bring it back in— like recycling it until I had to get more. It's not too dissimilar, but it is an original concept nonetheless." Kushina answered, pausing briefly before a proud grin nearly dazzled the others with its brilliance.

"My son is an innovative genius dattebane!" She squealed, clapping her hands in delight.

**Just . . . like . . . that . . . **

**The chakra eventually reached his palms, and he pushed it back one more time, and then let it flow out from his palms to the water's surface like the breath he exhaled from his lungs. The results were clear to see— in the time he and his clones had been practicing they had managed not to splash themselves with water, though they were far from creating ripples, just craters like someone cannonballed into the water. Now, though . . . it was large, and it spread far and a little deep in— but it was a ripple. And only a ripple. **

The others clapped and whistled for his victory, even if it was something small they were his family, and they'd clap and whistle when he had all his firsts with them!

**Naruto's eyes opened slowly, brilliant blues glowing almost delphinium with his success as he observed the water returning to its placid state. He smiled slowly. **

**The hours flew by as Naruto kept up his chakra training— for the jutsu, and just to keep improving his still-dismal chakra control— then taking a rest to get some lunch at Ichiraku's before returning to his spot. Forgoing chakra training at the moment Naruto focused on taijutsu and fuuinjutsu. He formed three clones to fight against, and when they had popped under their beatings he had cut loose and created fifteen others for an all-out brawl—**

"What is it with Uzumakis and brawling?" Minato asked Kushina, amusement lifting the corners of his lips into a large smile.

"We've always been a rowdy, wild bunch— that just applies to all aspects of our life. Not even taijutsu, it's like our bodies rail against the little bit of orderliness there is in it and go for broke." Kushina explained, she herself was lost in memories of full-out clan brawls, though she had been too young to participate when clan meetings got out of hand.

Minato saw her nostalgia take a melancholy turn, and pulled her close to his warmth, receiving a smile in thanks.

_**Ah, nothing will feel as natural as brawling to me! **_**Naruto exulted as he sunk his knee into a clone's midsection, not even flinching as the ghost pains from the clones' memories hit him too. **

"He can feel their pain?" Rin balked, thinking how badly that must hurt, and how you would have to work hard to ignore that pain in a battle.

Minato tipped his head forward a bit as he tried to explain it. "Not really— not always. It's more like a phantom pain, or at worst a dull ache or whatever the injury might be. It all depends on the severity of the injury or wound for how much you feel. Usually though, you just know where they got hit, and if it's really bad then I would liken it to someone pushing their hand deep into your stomach."

**He then thought about how to make his clones more durable, so he spent quite some time perusing his books and testing out experimental seals as they came to him on clones as he tried to figure out a Durability seal. **

"Ugh, good luck." Jiraiya groaned, thinking of his brief stint trying to solve that problem.

"I never thought to make them more durable." Minato admitted as he examined the merit of the idea. "They're mostly for recon, but if he's going to be using them for fights then it certainly makes sense."

"I never found a way either." Kushina admitted a little sulkily. "I'm sure he can though." She added as an afterthought.

**While Naruto was deep into his work, across town Katsu was just finishing up her shift, Haruhi-san deciding that she could leave early.**

"**Are you sure I shouldn't stay for any rush, Haruhi-san?" Katsu pressed once more before she left the café, hand gently holding a little box with a slice of cake inside she had made with the chef's help for lunch rush. **

**Haruhi laughed, shiny painted pink lips quirked into a smile. "I'm telling you, around this time of year there won't be too many people coming in late— especially ninjas as they're all preparing!"**

"Preparing?" Obito repeated as he thought about what they'd be doing.

"You think its Chuunin Exam time?" Kakashi asked Minato.

Minato's eyes it up as he remembered the Chuunin Exams. "Yeah, there are usually ones every six months. I guess it's Konoha's turn again to host it."

**Katsu's interest perked just as her eyes gleamed with the hint of useful information. She smiled and said lightly, "Ah, yes, I hear the shinobi are all excited and preparing for something big. Are we expecting royalty?"**

**Haruhi giggled. "Not for another . . . oh, three months or so. The royal do enjoy a good match too!" **

**Katsu tilted her head the tiniest bit. Her eyes widened in interest as she carefully pressed for more information. "A good match? Are we having a tournament of some kind?"**

"Smart girl." Kushina praised.

"She's just pushing for information that she can tell Naruto." Rin realized, giggling into her hands at how considerate Katsu and Naruto were of each other.

**Haruhi clapped in admiration. "Bingo! The Chuunin Exams— and you know what that means? Opportunities for a booming business! So enjoy your early shifts while you can, because soon you'll be working full day shifts to accommodate all the 'tourists'!" Haruhi giggled at her own little joke. **

**Katsu laughed shortly, considering this new interesting bit of info . . . **_**I wonder if Naruto's been holding out on me? No, Hinata hasn't said anything either, nor Shika and Chouji . . . they don't know because they haven't been told. **_**Katsu decided that must be the reason.**

"They probably won't be entering; they would have only been genin for six months." Tsunade surmised.

"Or at least . . . they shouldn't be entering." Kushina said, though she made it sound like a warning— Kakashi realized it was when she eyed him dangerously. He gulped, and hoped his future self didn't think a little thing like death would stop Kushina from crushing him like a bug should her baby be put in any unnecessary danger.

**With a last goodbye to her fellow workers and her boss, Katsu exited the café and walked up the main street, pausing briefly before walking again— she'd go to see Saru-jiji now, her conversation with Naruto last night making her think about him. It had been a while, and the worst thing that would happen is her being told by the secretary that he was too busy to see her. **

"Only if he's in a council meeting." Tsunade snorted.

**Yes, that's what would inevitably happen, she was sure, as he was far too busy running a village to spare a slip of a girl like her even a minute.**

**So imagine her surprise when the smiling secretary— the one she remembered often handing her and Naruto treats while waiting for jiji as a child— waved her in without even checking to see whether the elder was busy or not.**

"Ah, the perks of having a Hokage as a grandfather-figure." Obito said dreamily.

"Guys, let's work on our innocent faces so we can get in on this later." Rin suggested, gesturing to their sensei, even as he raised his eyebrows in amusement.

**Timidly, she opened the door and poked her head in. Hiruzen had sensed her before, and so was already waiting with a smile on his face and a hand beckoning her in. **

"**Katsu, it has been too long since you last visited this old man." Hiruzen greeted the girl once she had settled down in the chair at the front of his desk.**

**Katsu smiled at the man. "I'm a civilian, jiji, I've no business waltzing in and out to visit as I used to do back when I was a kid."**

"Now if only the civilians on the council could have the same amount of respect as her." Minato sighed, recalling the pompous attitudes of the civilian council members.

"**You still are a kid." Hiruzen pointed out dryly.**

**Katsu glared at him. "You know what I mean." She muttered as she presented him with the slice of cake. **

**Hiruzen smiled eagerly as he took the cake, stooping briefly to retrieve the fork he kept in a cloth in his desk drawer. "I knew it would be a good idea to keep one here on standby, just for these times. You wouldn't leave your jiji's sweet tooth to shrivel and dry." He murmured as he eyed the cake appreciatively for a moment before scooping up a bite and popping it in his mouth.**

**Katsu giggled. "Jiji, how's Konohomaru?" **

"**Ah, Kono— should I say Naegi now? He pouts terribly when we don't use that nickname. Anyway, he's fine, but he wants to play with Naruto. I believe Naruto promised him a game of ninja before leaving for his mission."**

"Naruto-nii rocks!" Obito sang under his breath, his teammates sniggering and looking away from the amused stares of the adults.

"**I'll remind Naruto." Katsu promised. "Need any help with this, jij? I see those files needs to be sent somewhere." She indicated a stack of folders on the desk.**

**Hiruzen nodded, swallowing his bite of cake before speaking. "Ah, yes, those need to be taken to archives, they're just some old records and such from my very early days as Hokage— I needed a reminder on specific details. Would you take them for me? I think you might like the old archives building, they have records of some of the most ridiculous things."**

"We have an archive building?" Kakashi asks in surprise.

Minato nods. "Yeah, just for civilian records, records from other villages on small things, crop products of past years— stuff like that."

Obito adds, "It's also a place that holds records for the most impressive feats of Konoha's teams. I know because I went there to see if we got a record for catching Tora."

"Did we?" Rin asked eagerly.

Obito nodded. "Yeah, we got the longest time catching Tora— three days and two minutes."

**Katsu beamed as she popped up from her seat, taking the folders with care. "I'll take them right away, jiji. And of course . . ." she turned to him with an amused smile. "If I should happen to get curious about your early days as Hokage, there will be a seal-based genjutsu on these pages to make them illegible only to the person they are being delivered to."**

"**You are such a quick study." Hiruzen said in place of an actual answer, satisfaction and amusement clear on his face.**

**Katsu shook her head as she turned around and headed out on her errand. **

**It only took her fifteen minutes to get there, the archives building wasn't too far away. It was a short building, though unusual in its cylindrical shape as most buildings in Konoha were rectangular. It was rather large, though not half as big as the Hokage Tower, with a wooden sign hanging over the door that indicated it as the archives building. She briefly wondered why papers like these were in this building and not in the Hokage Tower's personal archive room— but then, jiji never said these were his own records. Katsu sighed, letting it go as she figured that they weren't exactly the Hokage's records like she thought, but something else. Maybe Civilian Council records? **

"More than likely." Jiraiya allowed.

**Entering the building she observed the dust motes that swirled around, flung into the air by the old man dusting book shelves behind a counter as he hummed tunelessly. Form behind she could only see his mustard-colored vest, faded brown shirt and a shiny head, though it looked like he had some gray facial hair. **

"You think Old Man Watanabi is still manning the old books?" Minato asked in surprise, even in this time the man had to be in his middle fifties.

**Katsu cleared her throat. "Excuse me, sir?"**

**The man turned around, looking at her as if he had been expecting her all along as he smiled, revealing healthy white teeth set into a weathered and proud face, and waved his hand to usher her in. "Come in, child! I am Watanabi-san. Welcome to the archive's building, how can I help you?" his gravelly, warm voice washed over her.**

**As he walked toward her, Katsu took in his stance, and the movements that wasted little energy— **_**A retired jounin, perhaps, **_**she catalogued before smiling brightly at him and lifting her hands a bit to indicate the files.**

"Is he?" Rin asked the adults.

Tsunade nodded. "Yes indeed, we worked with him a couple of times as well. He was a good ninja, had an excellent mission rate for not only accomplishing the mission objectives, but doing so efficiently and swiftly."

"**The Hokage wishes to return these to their proper place— he also said that there might be some interesting records I could take a look at?" Katsu said.**

**Watanabi nodded, scratching his neatly trimmed beard. "Ah yes, just some genin records— as in, genin teams from present to past that hold some outstanding record. No official papers, sadly. Still interested?" Watanabi asked with a joking grin. Katsu grinned back and assured him she was.**

"**OK! Then, the genin book of records is over down that hallway, to the right. I'll just go on and file these back." Watanabi said. He turned and headed to wherever those folders needed to be filed, while Katsu followed his directions. Coming to the end of the hallway and making a right, she stepped into a room. It was filled with shelves, like the other rooms, but there was a special area cleared off where a pedestal stood, a large leather bound book resting on it. **

"How many records are there for genin alone?" Kakashi asked Obito.

"Uh . . . last I checked just thirty records, and the average number of times those records were broken are three teams per record." Obito said like he was reciting it from memory.

"**Big book, how many records did these genin teams make or break?" Katsu muttered as she made her way towards it. Standing in front of it, she wondered nervously for a brief moment if touching the pages would tear them— the book just seemed so old, like the trees surrounding the village. Knowing however that Watanabi would not have let her go into the room by herself if that was the case; Katsu opened the cover and flipped past the title page to glance over the Table of Contents.**

**A chapter title caught her eye. "Records for the fastest time catching Tora? The cat can't be that old— or at least, Tora's descendants can't all be so troublesome." Katsu murmured to herself as she flicked through the book until she arrived at the chapter.**

"We never found out if Tora had kittens. There was a rumor . . . but how could they all be exactly like her? How could all their owners just squeeze them to near-death?" Tsunade fired off her questions rapidly.

Minato and Jiraiya shook their heads solemnly. "We will never know, and it doesn't really seem like it matters. Tora— the very identity— will live on forever." Minato declared.

"**Wow." She awed softly when she saw just how old a tradition this was— there was a painting of Saru-jiji with his teammates Homura and Komura, Komura cuddling a grumpy-looking Tora, while Senju Tobirama and the Shodaime Hokage stood behind them, grinning slightly. **

"The days before photography." Jiraiya said in distaste.

"The Dark Ages." Obito cracked.

**Their record had been three hours and forty-five minutes— apparently, it usually took around forty-eight hours to catch the cat.**

Kushina shivered. "That cat is a demon; it's the mother of the Nibi."

**Katsu perused the list, seeing Team Hiruzen— who would become the Sannin of today— achieve an impressive two hours flat. **

The others clapped for Tsunade and Jiraiya, who accepted it with a graceful inclination of their heads.

"We really owe it all to that damn monkey-sensei— Enma was a great running coach." Jiraiya grumbles out the last part.

**Camera's must have been invented at that point, though the picture was black and white. But it was the next contestant on the list that stopped her. Looking back on that moment, she'll never be sure of what exactly stopped her and made her take a second look at the color picture. When asked though, she'll say, "I had never seen such beautiful hair before."**

"Beautiful hair?" Obito muttered.

"Shut up, I think we've gotten to a really good part!" Tsunade hissed, frantically waving her hands at Rin to continue. Rin startled, but did as she was told nervously.

**The genin team was known as Team Fukumoto— two girls and one boy.**

Kushina gasped loudly, interrupting Rin again. "That's my old sensei!" she said faintly.

"You mean . . ." Minato said, realization widening his eyes.

"Katsu's found the first big clue." Jiraiya said, finishing where Minato trailed off. The group all turned back to the book, Rin reading with a bit more urgency in her voice as the impact of the situation really hit home.

**The tallest girl was a lanky brunette with a placid expression; the boy was slightly shorter with unusual salt-and-pepper hair. But it was the last girl that she paid the most attention to. **

**The first thing that stood out was the crimson locks; she had never seen anyone with red hair like that before. The second thing that stood out was how long the red tresses were— longer than she usually saw, even longer than hers, and the Haruno on Naruto's team and the Yamanaka on Shikamaru's. The girl was very pretty— the red hair and violet eyes made for a striking look . . . and she thought the girl's chubby cheeks were adorable, especially as they were lifted by a humongous grin . . . a very familiar-looking grin.**

"Look, Kushina-san!" Rin gushed. "Your future daughter-in-law thinks you're _'very pretty'_!"

Kushina blushed lightly in happiness, smile soft. Minato grinned at her rare show of bashfulness and said, "It'll be great to know that you and your daughter-in-law will get along well."

"Heh, she got double-bonus points. Not only did she compliment my hair, she said my stupidly round face was cute." Kushina admitted.

**She looked at the names listed under their record— the fastest time, even faster than Team Hiruzen's at an impressive one hour and twenty minutes. **

_**Let's see . . . there are the sensei, Fukumoto Hikaru, and the students Araya Hiro, Handa Chihara, and . . . **_**Uzumaki**_** Kushina?! **_**Katsu's eyes widened. An Uzumaki? Suddenly she had to take a closer look at this Kushina.**

"That's right, you're a clever girl, and you'll figure this out!" Tsunade encouraged, fidgeting to the edge of her seat in anticipation, honey brown eyes shining.

**Those eyes, she thought. They are so familiar, or rather, the shapes of them are. Her eyes are the same shape as Naruto's . . . come to think of it her facial structure isn't too far off either, and that grin! No wonder it was familiar, that was a typical Naruto grin of victory. Katsu leaned back, almost as if the information was a blow to her. This was just so unexpected— she had found a connection to Naruto. **

"Come on, go a bit further . . ." Jiraiya prompted.

_**I think . . . I'm looking at a relative of Naruto's— and if I'm right . . . that's Naruto's okaa-san. **_**Katsu realized.**

"You're right!" Rin, Obito, Minato and Kushina cheered loudly. Tsunade clapped, Jiraiya following and adding a high-pitched whistle.

"Who knew that she'd find me in the most unlikely of places?" Kushina asked Minato, hugging him tightly.

"**Found something interesting?" The voice was so unexpected she jumped at the same time as her heart skipped a beat or several, and whirled around to see a faintly surprised Watanabi.**

"**Didn't mean to frighten you— whatever you found must have been interesting, eh? Let's see . . ." the man moved forward to stand beside her as he peered down at the page she was on. He made a soft sound of amusement.**

"**Ah, the records for fastest Tora retrieval times? Those are certainly amusing . . . everyone jokes about Tora's age but if they saw these pictures!" Watanabi told her.**

**Katsu wasn't interested in that though. Turning to Watanabi, she asked quickly, "Watanabi-san, is there any way to get a copy of this picture?"**

"Please let there be!" Kushina pleaded.

**Watanabi turned to her with a considering stare. "A copy of this picture? Whatever do you need it for?"**

**Katsu didn't hesitate, knowing any pause would translate to guiltiness or shady intentions. "My grandmother knew the sensei, and I believe that Fukumoto Hikaru might be a distant relative, I just need to confirm it in my photo albums. Plus, well, I think my friends— they're ninja— will get a kick out of this." She lied smoothly.**

"As good as can be when it's made on the spot." Kushina said.

"But I doubt it's enough to fool a seasoned veteran like Watanabi." Jiraiya countered.

**Watanabi stared at her for two minutes, and Katsu had to restrain herself— exerting a lot of self-control— before Watanabi's face eased into a smile and said, "Well, then, I don't see why not. Always good to see children young as yourself taking an interest in their home's history."**

"It's a good thing he won't call her on it though. He must know at least a little of her reasoning." Obito said, relief in his voice.

**Watanabi moved to the back of the room where a file cabinet stood in the corner, dusty and alone. He opened the top drawer and rummaged around a bit, before taking out a few sheets of paper, a file folder, ink and a brush.**

"**Watanabi-san, how are you going to make the copy?" Katsu asked, curious as he came back to the pedestal and arranged the items on top.**

**Watanabi turned to her with a mysterious smile. "Watch and see!"**

**Watanabi took a sheet of paper and placed it over the entire page, smoothing it out. Carefully, he opened the ink bottle and dipped the brush in. Upon closer inspection, Katsu realized that it was special ink, not the typical black as she had thought— it was really just a dark mix of colors: greens, purples, golds, and such were what she could identify. No bloody crimsons or blues though. Still, she remained silent as Watanabi made sure to take off any excess ink, and started to draw out a seal right over the area of the paper where the picture underneath was seen through. **

**Watanabi finished up the seal and placed the brush to the side. Straightening up, he put his fingers in a ram seal, gathering his chakra, then placed his fingertips in the middle of the seal— and suddenly, it was like the picture underneath was bleeding through to the top of the page. **

**Katsu gasped in delight as the paper copied down everything from the book underneath it perfectly— even better, she thought. The fresh new ink made Kushina's hair that much brighter, the sky that much bluer, there was more detail to the faces and to Tora's fur. The copy was like seeing the picture soon after it was taken or seeing that moment with your very own eyes. She cared little for the facts bleeding through in crisp black lettering, having eyes only for her best friend's mother.**

"Oh she is just too adorable!" Kushina cried.

"**Pretty cool, right?" Watanabi's voice brought her back from her drifting thoughts. She turned to him with a large smile.**

"**Oh yes! I never knew that a seal could do that!" Katsu effused.**

"It's always cool the first time you see it." Minato said.

"And the second time." Kakashi added.

"Even the fifth time." Rin yipped.

**Watanabi nodded with a smile. "Yes indeed young lady. It was created during the time of the Nidaime Hokage— and let me tell you, though I was a young boy at the time I recall with clarity the celebration party the scribes threw once they found out they were out of jobs. Funny bunch they all were— though I suppose anyone who has to sit indoors for months at a time and rewrite the same things over and over . . ." Watanabi shook his head, putting the memories away. He blew gently on the paper, making sure it was dry, before slipping it into the file and handing it over to an eagerly awaiting Katsu.**

**Katsu bowed deeply, saying fervently, "Thank you so much, Watanabi-san. Your help has been kindly appreciated, and I'm sorry for intruding upon your work."**

**Watanabi laughed, patting her shoulder once Katsu straightened out of her bow. "No need child, it's been a pleasure. Now though, I think it's time you got back to the Hokage— you've been here for half an hour, yes?"**

**Katsu squeaked, "I have? Oh, I better head back!" She walked quickly to the doorway, before turning and giving the man a large, grateful smile as she pressed the folder to her chest. "Thank you, and goodbye Watanabi-san! I'll come back again sometime if the Hokage needs me!" Watanabi smiled and waved, and with one last wave to him Katsu scurried out the building and high-tailed it back to the Tower.**

"**You were gone for quite a while, Katsu." Hiruzen said to her once she arrived back into his office.**

**She took a deep breath, and let it out in a big sigh. "Sorry, jiji, I got too caught up with those records. I had no idea you started the whole catch Tora record!"**

"His worst idea ever." Jiraiya noted, making the kids snort with laughter.

**Hiruzen laughed and inclined his head in affirmation. "Yes, and it still brings me great joy to push that hellcat onto some other poor, eager little genin team."**

"What a bastard move." Obito grumbled.

"Ah . . . I as well, eagerly wait for that day." Minato murmured.

"**Mean old man." Katsu accused.**

"**Guilty as charged." Hiruzen acknowledged.**

"**Well, I better go jiji, time to get dinner started. I'll see you sometime soon jiji, ok?" Katsu bid her surrogate grandfather farewell and skipped down the stairs to the street below.**

**Once the door had closed behind Katsu, Hiruzen's smile dropped and he sighed tiredly as he opened his desk drawer to reveal the crystal gazing orb he had used a little while ago to check on Katsu. He knew exactly what was in that folder— but he wouldn't stop her. After all, while neither he nor anyone else could tell Naruto about **_**them**_** . . . there was nothing against him finding out. His good mood returned as he chuckled, taking out his pipe for a well-deserved smoke. **

"Why can't Naruto be told about you two?" Rin demanded.

Minato answered. "No doubt we'll acquire a lot of enemies, particularly after this war . . . while Naruto is still so young, he would be in too much danger with that knowledge known publically. And you can't exactly trust a toddler with such knowledge; they'll go and blurt it out." Kushina looked grudging as she nodded in agreement with Minato's words.

**While Katsu was hurrying home to whip up dinner, Naruto was just about done cooling down from his training. **

"Who cares about training right now?! Your _kaa-chan_ is about to be revealed, so skip your ass on home!" Obito hollered.

**With a last stretch of his calves, Naruto dropped his left leg and bounced on the balls of his feet, blowing out a breath. He stopped and just stood there, breathing in deeply of the cool air, summers smell pervading his senses. He sighed appreciatively, and thought to himself, **_**it'd be nice if my life could always be this peaceful.**_

"It would . . . sorry son." Kushina and Minato said dolefully.

"Please, a child of Wind and Whirlpool could never want peace for that long— they need action and adrenaline sooner or later." Rin teased.

_**Profoundly boring for me, however. **_**Kyuubi's dark and powerful voice encroached upon his thoughts, and startled him so much that he physically jolted before realizing who the voice belonged to.**

_**Kyuubi! I thought the process wouldn't be done so soon. **_**Naruto said— well, mentally at least— to the demon within him, surprise coloring his tone. **

_**I said you'd have the weekend to get used to it. It is currently Friday, I believe? All that is left on my end is to connect smell and sight, and then everything will be complete. **_**Kyuubi reported, his growling voice almost resonating in Naruto's head.**

"I'm still not exactly comfortable with the idea. What if Kyuubi just has greater range to influence him? Even if he isn't evil, per se, he still harbors a great amount of darkness." Tsunade questions worriedly.

"I believe Naruto has already thought of such things, and if he continued with this plan in spite of that then surely he's strong enough to push such thoughts back. He's our son after all." Minato said, gesturing to Kushina and himself.

_**Ah, I see. Then, tonight I will come back to your room and we can decide on a new change of décor for you. **_**Naruto said cheerily.**

**Kyuubi growled, annoyed with the boy's seemingly never-ending patient warmth, though he noticed how the boy said, 'your room'. **_**As long as you do not bore me into another coma, I care little for your agenda. Do as you wish, I think I won't be too picky on what I can get besides this dank cell. **_

"Curt, yet understandable." Jiraiya muttered.

_**Of course, I never break a promise Kyuubi. **_**Naruto insisted. There was no answer though, and not after several minutes either. With a shrug, Naruto packed up his kit and headed back in the direction of home. **

**He moved through the trees with ease, his movements practiced and just about second-nature to him now— so familiar he didn't even need to focus much to avoid any low-hanging branches or rickety ones that would cave under his weight. Soon the house appeared in the distance, and grew larger and closer with each jump. The windows twinkled with lights from the inside, so Naruto could guess that Katsu was already working on dinner— though he was sure it was his turn tonight.**

**He dropped down from the tree on the edge of the backyard, and ambled up to the back porch where the door was already partially opened. Naruto pushed it further and walked in, closing and locking the door quietly behind him.**

"**Tadaima." He called.**

"**Okaeri, Naru, dinner will be ready soon, so you can take a quick shower. But before you eat, I have some interesting things to tell you!" Katsu called back to him.**

"Interesting isn't even the word to describe what she's uncovered." Tsunade laughed.

"Don't take too long, you get to see me today!" Kushina chirped, bouncing a little in her seat.

"**Sounds good, I'll be quick then." Naruto answered, a little disappointed they couldn't soak together in the bath. **

"There's only so much an unconventional childhood can cover for." Rin sighed, shaking her head in reluctant amusement.

"My son is a pervert, there's just no escaping it." Kushina admitted reluctantly, ignoring the gloating look on Jiraiya's face.

**He loped up the stairs and went in to their room quickly—just for his lounge sweats and a t-shirt. Heading into the bathroom he turned on the water and stepped in immediately, not bothering to wait for the water to warm up. **

**He tensed under the sudden spray of freezing water, but it felt good in a way as well. Soon the water was warmer, the heat melting him almost to a bone-less state before he snapped out of it and washed up. He left the soothing water with a faint regret, toweling off and dressing quickly. He rushed down the stairs when Katsu called his name urgently.**

**Katsu frowned when she saw him. "Your hair is still damp." She said with disapproval. **

"He might catch cold." Kushina muttered.

"He's got Uzumaki constitution in addition to the Kyuubi, damp hair is not an obstacle worth mentioning to his health." Obito dismissed her worry with some humor.

**Naruto waved her concern off, even though droplets of water still dripped from his hair. "Never mind that now, tell me what you found out." **

"Here it comes!" Tsunade hissed excitedly.

**Katsu stiffened at the reminder, and with uncharacteristic nervousness she took the folder from where it rested by her side on the floor and placed it delicately on the table. Taking a deep breath, she slowly pushed it over to him. Concerned with how quiet she was being, Naruto snatched up the folder and opened it. His brow creased in confusion, and he looked up at her as he slowly said, "Records for Fastest Times Catching Tora?" **

"**Just read on, Naruto." Katsu said quietly, yet firmly. Still confused, Naruto returned his attention to the page, and was about to start reading when the picture in the middle of the page caught his attention. It was a picture of a team, the sensei standing in the background with a smile on his face. Three little genin stood in front of him— **_**Who's the kid in the middle with that monster grin? And her hair . . . **_**Naruto marveled briefly before looking up at Katsu.**

"Ha! It's always the hair!" Obito laughed quietly.

"No, no this time it was the grin." Rin argued. Tsunade hushed the two, eager to return to Naruto's revelation.

"**This girl in the middle, is she who you wanted me to see? Because of her hair?" Naruto asked.**

"**Read the names under the page, and then you'll understand." Katsu assured him. **

**Naruto sighed, but did so. The sensei was named Fukumoto Hikaru. The three genin were Araya Hiro, Handa Chihara, and Uzumaki Kushina. Naruto looked up to Katsu, his mouth opened to say something, before the last genin's name really hit him. His mouth closed with an audible snap, eyes wide as he ducked his head to read the last name again.**

"**Uzumaki . . . Kushina." He breathed, eyes straying up to Katsu again. She smiled at him, nodding slowly. With a shaky breath, he looked at the genin again. He just knew the crimson-haired girl was Kushina.**

"**Heh, like Kushinada-hime?" He joked breathlessly.**

"**Katsu mirrored his grin. "The wife of Susanoo?" **

"He recognizes me." Kushina breathed, happiness filling her as her eyes started to fill with tears.

"You were named after that legend?" Rin asked quietly.

"Supposedly— I never liked that when I was younger though, some princess that needed saving and in exchange she had to get married too! I don't mind it so much now though . . ." Kushina explained, somewhat embarrassed with her super-independent attitude as a child.

**He took a closer look at her. She was porcelain-skinned, her hair seeming even brighter against it as the tresses tumbled down to her hips. Her round eyes— **_**violet, what an interesting shade**_**, he mused— brimmed with mischief and a fire that it seemed nothing could quench. Her grin was so very similar to his, he realized now, as was her eyes even though the colors were different. He felt something stir inside him . . . he didn't know how, but she was so very familiar to him.**

"What a nice description of you, Kushina." Minato commented softly, arms strong and reassuring around her slim frame. Kushina melted in his embrace, his warmth an anchor for her suddenly emotional self.

_**Ah, so you've happened upon my previous jailer. **_**Kyuubi remarked, voice bored yet with a harsh edge. **

_**Your previous container? Kyuubi, that's significant isn't it? What are you trying to tell me? **_**Naruto's questions were rapid fire, his desire to know who the girl in the picture was to him making him forget that Kyuubi was a mercurial creature at best, and would more than likely not answer him.**

**Kyuubi was quiet for a minute, before he answered. **_**I have been hosted by three humans in total, you being the third. All three of them have been Uzumakis.**_

"Wait." Jiraiya interrupted forcefully. "From what we have deduced of Kyuubi's character, for him to give such information freely is indeed strange. Out of character, one might even say."

Minato nodded, but presented this point: "It might be a sign of his gratitude, indirect as it is, for Naruto's proposition."

"Yeah, but that seems like a lot more gratitude than I would believe possible for something like the Kyuubi! I mean, he practically told Naruto that 'yeah, kid, that's your kaa-chan' and that's just strange." Obito argued, confused.

**Suddenly that feeling from before vanished, and Naruto knew the Kyuubi had cut off their connection. That was fine though. The Kyuubi had just given him so precious a gift that Naruto could barely breathe. The hand not holding the folder tightened into a fist as a plethora of emotions coursed through him. He gently laid the folder down on the table, and pushed it into the middle. Looking up at Katsu, eyes deathly grave, he pointed to Kushina.**

"**She was the previous container of Kyuubi." He told Katsu, voice hushed and slightly hoarse. **

**Katsu's eyes widened. She didn't ask how he knew that, Naruto had told her of his meeting with Kyuubi in Nami, as well as his recent agreement. Instead, she focused on the pressing issue. "Then, she is . . . ?"**

**Naruto nodded, a strange look on his face, even though his lips trembled in their face-splitting smile. "Uzumaki Kushina is my okaa-chan."**

"YES!" Kushina screamed as she jumped up, bouncing around the couch. Minato laughed at her enthusiasm, while the others cheered with her.

"Now he has to find out about sensei, and the mystery is solved!" Rin exulted, getting up to spin around a few times with Kushina.

**For a time it was silent between the two of them, the only sound their loud breathing, the sound of a clock ticking away and their hearts beating a complimenting rhythm. **

**Then the both of them moved, lunging for each other over the table as they hugged each other tightly, laughter coming from deep in their gut as they scrambled up and spun around, whooping. **

"**You're a mama's boy Naru-chan!" Katsu hollered, spinning them around.**

"**Yeah, yeah, but **_**look**_** at her! My kaa-chan had to be the prettiest woman in Konoha, I know it!" Naruto cried, fake sobbing as his face buried into Katsu's neck.**

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Kushina said, both to Naruto and Minato as she wrapped her arms around him, face nuzzling the taller blonde's neck.

"It wasn't all me, darling." Minato laughed as he rubbed soothing circles into her back, cuddling closer.

**Katsu barked out a laugh, pushing him away playfully. "That's all you care about huh? That your mom was good-looking." **

"**Not good looking, that's not enough." Naruto chided her, not even denying it. They laughed together and decided now was as good a time as any to eat, so they set up their plates but kept the folder and picture in the middle of the table. Every so often they would point out something about Kushina and either compare it to Naruto or just try and figure out her personality. **

"**Now all that's left it to find out who my tou-san is." Naruto murmured around a bite of curry. **

**Katsu spluttered into her glass of sweet iced tea, and an alarmed Naruto reached over to thump her on the back. Katsu placed her glass down and waved away his hovering hands as she gave him an incredulous look. Naruto waited in the silence, feeling distinctly uncomfortable before caving in.**

Tsunade grinned. "She already knows." She chuckled.

Kakashi nodded. "It makes sense— she's perceptive, she's been to the Hokage's office, she's seen sensei's picture. I'm astounded more people haven't found out, sensei and Naruto look far too much alike."

"**What?!" he blurted out. **

"**Are you serious? You have to find out who your tou-san is?" Katsu repeated dully, shoulders drooping in something akin to exhaustion. **

**Naruto eyed her strangely. "Yeah," he answered slowly, "what are you trying to say?" **

**Katsu scoffed, returning to her meal as she shoveled food in her mouth, suddenly irritated. "Nothing, Naru, nothing at all." She muttered between bites. **

"**No, seriously, what?" Naruto insisted, but Katsu wouldn't budge.**

_**I don't understand how nobody can see the resemblance? My Kami, Naruto and Yondaime-sama are practically identical! **_**She complained in her head.**

"Aren't they though?" Kushina agreed, looking at Minato with a cute grin.

"He's more like you, he just has my coloring." Minato pointed out.

"**Well, does your silence mean you won't help me find out who my otou-san is?" Naruto guessed.**

**Katsu giggled, irritation suddenly lost as she was reminded of her other piece of news. "No, that won't come until later. It'll be a part of your reward!"**

**Naruto cocked his head to the side. "My reward . . . for what?"**

**Katsu's eyes shone as she looked at him. "For participation! Even if you don't get promoted, won't it be fun— and a great challenge, no doubt— if you try?"**

**Naruto stared at her as he mulled over the clues given to him. **_**Participation . . . promotion . . . **_**he stiffened when the implications of her words hit him.**

"My cute, clever son." Kushina cooed.

"**You mean the Chuunin Exams?" he gasped.**

**Katsu clapped. "Correct! They're coming to Konoha in about three months!"**

**Naruto looked dubious. "We'll have only been genin for six months . . . you really think they'll put us into that?"**

"They shouldn't." Tsunade said forcefully.

**Katsu shrugged, looking faintly regretful. "It probably isn't the best idea, but I'm sure at least half of the genin will be put in. Konoha can't host the Chuunin Exams and not have their own participating, especially as the majority of the genin are from big clans." **

**Naruto closed his eyes as a sigh escaped him. "And there is no way Konoha will miss out on showing off their last Uchiha— just as a show of strength." **

"The Chuunin Exams are, after all, just war games and advertising for the countries." Jiraiya muttered, understanding the need for it, yet still a little irritated with the pretenses.

"So, just because the Council wants to be idiots, those children have to be put in danger?" Kushina growled out.

"**Now all that's left is for Kakashi-sensei to give a hint about it . . . which he probably won't do until just before the exams show up." Naruto continued. Katsu's mouth twisted, but she said nothing.**

"Okay, come on, can't she give me a second chance?" Kakashi complained.

"She talks to you civilly, and let Naruto know that you're welcome over the house— what more do you want you selfish bastard?" Obito asked bluntly.

**Naruto wasted no time that night— as soon as he closed his eyes, he reopened them in his mindscape. A depressing, dank sewer with red ambient lighting . . . but not for long.**

"How do you change the décor of your mindscape?" Rin asked, but no one knew the answer.

"**Good evening, Kyuubi." Naruto greeted as customary with his visits to his mindscape.**

**The Kyuubi rose from its seat on the floor and moved to the cage bars, peering down with scarlet eyes at his container. **

"**You're getting quicker at arriving here." Kyuubi noted, in place of a greeting.**

"Better than the insults from before." Obito muttered.

**Naruto inclined his head. "Yes, I wanted to get this changed as soon as possible. Have you seen them through my memories?"**

**Kyuubi nodded. "Yes . . . I think you know which ones I showed an interest in."**

"**Yes, I do. Let's go through them then . . ." Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated. Concentrated on the room, changing and bending it to his whim. Concentrated on morphing the chains and pipes, concentrated on creating new constructs from negative space. Concentrated on receding waters, and new terrain. **

_I hope it doesn't affect the seal_, Minato thought worriedly, but he wouldn't voice it out loud and worry the others— especially Kushina.

**He couldn't make anything too different from what the original layout was. No bright and cheery forests, no soothing escapes. No matter what, his mindscape would still show the psychological damage accrued over the years from constant exposure to hatred and fear— his mindscape would always be a reflection of that, of wounds that couldn't heal. **

"That's so sad . . . but it makes sense." Tsunade said softly.

"Wounds that will never heal . . . time can heal everything, can't it?" Rin fretted quietly, feeling loud noises would further upset the miserable looking Kushina and Minato.

"No, sometimes . . . the hurt is too great— like someone you love dying? That can never heal. You can ignore the pain, but it will always be there." Kushina explained, the pushed back tears apparent in her voice.

**But he could do other things . . . Kyuubi didn't seem the type for bright and airy spaces anyway.**

**He opened his eyes when his will had been done.**

**To replace the wet sewer was a vast, grandiose cave. Before him was a fast-running river, connecting to the various streams, lakes, and waterfalls in the dark cave. It wasn't totally pitch black however, he had managed to change the red ambient light to the color of a normal lamp light, refractions of light from the multitudinous color crystal formations throwing beams of rainbow light around the cave.**

"That sounds . . . beautiful. The darkness is there, yes, but it throws the beauty of the cave into stark relief." Jiraiya said solidly, and though he wasn't looking at his student and the Uzumaki princess, his shoulders drooped with lost tension at the same time as theirs. Tsunade threw him a small smile for his efforts, and he winked.

"By far the coolest mindscape ever seen in pre-teen history." Obito promoted, and Rin hit his shoulder for bringing his corniness into the conversation.

**He turned around to see the Kyuubi observing the changes, a new addition now around his neck. To replace the cage door seal, the seal changed to a thick black collar that rested loosely around his neck, the seal inscribed on the collar.**

"Like a _boss_." Rin and Obito stage-whispered.

"**Is this to your liking?" Naruto asked the giant fox. Kyuubi's eyes flickered down to him, then back up to the cave again.**

"**Hm." He grunted noncommittally. "The next one."**

"Could you at least make a comment?" Kushina grumbled, annoyed.

**Naruto obliged, closing his eyes and willing new scenery. Opening them again he observed the forest that surrounded them, dark, thick, and lush as night seemed to be just falling. Catching movement out the corner of his eye, he turned to observe the hulking figure of the Kyuubi towering, yet not as tall as the centuries-old trees, as it moved forward. He followed it, and they walked further and further until stopping at the looming castle before them, ravaged yet still proud, some turrets half-crumbled and some parts of the castle caved in. Like the cave before, it was dark— twilight enshrouded with midnight clouds, dark purples and midnight blues swirling and fighting for control in the sky. The castle itself a black figure in the sky.**

"BAMF." Obito and Kakashi yelled out.

**Naruto shivered. "Spooky, yet somehow so satisfying."**

"My son has a few screws loose, and sadly, I think he was just born that way." Minato sighed regretfully.

"Don't call my son crazy!" Kushina demanded, hitting Minato over the head with a pillow.

**Kyuubi growled, not a malicious sound, more like a sound made in though. "This castle seems very familiar— it reminds me of the one that even in my youth was abandoned and decaying in the Dead Mountains in Oni no Kuni. Quaint, brat."**

"His _youth_?" Tsunade echoed, trying to imagine just how old such a castle was if even the Kyuubi thought it was old. It must be dust in the wind by now, surely.

"Who wants to take a trip to Oni no Kuni?" Obito asked, raising his hand. Several others followed eagerly.

"**So which one, Kyuubi?" Naruto asked, head cocked to the side as he regarded the fox with curiosity.**

"**The dark forest's a nice touch, but castles never suited me— I hate walls enclosing me." Kyuubi growled hatefully.**

"Ooh, constructive criticism!" Rin awed, clapping her hands.

"**The cave it is." Naruto said amusement visible only in his eyes. With a deft snap of his fingers, the scene before them melted— like someone sprayed a hose on a newly painted oil— and then the colors bled from the darkness to form the cave. **

"That's impressive— to have that level of control to change your mindscape back and forth." Minato noted quietly.

**Naruto closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, panting lightly. He may not have done anything physically, but changing his mindscape around so much was still taxing on his energy. **

"**Our deal has been sufficiently covered." Kyuubi's voice drew him out of his musings. "The rest will happen soon, and we may begin this little . . . experiment of yours." Kyuubi turned his head to peer at the blonde boy over his shoulder. Naruto smiled at him, and nodded.**

"**Experiment? Whatever works for you, Kyuubi? I will go now; I need to recuperate some strength for the morning. Farewell, Kyuubi."**

"**Yeah, yeah." Kyuubi growled, facing forward again and walking further into the many chambers of the cave. **

"Aw, Kyuubi is _caving_ to Naruto's charms." Obito said with a large grin. For his effort in puns he was rewarded with groans and thrown pillows.

"Dude, no." Kakashi warned him against making puns again.

**Naruto closed his eyes again, this time intending them to stay closed for a while longer as he left the mindscape in favor of the black sea of sleep that beckoned him. **

"**Naruto . . . Naruto." A soft voice drew him up from the black, and he stirred. Slowly opening his eyes, he felt a little groggy, but not bad. Katsu was above him, gently shaking him awake. She was already dressed in her clothes and looked to have been awake for some time. Confused, he turned his head to the bed stand, looking at the clock. It was eight, he noted with surprise— meaning he'd overslept.**

"Is it such a bad thing? I mean, it is your vacation and all." Rin said.

"**What . . . ?" Naruto mumbled, dragging himself up and rolling out of bed.**

"**I let you sleep a little longer; it is your vacation after all." Katsu said simply, already fussing with the sheets as she made the bed. Naruto regarded her with amusement as he moved to the closet. **

"**Hm, thanks then, hime. Ah . . . it's a long shift today isn't it?" Naruto recalled as he gathered his clothes and moved to the bathroom.**

"**Uh-huh. I won't be back until eight tonight, so can you-?" **

"**Of course! Last night was my turn anyway. I'm thinking international— let's have spaghetti tonight." Naruto answered Katsu as he padded down the hallway to the bathroom. **

"Mm, delicious." Obito and Tsunade hummed together, looking at each other in amused surprise when they realized they were in harmony.

"Obito, you've had spaghetti before?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, I liked it so much I learned how to make it." Obito told them all, licking his lower lip as the memory of savory marinara sauce and fresh garlic bread danced through his mind, almost palpable on his tongue.

"Oh, can you make some for us tonight?!" Kushina asked the younger boy, practically pleading.

"You got it." Obito promised.

**A quick shower and soak in the bath later, Naruto emerged refreshed and dewy-skinned, the steam from the bathroom still leaving wisps in the air as he closed the door behind him. Sliding down the banister he hopped off into the living room, heading straight for the kitchen.**

**Taking out a plate and dishing out his breakfast Naruto sauntered to the table in the corner and plopped down, practically inhaling his food. He had more work to do today, especially if he wanted to try practicing the water jutsu.**

"**Eat any faster and you'll choke." Katsu snickered as she entered the kitchen, moving to the counter and leaning a hip on it.**

"Why do you sound amused by that?" Kakashi asked.

**Naruto ignored her words and kept eating. "So I changed the mindscape last night." Naruto told her, moving on from his toast to a handful of grapes.**

"**Oh?" Katsu asked, interested. "What did he choose?"**

"**The cave." **

"**Ha? Ah, I thought for sure he'd choose the castle, the creepy forest factor was just too good to resist, or so I thought . . ." Katsu sighed.**

"It's so weird hearing someone else talk about the Kyuubi so . . . casually." Kushina confided.

**Naruto chuckled. "Oh, he enjoyed the forest, but he didn't like the castle. I guess to him it was another cage— elaborate and nostalgic, but just another cage."**

"**Okay I can see that." Katsu admitted after a moment. **

"**Will you be alright today?" Naruto asked her, getting up and depositing his dish in the sink. Katsu looked at him curiously as he washed and dried the plate.**

"**Me? I'll be fine . . . why do you ask?" Katsu returned.**

**Naruto shrugged. "I don't know . . . just thought I should ask. Later, hime!" Naruto opened the window over the sink and, just before leaping out to the trees, snuck a kiss on her cheek. He laughed at Katsu's exasperated huff, and leapt away, eager to work on his jutsu. **

Tsunade, Kushina, and Rin squealed happily together. Jiraiya sighed heavily, looking away from the nauseating flowers that surrounded the trio— though he found great amusement in his student being caught in the middle of that estrogen-fest.

**Arriving at the lake, he wasted no time and created forty clones. "Alright clones one through fifteen, taijutsu practice. Sixteen through thirty water practice. The rest of you, we're going to be working on the jutsu today!" he called out, bringing the scroll out from his back pocket. The clones cheered and whooped, diving into their prescribed tasks. **

"**Boss, how many jutsus are we going to learn before the Chuunin Exams?" A clone on the edge of the water asked excitedly.**

"**Depends! We have three months roughly. How fast can we work, is what it comes down to!" Naruto called back.**

**The gauntlet had been thrown down. Just because they were all identical, didn't mean they never tried to outdo each other— they knew with each new clone, there was another with more information— with an edge. It was just stupid to have inequalities amongst clones of yourself right? So there would be none. They would all be on the same page, no matter what it took. **

**With the spark of challenge in the eye of each Naruto, they got to work.**

**Preparing for the Chuunin Exams.**

"Oh, please please please let the Chuunin Exams be in the next chapter." Obito pleaded to the ceiling as Rin set the book down, taking long draughts of her iced tea after reading for so long.

"I'm sure it will be— what else could happen during the three months that would be important enough to warrant its own chapter?" Tsunade assured the boy as they all rose, stretching and moving around.

"Great! So, who will read next time?" Kushina asked, energetic and excited.

"Oh, I'm taking it this time." Minato called out first.

* * *

**As always, reviews are most appreciated, and encouraged. The more reviews i get, the faster my words seem to come out. I told you before right? I am entirely too invested in this story, so any encouragement is actually bad for me . . . but good for those who enjoy my story, i.e. you guys right?**

**By the way, how do you like my new pen name? The last one is from when i was thirteen- it was way too kiddy. So! **

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad~3**


	14. Chapter 14

**People, isn't this fast delivery great? Man, i really enjoyed putting this together, but i might need a break before embarking on the fifteenth chapter. Especially as putting Orochimaru in there will just be . . . well, anyway. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it- more, actually because at times i was almost enraged. But, the final result is one i can live with proudly. Please go forth and read this with your full courage. This chapter was mainly brought to you by Nujabes, and some Nomak.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs either english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Fourteen_

_Fire up, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

"Reading about Naru-chan's adventures are so exciting, but I feel sort of like a voyeur?" Rin confessed, hoping she wouldn't be the only one. She and her two teammates were now settled into their beds, the darkness cut only by the fake moonlit night in the lone window on the back wall. They knew that 'day' and 'night' didn't really exist in this dimension, but they were grateful for the silvery light of the moon cutting the thick darkness in their rooms.

"We are merely spectators to his life so far. Now when he starts chasing after Katsu's skirts seriously— that's when we're voyeurs." Kakashi claimed, back facing them as his sleepy voice tried to assure Rin in whatever screwball way he could.

"Speaking of spectating— I really want to see the Chuunin Exams on that T.V." Obito whined, lying on his back with both arms crossed under his pillow.

Rin yawned, as she explained, "Well the last few times we sort of had to ask, didn't we? Maybe that's the key . . ."

It was silent for a few moments.

"Yeah . . ." Was the last sleep-slurred thing Obito managed to get out before succumbing to sleep as his teammates had done already.

The next morning a quick breakfast of ramen was gobbled down before the group quickly reclaimed their seats. Anticipation and curiosity was heavy in the air, as they eagerly awaited the next chapter of their precious person's tale. Minato took the book up without any fanfare, quickly flipping through for his chapter. Kushina snuggled closer into his side as she looked at his chapter, book propped up with a single hand in his lap.

**Three months.**

**Twelve weeks.**

**84 days.**

**How on earth was that enough time to get ready for the Chuunin Exams? It was what Naruto had to work with, and damn it all if that wasn't going to be enough. **

"That's the spirit sochi-kun!" Kushina encouraged, throwing up a victory sign.

**He had been very busy indeed, and he made sure his teammates were buys too. When missions weren't taking up their time— for the first month and a half it had been straight D-ranks— he pestered Kakashi-sensei for training. All sorts, not just new and impressive jutsus, and for all of them. For him, he only needed sensei's help with a few start-ups and handy tricks, the rest he could work out for himself.**

"Thank Kami at least one of you three will be self-sufficient, hell I can barely take care of myself as it stands." Kakashi breathed out in relief, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hand.

**Sparring with Kakashi-sensei, who was so much more experienced than him, greatly helped to take better care in protecting his vitals, more brutally expeditious attacks, and better analysis skills. He had also extensively researched seal weights, where he could add more weight each time he got used to them.**

"What do you want to bet he forced Katsu to get seal weights like him?" Obito called out.

**Ninjutsu— As well as completing the Suiton: Water Fang Projectile, he picked up the D-rank Chakra Sonar one that enabled him to scope out the terrain without using his eyes, or even kage bushin. Then there was the Shunshin no jutsu, and Doton: Headhunter no jutsu. Genjutsu— oh, he could dispel them. That was all. Now, as for his weapons . . . his double axes now felt like extensions of himself, same with his Bo staff, and he had gotten in enough practice with his daggers to impress the guys and gals in the Red Light District— and they were a real tough crowd to please. **

"That could just mean he only knows how to do fancy tricks, not how to kill cleanly with them." Kakashi noted shrewdly.

"Have some faith in my child, Kakashi." Minato sighed.

**Sakura had, with some encouragement, increased her physical training— if only an extra thirty minutes— and had expressed an interest in genjutsu. She wasn't able to learn many though, on account of her miniscule chakra pools, which was the focus of her goals each team training session.**

"It's a start, but it might not be enough for the Exams." Rin sighed.

**She still had yet to break free from her fan girl attitude, and to Naruto's disappointment, even the small interest in training did nothing to discourage her die-hard enthusiasm for Sasuke. **

**Sasuke mostly did his own training and kept the results to himself, though now he would— rarely, of course— offer some insights if asked how he was coming along, and give tips to work on certain things that he found helped him out. He also, once or twice asked for help from the others.**

"Aw, little cousin, you're getting there." Obito approved. "Hell, even faster than Kakashi over here!"

"Sure, just spit on all my effort why don't you?" Kakashi muttered under his breath.

**Then there was the time he didn't ask for help.**

_**Flashback no Jutsu!**_

_**It was about two months into the waiting period when Naruto suddenly asked his taciturn teammates a question.**_

"_**Hey, Sasuke, can I ask you about the Sharingan?" Naruto asked, and for a brief moment surprise flickered on Sasuke's face before it was tamped down. Kakashi and Sakura also stayed quiet, wanting to see what this was about.**_

"_**Hn. Were you ditching on the day of that lesson or something dobe? I'm not your remedial tutor." Sasuke said.**_

"_**No, no, I wanted to ask how it was activated in the first place." Naruto dismissed Sasuke's cold attitude— as usual— and waited with a curious expression.**_

_**Sasuke gave him a strange look, but answered. "Typically, if it doesn't activate automatically then a near-death experience is enough of a shock for the body's defenses, and ultimately the Sharingan, to kick in."**_

_**Naruto nodded in understanding, taking it all in. "Okay, but does it have to be the near-death experience of you, or like, say, nearly killing someone?" **_

"_**That's a strange question to ask, dobe." Sasuke glared at Naruto, who merely shrugged.**_

"_**I was just remembering your acceptance of having to kill those guards, and wondered if perhaps letting you do so would have been a benefit." Naruto said quietly, only for Sasuke to hear. Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at Naruto for a moment, before he returned back to his cold persona.**_

"_**Tch. No, I think it has to be my near-death . . . or at least, a very traumatizing experience that would lead me to believe serious harm was about to come to my person." Sasuke finally answered the question. Naruto thanked Sasuke and then nothing more was said about the Sharingan for the rest of the day.**_

_**The next day, Sasuke found himself alone at the bridge on training ground seven. Not even Sakura was there yet, and he hadn't come very early. Grumbling in discontent, Sasuke moved to the training posts and practiced his katas. Four hours later he was panting, tired, and furious. Not only was Kakashi setting a new record for being late, but Naruto and Sakura had both decided to skip apparently. Was that what they had been whispering about yesterday while he was sparring with Kakashi?**_

_**Speak of the devil (one of them), Sakura came running full pelt towards him with a terrified expression on her face. "Sasuke, Sasuke come quick!" she screamed.**_

_**The fact that she hadn't added the usual honorific to his name alerted him to the fact that something bad had just gone down. "Sakura, tell me as you take me there." He ordered urgently, and the fact that she immediately complied without so much as an admiring glance made him even more concerned.**_

"_**It's Naruto— he's been jumped by these ninjas, I think they're rogues, and he was hurt badly by the time I left but there was nothing I could do except go find you, and—"**_

"_**How many Sakura?!" Sasuke growled, blood boiling with the thought of the fight ahead.**_

"_**It doesn't matter, we're here now!" Sakura shouted back, and stopped so quickly in the middle of an empty training field that Sasuke nearly ran into her. He whipped around to see if perhaps the enemies were hiding, but he saw nothing.**_

"_**Sakura, what the hell is this?" He barked, glaring daggers at the suddenly cowering girl. But then she wasn't cowering, she was grinning wickedly, and what was Naruto doing here, and why did he have a rock— **_

_**Sasuke awoke, groggy, shirtless and confused, to a dull ache in his head and his vision suddenly flipped. Blinking, he took a moment to reorient himself, and realize that he was actually tied upside down from a tree branch close to the main square. Wiggling around he tried to reach his kunai but his weapons pouch was gone.**_

"_**Are you feeling it now? That's how it feels to be blocked from your chakra." Naruto's cheery voice from below him automatically sparked a rage inside Sasuke.**_

"_**Naruto, you fucker! What are you doing, and how did you get Sakura involved?"**_

"_**I'm helping you Sasuke, don't worry! Well, worry. Worry a lot. You see, I slathered quite a bit of pheromones on you, ones females are going to pick up on in an instant when they catch a whiff of it. And just to be on the safe side, Sakura made sure our target audience had a healthy dose of a delicious aphrodisiac put into their food and drink. So, as you can imagine, they'll be quite . . . heated. You have a little less than five minutes to get yourself out of those ropes and out of the area before they come down on you and kick start the rebirth of the Uchiha Clan. Have fun, Sasuke!"**_

"_**Naruto, get back here and help me! Naruto!" Sasuke roared. Cursing vehemently when there was no answer, Sasuke thrashed to and fro as he sought a way ought, his anger not allowing him to think rationally. He was just about to try and see if he really couldn't gather any chakra when he froze. What was that noise?**_

_**There! Again. A high pitched . . . sound. It sounded far too pleased. Another sounded, then another. They sounded too familiar. It was only when a chorus of it erupted that Sasuke felt fear. Those noises . . . that was the call of a fan girl on the hunt. **_**Did someone tell them about this . . . ? SHIT!**

_**Sasuke was now fervent in his ministrations, cheering silently when each knot was undone— **_**Why are there so many knots?!**_** He wondered desperately. Then the screams of the fan girls were too close for him to ignore anymore, and he jerked his head up only to meet a sight of pure terror. All his fan girls from the Academy, with the exception of Sakura, some older girls he had never even seen before— even women old enough to be his kaa-san were sprinting towards him like he was the last man on earth to satisfy their wombs.**_

_**The looks in their eyes . . . glazed eyes; hungered . . . this was worse than anything in the Academy by far! They were really serious this time!**_

_**He cursed frantically and renewed his efforts, and he nearly laughed in relief when the final knot was undone. Jumping down and flipping to right himself, Sasuke immediately shot off to start his escape when he was abruptly cut off by an oncoming wall of ravenous females from each side. **_

_**What happened next was a melee of epic proportions. Sasuke use every trick in the book that he knew, even inventing one or two new ones in an attempt to either dodge or disentangle himself from the manicured claws all vying for him. He dodged, weaved, hopped, leaped, flipped and cartwheeled— there were even points when he surprised himself with is flexibility. But as this was going on; as he was avoiding being permanently sucked into the mass of female flesh, he subconsciously noticed . . . that he was faring better with dodging than he was three minutes ago. Five minutes ago. Eight minutes ago.**_

_**At that point, Sasuke knew that something was happening. Was he getting faster? No . . . he didn't think so. He was just getting better at dodging and avoiding these . . . attacks. He couldn't do too much research, because an opportunity to escape suddenly presented itself to him, and he practically flew out of the chaotic tumble and rocketed away on foot, making sure to kick into high gear for the few shinobi women he had seen. He made a beeline straight for the clan compounds, intent on getting s shower to wash off the pheromones and then go hunting for his jackass teammates.**_

_**So imagine how pleased he was when they were right there, with Kakashi-sensei too, all lined up in a row like sitting ducks leaning against his compound walls just waiting for him to inflict pain upon them. He hopped off the last roof and landed before them, coiled and ready to spring like a panther, breathing hard from his dash and the scratches accumulated from the escape still raw and red on his pale skin.**_

"_**You have a nerve." He said softly, looking directly at his traitorous teammate Naruto.**_

"_**One day . . . maybe not tomorrow or even the next year, you'll thank me." Naruto said, and Sasuke almost lost it at the same patient and understanding smile Naruto always wore on his face. He opened his mouth to do— what? Scream at them? Tear Naruto's throat out?— when Naruto held up a small mirror by the side of his face, showing Sasuke his own reflection.**_

"_**Wha—?" Sasuke started to insult Naruto, when the shock of his newest additions spurned him into silence. Staring back at him were not his usual onyx eyes, but two blood red ones, with a black tomoe in each eye. He had finally gotten his Sharingan.**_

"_**I wasn't too hot about trying to put you in a near-death experience, but then you gave me an out by saying that as long as it was traumatizing and enough for you to fear for your safety then it was possible." Naruto's voice made him jerk his head to the left, looking at Naruto's now mischievous smile.**_

"_**You . . . you did this all because—?"**_

"_**No." Naruto shook his head. "We did this for you." He gestured to himself, Sakura, and Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei was on standby just in case the girls were too responsive to the aphrodisiacs. Well, it will wear off after an hour or so, you'll be troubled if you try to leave your estate."**_

"_**But-but you said my chakra— it was—" Sasuke spluttered, only to be interrupted by a patient Naruto perfectly willing to explain.**_

"_**I lied. But I knew you'd believe me, because I normally don't lie at all. Still going to be mad at us?" Naruto asked.**_

_**Sasuke clucked his tongue and turned away from them sharply with a growl of frustration, but they smiled anyway. They had seen the small smile on Sasuke's face that he was fighting hard to repress just before he turned away. So for now, it was a victory even as Sasuke stormed away.**_

_**End Flashback no Jutsu!**_

"Aw, it's so sweet how good a friend Naruto's trying to be to Sasuke!" Rin cooed, delighted with the flashback.

"That is both a terrible and epic way to get your Sharingan. Certainly a lot safer, though." Obito concluded with cheeks red from his laughter.

**So, with all these things looking up, Naruto felt rather confident at first that his team would be prepared for the Chuunin Exams.**

"Yeah!" The room cheered.

**Until the month before it started.**

"No!" They groaned.

**That entire month was a disaster, mission-wise. Twelve D-ranks and a two-week long C-rank mission left a thoroughly stressed out, frustrated Team Seven to do nothing but lick their wounds and battle with each other. Teamwork? What was that?**

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going! Come on guys, you're better than this!" Obito volleyed.

"Can't hear you, remember?" Rin supplied.

**Naruto, at this point in his musings, turned his head to spy his two teammates sprawled on the grass near the training posts, looking as pissed and upset as he felt inside— not that he looked it, of course. **

"Ffffuuuu . . ." Kushina puffed out, throwing a dirty look to her boyfriend. Minato just shrugged, not at all apologetic for his badass image. He turned to his team.

"Like a . . ." he supplied.

"BOSS!" Rin and Obito yelled, rising to the occasion.

**Oh, but his teammates were like open books. Sakura's limit was reached their return from their "second" (first official) C-rank— she was ready to snap the neck of whoever crossed her in any way. The C-rank was bad— a cranky, entitled brat of a merchant's son expected their complete obedience and subservience during the escort mission to Katabami Kinzan no Sato. **

"Er, isn't the political climate their rocky?" Kakashi asked, brow furrowed a little.

"Um," Tsunade hemmed, thinking. "I think that there are some negotiations going on? Or a full scale uprising, whichever really."

**Sasuke's mask of indifference and cultured Uchiha haughtiness was broken and fractured, revealing his dark mood and the obvious irritation he felt over such missions he believed beneath him. Not even the bandits they fought along the way on their C-rank helped keep him cool— the damn client spent nearly an hour complaining about their lack of finesse and their sloppy execution. **

"Oh, like he could have done such a better job." Rin scoffed.

**The bastard only stopped when Kakashi let loose a carefully controlled blast of KI, intended only to shock the idiot into silence. Blessed, blessed silence . . . **

"You're tolerance for bullshit really rose from now . . . to that time." Obito complimented Kakashi, stumbling a little over the correct tense.

Kakashi inclined his head. "I suppose."

**Naruto was no less affected of course . . . he just made liberal use of his now completed connection with Kyuubi, and trips to his happy place. Oh but he cursed his enhanced sense of hearing during the C-rank as he was forced to hear every inane and petulant mutter from the spoiled brat's mouth . . . Kyuubi said it was good practice for taking in everything without really hearing it. Manipulative bastard, that was more like it, Naruto decided. **

"Damn useful, though." Jiraiya mumbled, breath whistling through his teeth.

**Sakura's enraged shriek startled him from his thoughts. Not caring to be embarrassed about the strange looks her teammates were throwing at her, she ranted to her heart's content. "**_**Where. Is. That**_**. Bastard, no good, lazy, annoying, perverted son of **_**a BITCH**_** sensei?! **

"You may not like me, but let's not bring my okaa-san into this, shall we?" Kakashi cut in, a little miffed at the expletives.

"And you don't have to read it _that_ well, either, _sensei_." He added glaring daggers at the Cheshire cat-grin blonde.

**The least he could do— the very least, and I'm being considerate to that lazy Cyclops— is turn up at most an hour late after forcing us to take that stupid C-rank— BUT NO! He wants to die today . . . oh yeah, he wants to die if he thinks it's okay to just show up— I don't even know when he plans to show up, but it's been three HOURS! THREE!" She screams out the last word, ranting to the air, the trees, the crows that quickly flew a different direction.**

**She drew in a deep breath to continue her rant when Naruto decided to risk it and interrupt feminine fury. **

Minato interrupted himself as he gasped. "You foolish boy, retreat for cover!"

"Baka!" Kushina scolded Minato.

**He moved quickly— nearly performing shunshin he arrived so quickly, with a gentle hand on her shoulder, and a bottle of water in the other hand.**

"Ooh, _smooth_, Naru-chan." Kakashi, Rin, and Obito oohed, waggling their eyebrows in a way Minato found faintly disturbing.

"**Sakura, what good will it do to hurt your voice screaming in the air, when soon enough sensei will be here to take the brunt?" Naruto cooed to the furiously panting teenage girl. Her head snapped around to glare at him with half-crazed jade eyes, but when she saw the bottle of water she relaxed a little but not completely.**

"Teenage girl? Wasn't she twelve last chapter?" Obito interrupted Minato.

"Her birthday probably came around during the three month period, but seeing as she's not very close to Naruto, such information wouldn't be in the story. It's, like, extraneous." Kushina surmised.

"Like, thanks." Obito snickered, laughing at the pillow thrown at his face.

"**He is late." She spat, as if this justified everything. And in a way, it did, but Naruto couldn't handle both Kakashi-sensei's callous lateness and Sakura's shrill shrieks. **

"**I know, and even if this is the norm he really might have thought of us, right? After that terrible C-rank, and that abhorrent man." Naruto sympathized, his relief growing more with each gulp of water Sakura drank. "He had absolutely no right to make fun of your hair, as a merchant's son he ought to have been more courteous to a lady." **

"Oh, he is just the sweetest thing!" Rin twittered, hands on her cheeks.

"**Yeah!" Sakura gasped, the near empty bottle leaving her lips as she wiped her mouth with the back of her fist. When she looked at him again, her eyes had lost the crazed look and were soft again, with a moderate level of irritation. Sakura had been buoyed by Naruto also thinking the client was too rude to her.**

"Her hair is pink . . . not a ninja color, is it?" Jiraiya supplied.

Minato raised an eyebrow at his sense. "Pot, meet kettle. Your hair is _white_, mine is bright _blonde_— there are only two of us in here with a normal, for a ninja mind you, hair color."

"Yeah, but pink is unusual no matter what social circle you're running." Jiraiya countered.

"**Poor thing," Naruto sighed lightly tugging at the end of Sakura's bangs. "Just sit down and cool off, if we all work together we can bully him into giving us the day off." **

"He's sweet, but he's too careless." Rin sighed. "If he's not careful, he'll make all the girls fall for him, and then their hearts will be broken."

**A lightly blushing Sakura, nearly overwhelmed by Naruto's charming manner, just nodded her head docilely, moving to the posts and sliding down against it to the ground, a look of resigned patience on her face. Naruto moved back to his own post, jumping up to sit on top of it.**

**As soon as he started to daydream again, a burst of smoke alerted the three of them, Kakashi almost slouching as usual as he greeted them.**

"Way too late!" Kushina scolded.

"**Yo, you're all looking content." He smiled.**

**Sakura sat up ramrod straight as her mouth opened to thoroughly blast him, when all of a sudden he had in his hand three sheets of paper.**

"Ugh, so you were bullied by the council." Tsunade grunted, displeased with the turn of events, even though she knew it was coming since last chapter.

"**Would you like to explain to us what these are?" Naruto prompted his sensei.**

"**I would, actually." Kakashi answered cheerily. A few seconds went by without a sound. Sakura and Sasuke looked equal parts annoyed and confused while Naruto's grin grew.**

"Now isn't the time for games." Minato quietly scolded the Kakashi in the book.

"**Could you explain it to us?" Naruto tried again.**

**Kakashi nodded. "I could."**

**Naruto snorted, amused. "Please explain it to us now sensei."**

**Kakashi pouted, though no one could see it. "Just when it was getting good, Naruto.**

"Ew, you pedophile!" Obito gagged.

"Oh, fu—" Kakashi started to snarl, before both boys stopped cold at Minato's subarctic expression.

**Fine then, pay attention I won't repeat myself. This, kids, is what you would sign in order to enter the Chuunin Exams, which starts tomorrow! Think about this carefully. If, for any reason you don't feel you are ready then I suggest you not sign and wait another time. Got it?"**

**The three nodded to show they understood.**

**Kakashi gave them a two-fingered salute. "Great. Ja ne." And he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.**

**Silence reigned as the three genin remained in their same spots, some insane little part of them thinking Kakashi would have to come back and say, **_**"Oh, I forgot to tell you some other important information!"**_

"You are a terrible sensei." Rin said bluntly, glaring at her silver-haired teammate.

"**He didn't even tell us where the hell to go for the start of the Exams." Naruto's flat, annoyed voice broke through the silence, and stirred the other two into motion.**

"**Hn. You're a ninja right dobe? Figure that out for yourself." Sasuke snubbed him coldly, as he folded his paper and put it in his pocket, sauntering away back to the Uchiha compounds. **

"**Sasuke . . ." Sakura whispered, wincing at his remark. She turned to see if Naruto was offended by Sasuke, but wasn't all that surprised either, when she saw him smiling ruefully up at the sky, as if praying for patience. **

**Naruto felt Sakura's gaze on him and looked down at her. "How do you feel about this Sakura?"**

**Sakura hesitated, not sure of what exactly she should say. "I . . . it's kind of scary, isn't it? Right off the bat, I want to say I'm not ready, but . . . how will I ever know if I'm ready?" She closed her mouth, thoughts too chaotic and jumbled to be phrased properly.**

"You're on the right track." Obito approved.

**Naruto nodded thoughtfully at her words, and jumped down from the post. "Well, think it over carefully. Personally, I think it will be a great challenge. Even if, halfway through the exam I realize that there's no way I'll be able to get that promotion, the rest of the time can be spent examining the 'why's' and the 'how can I do better?' Even if it's just that . . . I think it will be immensely valuable." Naruto saw Sakura mulling over his words. **

"What a charismatic child." Jiraiya mused.

"**Well, I'm heading off then." Naruto saluted Sakura, and then performed a shunshin of his own to reappear somewhere she wasn't sure of. Sakura stayed behind a little longer, looking from the paper clutched in her hands, to the still waters of the pond beneath the bridge they would have usually met at a little ways away. **

**Naruto had reappeared at Team Ten's training ground, gaining a startled shriek from Ino.**

"**Naruto-baka! What are you doing here, can't you see you're bothering us while we're training?!" Ino screeched.**

"Who knew Inoichi's kid would be so rough?" Kushina sniffed.

**Naruto purposely raised his eyebrows, and then looked around the area. Shikamaru and Asuma-oji were playing a game of shougi in the shade of the tree behind Ino, and Chouji was eagerly munching on a handful of barbeque-flavored chips. When he returned his too-blue eyes to Ino, she blushed in consternation at the playful incredulity in his eyes as the corners of his lips curled the tiniest bit.**

"Touché, young master Uzumaki." Rin congratulated formally.

**Walking past a fuming Ino, Naruto greeted the lazy sensei-student duo. **

"**Yo, Asuma-oji, Shikamaru!" Naruto called with his trademark foxy grin. **

"**Hey there Naruto, Kakashi ditched you early?" Asuma greeted his surrogate nephew with a simple wave, eyes never leaving the game board. Shikamaru's eyes flickered up to Naruto as he gave a slow welcome. **

"**Ne, Oji-san, haven't you lost to Shika enough?" Naruto teased the older man. Asuma speared him with a dirty look, not answering. **

"**Oi, Naruto." Naruto's attention turned to Shikamaru, who was now countering Asuma's move, making the older man growl in frustration. "Tell Katsu that being her taste tester is too troublesome . . . if she won't have the decency to pack enough for my parents. Kaa-chan keeps hounding me for more of it." Two more moves and the game was over.**

**Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, sure."**

**Asuma looked up, now another game down. "Also, tell my darling niece that her oji-san dearly appreciates the caramel brownies she made for this poor bachelor, and that Kurenai also greatly appreciated them."**

"Ooh, so Kurenai is already staked by Sarutobi's kid." Kushina realized, looking at Kakashi.

"I'm not surprised— it's obvious even now." Kakashi snorted.

"**A poor bachelor you won't be for long." Naruto murmured silkily, and Asuma's roguish grin was enough answer.**

"**Are you done, or have you not bothered Chouji yet?" Ino asked testily, arms folded tightly, foot tapping impatiently.**

**Naruto nodded, not responding to her foul mood. "Yeah, that's right. Chouji, mind a little spar?"**

**Chouji crumpled up the empty chip bag and nodded. "Sure, Naruto! Let's see what you were holding back in Academy."**

**The two moved further away from the group by the tree, facing off and moving into their stances. "Fine, but please don't be too disappointed if I should fail to meet expectations. You're the one with the existing clan after all, what can an orphan like me do against you?" Naruto asked formally, a polite smile on his face. Chouji huffed with amusement, and then began.**

"**Leaf-style Taijutsu: Human Bullet Tank!"**

**After defeating Chouji, and— despite his best effort to go easy— destroying Ino, Naruto decided to head over to the Academy on its lunch break to play Ninja with Konohamaru and his friends, Moegi and Udon. They were a little strange, but nice enough kids. **

**Then something strange happened.**

**Konohamaru was just running away from a fuming Sakura after dismissing her as being "Nowhere near good enough for the boss, especially compared to Katsu-nee!" when he bumped into a strange boy wearing a black cat suit wearing . . . war paint and toting a large bandaged something on his back. Next to him was a rather pretty girl with green eyes and her dark blonde hair in four ponytails, who wore a short light purple kimono with a scarlet sash.**

_**And judging by the hitai-ates . . . they're from Suna so that's a puppet on his back. **_**Naruto had time to surmise before tensing as the boy picked Konohamaru up roughly by his shirt.**

"Hmph, too cocky in a strange place." Tsunade growled.

"**Hey, you little punk, that hurt." The cat suit boy growled. Konohamaru growled but remained silent, afraid of the intimidating older boy.**

"**Kankuro, not now." The girl to his side sighed, but she made no moves to stop her companion. **

**Naruto stepped forward, in front of the Moegi, Udon, and Sakura. "Excuse me, Suna-nin, but the child you're manhandling over there is the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage. Though you are a guest in our village for the prestigious Chuunin Exam, you will be held accountable for your actions." He informed them, quiet and grave, blue eyes piercing as he no longer carried his peaceful smile.**

"Oh, yeah, like a boss, that's right!" Obito whooped.

"Good boy, calm and cool so they won't be provoked even more." Minato praised.

**The cat suit boy, Kankuro, paled as he looked at Konohamaru, before quickly gathering himself and scowling darkly at Naruto. "Whatever." He grunted, dropping Konohamaru who quickly got up from the ground and fled to his nii-san's side. **

"How rude!" Rin scowled, matching Tsunade and Jiraiya.

**Naruto made no indication that the other boy's actions irritated him, and instead smiled coolly. **

"**Thank you. Might I have the names of you two and your companion in the tree?" he inquired. **

**The two in front of him gasped as they turned around to see the hidden boy. Small and pale skinned, with short, spiky red hair parted on the side to show the kanji for 'love' on his forehead, and pale green eyes, wearing a black pantsuit and a large gourd on his back. A little above him stood Sasuke, who looked as if ready to intervene at any moment before Naruto did.**

**The boy disappeared in a whirl of sand, reappearing between the other two Suna nins.**

"Sand element? Might be tricky, especially as his gourd is probably full of sand." Jiraiya muttered.

"**I apologize for my brother, he is a fool." The boy was polite, but there wasn't a single emotion in his voice . . . and the look he sent his brother was far colder than anything Naruto had ever seen. Still, there was something so familiar with this boy, Naruto didn't know what though.**

"**I am Subaku no Gaara. These are my siblings, Kankuro and Temari." The now introduced Gaara added. Kankuro looked away with a sullen air, though Temari inclined her head.**

**Naruto bowed politely to the three of them. "Welcome to Konoha, I wish you well in the exams."**

"**Your name?" Gaara asked.**

"**I am Uzumaki Naruto, a pleasure." Naruto answered, getting out of his bow with a courteous smile. **

"The perfect Hokage's son." Obito whispered.

"He is just so great!" Kushina gushed, smiling beatifically.

_**Ooh, he's cute. Too bad he's from Konoha, though. **_**Temari thought with a small smirk.**

Rin smirked and shook her head.

"**And you?" Gaara looked to Sasuke now.**

"**Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke's introduction was harsher than Naruto's, but he was no less regal. Gaara nodded in acceptance of two new sacrifices to "okaa-san", and with a brief, cold farewell he and his siblings departed. **

"Sacrifices? I don't like the sound of that." Obito growled out, voicing the thoughts of the others.

**Naruto made the first move afterwards and herded Sakura and the kids away to Ichiraku's in an attempt to lighten the mood, Sasuke trailing after a firm look from Naruto.**

**It was late afternoon now, bleeding into dusk, and he was heading home on the chance that Katsu had gotten off at a reasonable time this time. While he had been busy preparing for the Exams, Katsu had gone into overdrive with school and work, leaving when he did at eight in the morning and not coming back until eight at night. Though, now with news to tell her, he hoped she had gotten off earlier.**

**The house now within sight, his spirits was lifted when he saw the lights on in the house. He quickened his pace, nearly jogging as he reached the house.**

"Cute." Tsunade murmured.

"**Katsu!" he called out, quickly taking off his sandals at the door and going into the house. "Hime, where are you?" **

**There was no answer— but he could see dinner packed up on the kitchen counter, and the living room looked like it had been tidied up . . . he jogged up the stairs and walked to the bedroom. The door was open, and he was about to step in when he stopped just before the doorway.**

**Katsu was sprawled— that was the first thing wrong with the picture, Katsu doesn't **_**sprawl**_**— out on the bed, sheets messy under her like she had attempted to drag them over her body before losing the fight with sleep. Her arms were by her head, and she just looked so **_**exhausted**_**. **

"Aw, poor thing." Rin and Minato sympathized.

"All her hard work will pay off though." Kakashi said.

"Yeah, but she's still just a child, she needs proper rest and not to be worked until exhaustion, or worse, a serious illness." Tsunade declared firmly.

**His heart clenched. He didn't have the **_**heart**_** to wake her up, but he had the **_**responsibility**_** to. He knew she hadn't eaten dinner.**

_**I can give her a little more time. **_**He decided reluctantly, taking his sleep clothes and walking to the bathroom. He prolonged his bath as long as he felt he ought to, before leaving the bathroom and returning to Katsu's side. He sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, biting his lip as he thought how not to wake her up too rudely. **

"**Hime." He entreated softly, taking her by the shoulder and turning her over on her back. Her brow furrowed briefly before smoothing out again, not any closer to wakefulness than before.**

**He sighed. He put his hand on her stomach and pressed down lightly. Not enough to be uncomfortable, but enough to get her to feel it. He narrowed his eyes in concentration, circulating the chakra in his hand and warming it, sending it out to above his skin.**

"Kami, why?" Jiraiya muttered when the predictable squeals started up.

"**Ugh . . . what . . . why is my stomach warm?" Katsu half groaned, half mumbled as she stirred into consciousness. Her eyes opened slowly, looking straight at him.**

"**Get up, hime. You have to eat dinner." Naruto said firmly.**

**Katsu frowned and looked at him balefully through half-opened eyes. She tried to turn over and ignore him, but the hand on her middle wasn't allowing her to. She tried to move his hand, but he stuck it to her with chakra. **

"**I am tired, Ru-kun." Katsu ground out in irritation. "Okay? I am not hungry. I don't—"**

"**Don't. Katsu." Naruto warned her. She flinched in remembrance of the days before they became friends . . . Naruto knew better than most what it felt like to have no choice in not eating, seeing as no villager would sell him food without a little intimidation from the Sandaime.**

"Ooh, Kumo is sounding like the perfect place to move!" Kushina ground out, having heard that Kumo treated their jinchuurikis with near reverence.

"Now, now, this will all change . . ." Minato soothed his angry girlfriend.

**Katsu sighed in defeat, and propped herself up on her elbows. Naruto looked at her for a second, before nodding in approval and letting her up. She took his offered hand with a smile of thanks, and got up from the bed with a large yawn. Together they walked down to the kitchen, and got their plates filled. Sitting down at the table, they murmured "Itadakimasu!" and dug in. There was only the clinking of silverware against plates for a time, and shifting bodies before Naruto decided to share his news.**

"**It's a little selfish of me, but I didn't just wake you up to eat." Naruto admitted.**

**Katsu snorted. "Kami I hope so. I'd be really mad if you had actually only done so for that reason."**

**Naruto smiled. "I'm entering the Chuunin Exams."**

"But you're still not sure Sakura is." Rin pointed out.

"Without all three you guys can't enter." Kakashi added.

**Katsu jerked her head up with a dazzling smile. "Really? Awesome, I'm sure you'll do great Naruto."**

"**Yeah . . . it's tomorrow." Naruto went on, feeling sheepish under Katsu' suddenly annoyed look.**

"**So, that Hatake just gave the form to you today?" Katsu asked, but they both knew it wasn't a question so much as a statement made in disbelief. Naruto nodded, lips twitching at Katsu's rolling eyes.**

"I get no love, and no respect." Kakashi complained.

"**Oh, by the way. Shikamaru says next time you make him your taste tester, the least you can do out of common decency is give him some to take home—"**

"**Enough for the family?" Katsu interjected.**

"**Yep." **

"**Also . . . Asuma approves, and so does Kurenai apparently." Naruto said with raised eyebrows as if to say, **_**'the scandal!'**_

**Katsu laughed merrily. "Come on, Naruto. You've got a big day tomorrow, and I've got ideas buzzing in my head about breakfast. Let's go to bed okay?"**

**Naruto rose, taking their plates as he did so, and grinned wickedly at her. "I knew you'd see it my way eventually . . . nothing like a little stress relief before a big test."**

"BOOYAH!" Jiraiya hollered, fist pumping.

"Disgusting lecher!" Tsunade growled, punching him so hard Jiraiya flew off the couch and hit the wall.

Minato wanted desperately to laugh, but Kushina was eyeing him like a hawk, so he refrained. That didn't mean Obito and Kakashi followed suit, even with Rin's ire at stake.

**Katsu hummed, nodding. "Yeah, but if you're going to do that, can you move to the bathroom? These sheets were washed yesterday, after all."**

"Ooh, what?!" Obito and Kakashi whooped, arms flailing in the air.

**Naruto winced. "Ouch. See what you did there." **

**That night, his dreams were interrupted with a special broadcast from the Kyuubi.**

"Whoa, wait hold on." Kakashi interrupted Minato.

"What?" Minato asked.

Not answering Minato, Kakashi turned to the T.V. and asked, "Can we see the new mindscape?" he picked up the remote and pressed the power button.

When the T.V turned on, they saw swirling pixels for a brief moment, before it rushed together and formed the complete picture. They gasped and awed at the grand magnificence of the cave, complimenting Naruto's attention to detail.

"Hey, there they are— oh my goodness!" Rin gasped, finally seeing the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"Yeah, scary huh?" Kushina said, smiling at the expressions on the kids' faces.

"And Naruto's just sitting down right in front of it . . ." Tsunade muttered, biting the side of her thumb anxiously.

"Okay, we saw it, now turn that off so we can keep reading." Jiraiya said, also a little unnerved by the form of the strongest bijuu.

"Too bad this doesn't do sound." Rin whispered.

"**Naruto . . . do you know now why that boy was so familiar to you?" Kyuubi asked, tails swaying behind him as he looked at his jailer before him.**

"**I think . . . I think he's another Jinchuuriki." Naruto answered, looking vaguely unsettled.**

"Another jinchuuriki? Then that child, he's a dangerous figure; it seems he's had more training with his bijuu's chakra than Naruto." Minato surmised, worry showing in his eyes.

**Kyuubi nodded. "Yes, but his bijuu is dangerous. Stay on guard, and avoid that human, for he is lost to madness."**

"Oh, it gets better!" Obito remarked with heavy sarcasm.

"**No, not lost, not yet . . ." Naruto denied, before asking a question of his own. "Why is his bijuu dangerous? Surely it's not more powerful than you?" **

**Kyuub snarled in anger, tails whipping against the cave floor and making it quake. "The Ichibi, more powerful than me? You've had better jokes, brat. No the Ichibi is dangerous because the bijuu itself is a complete lunatic, and its hosts suffer the same fate since Suna's seals are not quite as . . . foolproof as this damned thing." **

"Even the Kyuubi gave props. My work here is done." Minato said smugly.

"I'm more concerned about the faulty seal containing an insane bijuu within a fucked up kid. But, good for you Minato." Jiraiya commented.

"**Yeah, he seemed a bit off his rocker. I'll take your words to heart Kyuubi, thank you. Wish me luck for my exams?" Naruto asked, hopeful grin lighting up his face.**

**Kyuubi roared and thrust him out if the mindscape, Naruto's howling laughter echoing on even after he had left. **

**The next thing Naruto was aware of was a small hand on his shoulder as a voice called for him with a soft, yet excited voice, to wake up.**

"**Ngh . . . Katsu?" He grumbled.**

"**Wake up, wake up! It's time! Today, is the day!" Katsu trilled in a sing-song voice. Naruto sighed heavily, but got up anyway-he couldn't ignore that cutely beaming face, and so got up and prepared for the day.**

**One refreshing bath later, and a fully awake Naruto was sitting at the table eating his second plate of breakfast.**

"**Don't eat too much; you never know what you'll have to do." Katsu warned him.**

**Naruto nodded. "Sure, sure, but that's just my metabolism you know? Stop me when I get to my fourth plate." And he was lost again in his plate, missing Katsu's rueful shake of her head.**

"Isn't that gluttony?" Rin asked, shocked.

"No, that's our appetites plus the enhanced appetite of a jinhcuuriki." Kushina responded.

"**You got everything?" She asked, when she had forcefully taken his plate after cleaning out the fourth serving.**

**Naruto replied, "Yeah, my weapons are stored in seals on my arms, and everything else is attached to my belt. In other news, I have absolutely no idea when I'll be back. But I should come back alive."**

"I'm sure he won't have any problems." Tsunade bolstered the now worried looking Minato and Kushina.

"**It's the little things in life you have to appreciate." Katsu said with a solemn nod as they walked to the door. "Knock 'em dead, Naruto!" Katsu cheered, standing in the doorway as Naruto stepped onto the porch.**

"**Right, right, don't worry about it. What could go wrong?" Naruto said confidently, grin massive. They said their goodbyes, and then Naruto was off like a bullet, his anticipation and excitement pushing him faster to the Academy.**

"Don't get reckless." Kushina half-begged and half-ordered.

"**Cutting it a little close, aren't we Naruto?" Sakura asked him as soon as he touched down in the courtyard. Naruto grinned boyishly up at her, happy that she had actually come.**

"**Well, I don't think I'm too late. Ohaiyou, by the way. And ohaiyou to you Sasuke." Naruto greeted both his teammates jovially.**

"**Stop wasting time and let's go." Sasuke ordered curtly, not even waiting for them as he turned and strode off. Sakura and Naruto gave each other amused looks as they caught up to their teammate. They ascended the stairs, silent yet focused. A rabble up ahead at the next landing caught their attention. Upon arriving at the scene they stared in shock at the large crowd that was gathered before a door, being guarded by two men. In front of them was . . . TenTen? She looked to be trying to get around the two guards. Now that didn't make sense, TenTen was no fool . . . she had to recognize they were only two floors up, not three.**

"Thinning the herd and making less work for the actual first proctor." Jiraiya remarked.

"Perhaps that TenTen girl also realizes that and is trying to help it along?" Tsunade presumed.

"**But, this isn't the third floor is it Sakura?" Sasuke whispered, and Sakura looked at him in surprise. Naruto smiled in approval at Sasuke's way of boosting Sakura's confidence.**

Obito gasped, clutching at his chest as if in pain. "Kindness? From an Uchiha?! Be still, my beating heart . . . !"

"**Yeah . . ." she faltered, and then clearing her throat she said more confidently. "Yeah, since we've only gone up two floors! This is obviously a genjutsu."**

"**So, do we just go on by or make a ruckus?" Naruto asked.**

"**They're blocking the way, so we have to clear it, even if it means helping the opposition." Sasuke answered, and with that he strode forward, pushing past the squabbling genin to face the two guards, and the surprised TenTen. **

"**This is obviously the second floor; you've only cast a genjutsu to make the others believe it is the third floor. Not that it could fool my team." Sasuke dismissed the two in front of him with a smirk.**

**While the crowd of genin started muttering and whispering, Sakura nudged Naruto and whispered, "Why didn't you go up there, you're usually the diplomat for us?"**

"**You saw through the genjutsu first, why didn't you get your piece of glory?" Naruto retorted. Before Sakura could answer, the guards suddenly moved forward in a threatening manner, and they readied themselves accordingly.**

"**Think you're so tough, eh brat . . . !" The guard on the left shot forward, left fist cocked back just as Sasuke's right leg rose up in a high kick— but they never connected. A boy in a green jumpsuit used his leg to block both attacks. Naruto whistled, impressed. With the shock of being blocked, Sasuke and the guard backed away, and the genjutsu was dispelled. **

"Green jumpsuit?" Minato repeated quietly, somehow finding that very familiar.

"Dear Kami it was allowed to spread?" Kakashi groaned out in annoyance.

"What, Kakashi?" Rin pressed.

"GAI. And his stupid flames of youth." Kakashi sighed.

"**Well, fun time is over, Sasuke let's go." Naruto laughed, he and Sakura turning to move up the next flight of stairs when the boy from before called them.**

"**Wait! My name is Rock Lee I wish to fight with the year's prodigy . . . Uchiha Sasuke." The boy announced gravely. He was rather strange looking, Naruto decided: Green jumpsuit, inky black hair in a bowl cut and the thickest black eyebrows he had ever seen set over completely round black eyes. **

"Gai's son?" Kushina asked, only to be interrupted by the respective choking and gagging noises of Obito and Kakashi.

"That's not nice, what if it's true!" Rin scolded them, although she also had a hard time believing any sane woman could stand the 'Flames of Youth' long enough to bear Gai a child.

"**And why should I give you the time?" Sasuke asked coldly, giving Lee the once over and finding him lacking any sort of strength.**

"Oh, you're wrong there buddy." Rin warned.

"**As a test for myself, and to see if you're as good as everyone says you are." Lee answered, smile of challenge plastered on his face.**

**Sasuke smirked, and Naruto huffed in irritation. Looks like they would be held back a little. He only hoped it was worth it. **

**Later, looking down at a beat up Sasuke being helped up by Sakura, he knew that it SO was. Sasuke had faced off against Lee totally confident in his win. To him, Lee was a weakling and a weirdo, someone he could defeat easily. Then Lee smashed his fist into his face— that boy was **_**unbelievably**_** fast. All throughout the fight, Naruto paid attention to Sasuke's dire struggle to find Lee, and tough in the end he started to at least begin to react fast enough, he was no match for the superior taijutsu skills and speed of the older genin. Too bad the party got stopped right before the best part . . . and by a giant talking tortoise no less.**

"Yup, a mini Gai and a budding Taijutsu master." Minato commented with a smile.

"**Lee, are you prepared for your punishment?" The tortoise asked. Lee, though nervous, nodded in assent.**

**And then shit got real.**

"**Yo! My youthful student!" Maito Guy, a jounin he'd only met briefly with Anko-nee, was just as eccentric as before. Sporting the exact same jumpsuit, haircut, and eyebrows (only worse— those things had to be alive!) as his student, he was ready to bring youth into all their lives. **

"**Lee, you fool!" Gai shouted at his student, full on punching him in the jaw so hard the boy flew. Lee was quick to recover though, and stood for his punishment.**

"**For breaking the rule and fighting before the exam, you must complete 500 laps around Konoha before sundown!" Gai proclaimed.**

"**Yes, Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted, eyes burning with the challenge.**

**Gai-sensei and Lee looked nearly overcome, so Naruto decided to intercept before they got any weirder. "That's nice and all, but how about explaining yourselves?"**

**Gai-sensei looked at them as if he was just seeing them. "Ah, I forgot about you guys. I am Maito Guy, the Green Beast of Konoha!" Cue flamboyant pose, and before they could even process the statement he had appeared behind them with even greater speed than Lee. Ignoring their shocked looks, he slung casual arms around the necks of Sasuke and Sakura.**

"**Ah, you're Kakashi's kids right? I know your sensei," he added in response to their confused looks. "He and I are rivals! And currently I am winning, 50 wins to Kakashi's 49." He finished proudly.**

"Fuck that!" Kakashi protested, only to protest again at the pain of Minato's knock to his head.

"**Gai-sensei is the greatest!" Lee extolled.**

"**LEE!" Gai-sensei cried, tears streaming down his face.**

"**GAI-SENSEI!" Lee followed suit, as they ran towards each other and bear hugged.**

"**LEE!"**

"**GAI-SENSEI!"**

"**Oh Dear Kami, what is that?!" Sakura gasped as a genjutsu of a sunset and sparkles appeared all around the sensei and student idiot duo.**

"**Kai! It won't release . . ." Sasuke muttered, eyes wide and horrified.**

"**This is witchcraft I say! Hurry, before we are blinded!" Naruto cried, grabbing his two teammates by their shirt necks and rushing out the door and up the stairs with them stumbling behind. **

"It cannot be that bad." Tsunade was adamant, until she saw Kakashi's shaken appearance.

"If just his single genjutsu was bad . . . what is it like with an eager and willing participant?" Kakashi whispered in horror, not really looking for an answer from anyone. The thought was just too much to bear, to contain . . .

**Eventually he let them go and they righted themselves, just in time to see their sensei leaning by the entrance to the exams reading his ever-present orange book. Kakashi looked up at the sound of harsh breathing and pounding footsteps to see his three cute little students looking haggard and blindsided.**

"**Oh? Well, whatever it was, at least you guys faced it as a team." Kakashi said in a placating tone, as if they should be proud of this.**

"**I am this close to fucking punching you in the face. Move." Naruto growled out, stalking forward to push his sensei out the way if necessary. **

"He should not talk to his sensei like that!" Kushina growled, angered at her sochi's impertinence.

"I completely understand. If Minato-sensei came up to me all polite and smiling after experiencing Gai, I'd put a kunai in his kneecap." Kakashi maintained , looking completely serious.

**Kakashi raised an eyebrow in surprise. "It must have been bad for you to lose it. What exactly happened to you three?"**

"**Gai-sensei and Lee." The three genin spoke as one, voices haunted and hurt as they peered up at their sensei with the eyes of damned souls, cursed forever to see what cannot be unseen. Kakashi winced, making a noise of sympathy.**

"**Well, try to forget about it— helps if you occupy your mind straight after so the genjutsu doesn't really sink in. I dare say the Chuunin Exams will do just that, so go on in." Kakashi advised them all, smiling at them before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.**

"**The first thing I'm doing after I turn Chuunin is get a nice diplomat job— maybe something overseas that will require years to do . . . like an island say, and I'm sure it won't be too hard to bring Katsu along. Nice and quiet, and youth free." Naruto muttered as he opened the door and allowed the other two in before closing the door behind him. As soon as the door shut, the delighted scream of a fan girl pierced his eardrums. Ino had found Sasuke, and was on him like white on rice.**

"Baka! Making yourself look as weak as you actually are is not a smart move in the Chuunin Exams! At least maintain some sort of professional attitude with other foreign nins." Rin shouted, angered at the girl's immaturity at such a time.

"**Hey Sasuke-kun, did you miss me like I missed you?" Ino asked saucily, nuzzling cheeks with the irritated boy. Before he could get a word of protest (or worse) in edgewise, Sakura had pried Ino off of Sasuke and now the two were in a heated argument over claims on the Uchiha boy. Naruto rolled his eyes at the immature display, and was joined in his annoyance by Shikamaru and Chouji.**

"**Those two girls are such a drag." Shikamaru sighed. "Can't they read the atmosphere?" Naruto looked around the room to see many hostile eyes on them as the other chuunin hopefuls were all tense and high-strung from nerves. A bunch of loudmouth genin like them were certainly not winning any favors from these guys.**

"**Well, they'll always make good bait." Naruto allowed with an uncaring shrug.**

"How harsh coming from Naru-chan, it's surprising." Obito pointed out.

"**That's mean, Naruto-kun!" Hinata joined in the conversation now, and despite her words she was smiling at the sunny-haired boy. Kiba, his dog Akamaru, and Shino joined them, and they all exchanged greetings quietly. Best not give the competition any more of a reason, even if they wouldn't share the same information with Ino and Sakura.**

"**You guys must be fresh genin, otherwise you wouldn't make such a fuss and draw attention to yourself."**

**They all turned— Ino and Sakura forgetting their argument in lieu of this new development— as an older bespectacled genin, also bearing a leaf headband, quietly scolded them. **

"**And who are you?" Shikamaru questioned, eyeing the boy in front of them.**

"**I am Yakushi Kabuto." Kabuto introduced himself with a polite smile. Naruto couldn't see anything wrong with him, but there was something about him that set Naruto's teeth on edge.**

"**Is this your first time taking the exams as well, Kabuto-san?" Sakura asked.**

"**No, actually it's my seventh." Kabuto admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.**

"Geez." Jiraiya muttered with an unimpressed look.

"**You must really suck then!" Kiba exclaimed with a laugh.**

"**Well, or maybe the exams are just that hard. To help out, I thought I'd share some info on the other participants with my fellow Konoha nin." Kabuto said, and withdrew an extremely thick deck of large cards out of his weapons pouch. Shuffling them he explained, "Who do you want to know about?"**

"**Give me information on Subaku no Gaara and Rock Lee." Sasuke commanded, and Kabuto smirked.**

"**You know their names, which makes it less fun. Let's see . . ." he flipped over the top card. "Subaku no Gaara: Wow! He's pretty dangerous, he came back from every mission— and he did a B-rank already— without a scratch on him! His teammates are also his siblings, Kankuro and Temari. Now, Rock Lee is an interesting case. Primarily uses Taijutsu, says here he is unable to use chakra, been a genin for a year already and has three C-ranks under his belt. His teammates are Hyuuga Neji and Higurashi TenTen."**

"He shouldn't know all of that." Jiraiya stated.

"Seems highly suspicious for a mere genin to know the mission stats of a foreign nin." Minato agreed.

"**Whoa, those cards are pretty awesome." Ino remarked in surprise. Naruto was surprised too, but for a different reason— such information; maybe Rock Lee wouldn't be too hard, but how did he get mission stats on a foreign nin when they ought to have been only known by the Kazekage and Council of Suna? Sharing a look with Shikamaru who had also caught that, they silently agreed to keep an eye on this strange Kabuto guy. **

"Good boy, don't let even a shared headband mean grounds for dismissing your instincts." Minato praised his son.

"**Alight maggots! Shut the hell up and sit down at your assigned seats, the first part of the exam starts now! Any fighting will definitely get you a one-way ticket out the door." A large man wearing a black trench coat, similar to Anko's own tan one, black fingerless gloves, and a bandana barked out, and his intimidating nature as well as his harsh tone ensured that his words were heeded quickly . . . Morino Ibiki if Naruto wasn't mistaken. **

"Sadistic dude from what I recall." Kakashi spoke aloud, frowning as he thought back farther.

"Wasn't it his dream to work in the IT department?" Rin followed, frowning in thought.

"So they let that mind terrorist in charge over the poor genin? Do they want any new chuunin?" Obito snorted.

**Naruto had the good fortune to be seated next to Hinata instead of some foreign nin, and the two shared a quick smile before Ibiki started to address them once more.**

"**The first portion of the Chuunin Exam is a written test where you start with five points. You are to complete the nine questions on the paper, but there is also a tenth question, that will be given to you until after this written part is done. I'll warn you right now: Anyone caught cheating will have a point taken off and if they lose all the points they will not only be disqualified, but their team will be as well. The test begins . . . NOW!"**

"So basically it's a test of their information gathering skills." Kushina summarized with a bored flip of her hand.

"A decent and relatively easy first portion." Rin noted.

**Not even a second after the go ahead was given, test papers were being flipped over, and scribbling was heard throughout the room. Naruto looked down at his own paper, and mentally scoffed.**

_**These are questions only someone of extreme intelligence could answer easily . . . so they want us to cheat. **_**Naruto realized. His eyes roved the room, making sure Ibiki wasn't watching him for fear he was seen as cheating. TenTen was playing with a string attached to mirrors on the ceiling, Sasuke was using his Sharingan, Ino was using her mind jutsus, Hinata was using her Byakugan, and Kami knew what the others were doing. He was sure the only one who wasn't cheating was Sakura, because she could answer all of these.**

"And so can you, right Naru-chan?" Obito teased.

**And so could he. But where was the fun in that? Not that he had anything to cheat with . . . so, a nap it was! Naruto, uncaring of the gawking looks he was receiving from both the Chuunin proctor assistants and fellow genin alike, made himself comfortable in a 'nest' made from his arms and lied down for a little power nap.**

"What an idiot!" Kushina grumbled, face palming.

"Don't you mean, what a _boss?_ I don't think even I'd have the guts to do such a thing!" Obito protested, a large smile on his face.

"Which is surprising, as Naruto reminds me very much of you, as well as Kushina." Kakashi said.

Minato sighed with an exasperated look on his face. "He could at least practice his info gathering, I know certainly Hinata or Shikamaru would help him out if he indicated so."

_**Just what the hell is that dobe doing? Don't tell me he's relying on the tenth question! **_**Sasuke thought angrily. There was little he could do though, being so far away from Naruto, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Sakura visibly worrying over the total lack of caring from Naruto. **_**I don't know what he's doing, but it had better work. **_**Sasuke thought, decided to just relax into his seat and wait for the final call.**

"That's a surprising show of trust from Sasuke." Rin said, blinking twice.

"Not really seeing as he's got no other choice." Tsunade rebutted.

_**Naruto . . . what are you planning? **_**Sakura thought with worry as she snuck glances at her 'slumbering' teammate. All around them kids were getting disqualified, caught cheating and sent packing with their angry teammates. What if, Naruto bombed the last question and they would walk that same shameful path . . . !**

"You got to have more faith in your teammates, especially when they prove worthy of such faith frequently." Kakashi chided.

**Ibiki was also wondering what the snot-nosed blonde brat was playing at— just sleeping in the middle of his test like they were playing around here. Every other genin in here trembled under his gaze should they be caught in his stare, and here was this confident little brat just taking a snooze?! The boy must either be an idiot, or a hell of a gambler, and he was about to find out.**

"Well, he is an Uzumaki after all— any child of mine would definitely not be your average ninja." Kushina boasted, folding her arms in superiority as her face tilted upwards.

"Do you register me at all in his all-around personal make-up? I mean, besides the hair and eyes?" Minato asked her, partly amused and partly offended.

"**TIME'S UP!" Ibiki's voice resonated, startling students as they immediately put down their pencils and looked up raptly. Naruto jerked awake, yawning as he slowly brought himself out of his slump.**

"It's all fine to be sure of yourself . . . but he might be developing bad habits that could seriously get him in trouble later." Tsunade said in a serious tone of voice, making Minato and Kushina's teeth clench. Their son was a remarkable boy for getting as far as he did with what he had, but even he was also subject to greater faults without a constant guardian in his life . . . !

"**You now have a choice presented to you: To take the tenth question, or not to take it." Ibiki stated, much to the confusion of the genin.**

"Ooh, here's the real test." Jiraiya mentioned, bringing their attention back full force to the story.

"**Why the hell wouldn't we take it after all this?!" Kiba shouted out from his seat, his question being echoed by the other contestants.**

"**Shut the hell up! The reason I'm giving you this choice is because . . . if you fail the tenth question, you automatically fail the Chuunin Exams. One more thing though: you won't be allowed to enter another Chuunin Exam for as long as you are shinobi." Ibiki finished with a sinister smile.**

"Oh, now that's harsh." Kushina muttered with wide eyes.

"And this is the tenth question Naruto's betting on? Oh man . . ." Obito groaned.

"All of you have more faith in my child, please?" Minato raised his voice over their mutterings, chuckling at their sheepish expressions as he returned to the passage.

**The reaction to such a statement was automatic, loud, and completely fearful. Many cried out in shock, most all of them muttering in hurried, rushed voices as they tried to figure out just what the proctor was thinking. Once again, Kiba was the unofficial spokesperson. **

"**What kind of crap rule is that?! Genin from before were still able to retake the Chuunin Exam, so why is this year something different!" Kiba hollered in anger, standing up and clutching the table so hard the wood creaked in protest.**

"**The other genin didn't have me as a proctor. **_**My**_** test, **_**my**_** rules. So, choose brats I haven't got all day." Ibiki ordered, still smirking darkly.**

_**Fuuhaa . . . he's got them all shivering now. But isn't this all just a bluff? No way could such a thing be approved by the higher-ups. **_**Naruto rationalized, though he remained silent, just as the rest of the room was seeing teams getting up and leaving.**

"See?" Minato said smugly.

"Ugh. Dammit, he's just too good!" Obito and Rin groaned, shaking rueful fists at Minato's smiling face.

**They couldn't— no wouldn't risk their careers for such a thing, especially if the tenth question was even harder than the first nine. Naruto slouched forward, shuffling back in his seat as he propped his head up on his hand, elbows bent on the table and watching with lazy, half-lidded eyes. So far, half the teams were gone . . . leaving twenty-six genin. With a sigh, he noticed Sakura trembling in her seat as nerves were slowly but surely starting to affect her judgment. Meaning, he'd have to make a move and help the other crowd out, much to his disapproval. Ah well . . . if he thought about it, any less, he figured, and things would get boring quickly.**

**Naruto yawned, tongue lolling out for a brief second like the fox he carried before shutting his mouth. Ibiki glared at him, and with a cruel smile turned directly to face him and started to speak.**

"Wait, he did that purposely?" Rin interrupted.

"Just because he thought any less would be boring?" Obito questioned.

"Why are you such an idiot?" Tsunade asked, this time to Kushina, who flinched in shock.

"I admit, I'd have interrupted and not even thought of letting the herd thin a bit more, but . . . but he did it so his teammate didn't ruin things. He was actually doing a good deed!" Kushina defended her son, glaring at the non-believers.

"**You've been pretty overconfident this entire time brat. You haven't even put down another word past your name on your test. Do you really think you can bet it all on the tenth question and pass like that?" Ibiki asked, looking down at his nose on Naruto.**

**Naruto smiled, stretching his arms languidly. "It doesn't matter to me what happens really. I have a dream that I'll achieve no matter what, even if I must stay a genin to do so. That being said, there is also no way I can fail this exam on pain of oath. I'm a ninja— unknowns are sort of status quo, right? What I'm trying to say is . . . do your worst, because I'll give as good as I take, and nothing you can ask me will deter me from my course."**

"Well spoken, little brat." Jiraiya grumbled, hard pressed to keep a smile off his face.

"Well, he's certainly on his way to becoming a respectable adult." Kakashi remarked loftily, laughing at Kushina's thunderstruck face at the realization that her baby boy wasn't quite a baby in this story.

**Ibiki leveled a considering stare at Naruto, who didn't once look away for a second, only calmly staring at him. The boy hadn't spoken in anything above a murmur, but the silent room had caught every word, and the results were startling. Looking at the remaining genin now, he saw a determination that wasn't there at the beginning— they now all stared dead ahead, the will to fight now rekindled thanks to Naruto's words. Ibiki smirked. **

"What a charismatic leader!" Rin praised.

"I'm not sure if it's charisma do much as the refreshing honesty." Kakashi countered.

_**Heh. He's an interesting brat, as you said, Anko. **_**Ibiki thought.**

"**Congratulations, you all pass." Ibiki said, and had to keep a smile of his face at the looks of bafflement as well as the exclamations of disbelief from the genin.**

"**But what about the tenth question!" A rain nin demanded to know.**

"Little slow there, huh buddy?" Tsunade quipped.

"**That was the tenth question. It was a question of your will and fortitude. When you're a chuunin, you'll be forced to make tough decisions, and we don't need weak-kneed, yellow bellied chuunin leading our forces to their deaths! As ninjas, we will often go on missions with either incorrect information, or little to nothing at all. But by asking this question, you've shown me your determination and willingness to do the best for your villages, even with such handicaps." Ibiki explained.**

"**So then the other nine questions were for nothing?" Temari asked, rising from her seat.**

"**No, that was a test of information gathering . . . or for others, a test to see how much balls they had." Ibiki answered, the last part meant for a certain grinning blonde.**

"An extra one. He has three balls." Kakashi answered seriously.

"The standard brass balls of an Uzumaki, with an extra one made of stainless steel." Obito added, also deadly serious.

**Before anything else could be said, the window on the side of the wall exploded in a shower of glass as a purple and white blue shot through. The genin cried out, shielding their faces from the glass. When they deemed it safe enough, they lowered their arms and looked upon a strange sight . . . Well, strange for the girls but all kinds of right for the guys.**

**A banner was now at the front of the room, reading: **_**Introducing the Sexy and Single Mitarashi Anko! **_**Anko herself was standing in front of the banner with hands in her trench coat pockets and her usual getup of fishnets and orange miniskirt with that cocky smirk on her face.**

"Oh, Kami, she never lost that flare for dramatic entrances?" Obito sighed, as if put upon.

"**Listen up brats, my name's Mitarashi Anko and I'm the proctor for the Second Exam!" she introduced herself loudly and gave off the impression that she was doing them all a favor by gracing them with her presence.**

_**Well . . . even though she said it would be a surprise, I didn't expect anything like this. **_**Naruto mused, laughing softly at Ibiki's face upon seeing what Anko did to his room.**

"And that concludes the first part of the Chuunin Exams." Minato announced, inclining his head gracefully at the applause he received.

"Oh, man that was almost too much, you know?" Rin asked, getting up and stretching until she teetered on her tip-toes.

"I know, I'm actually sort of hungry. Who wants a meat hotpot tonight?!" Obito called out, and received rounding cheers for the idea.

"Great! Then I'm cooking tonight!" He decided, and walked to the kitchen to begin preparing.

"Ah, I feel like things are really kicking off now— things are going to get really interesting from here on out, I just know it." Jiraiya insisted, rolling his shoulders to relieve some tension as he followed the others to the kitchen.

"Somehow what you just said seemed like a blessing and a curse." Kushina pronounced a bit darkly, though the smile on her lips reached her eyes.

* * *

**As always, review are highly appreciated, as taking some time to read them is both soothing and a good way to pass the time. Reviews are like chocolate, you know? Meant to be savored . . . the good ones, that is. Savoring the bad ones only gives me a phantom ulcer. Until next time, faithful readers!**

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad~3**


	15. Chapter 15

**oh god. OH GOD. _OWWWW . . . My fingers. They hurt! _**

**Dammit people look what you made me do! The pain of my bleeding nubs i once called fingers! The feels for Minato and Kushina! The pure awesome of this chapter, if i do say so myself! Gah, just enjoy the chapter. I better go to the ER . . .**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Nor do i own any songs, english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Fifteen_

_The Battle Royale of Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

Morning greeted our heroes of the past with its promises of exciting adventures and energetic feelings. The spring time of youth was— um, I mean . . . we find our group finishing up a breakfast cooked by Kushina.

"Those were the best waffles I ever had." Obito moaned into the table face pressed there as he had lost all energy to hold himself upright. His job of cleaning up the table done, he was waiting for Rin and Kakashi to finish up the dishes so they could all go read.

"Thanks, Obito." Kushina chirped, leaning against the wall next to Minato.

"Done!" Rin shouted, stacking the last plate into the cupboard and firmly closing the door. With enthusiasm the group rushed into the living room and hopped into their allotted perches, eyes trained on the lone, thick book in the middle of the coffee table.

"Who's reading?" Minato asked the group.

"Me!" Kushina called out first, grinning smugly at the scowls thrown her way.

"Quick draw." Minato complimented her. Kushina giggled, taking the book from the table and snuggling as close in to Minato's side as she could. Luckily getting to the right page on the first opening, she took a deep breath and read.

"**Look sharp maggots! Welcome to Training Ground 44, otherwise known as the Forest of Death." Anko introduced with sinister dramatic flair, her trademark bloodthirsty grin showing pearly white teeth. **

"Lovely vacationing spot." Obito snorted, a shiver going down his spine.

"**Wonderful real estate." Naruto murmured, unconcerned with the trepidation and fear of the surrounding people.**

"Two peas in a pod." Rin laughed, and Obito puffed up proudly.

"**Cozy, one might even say." Sasuke added, surprising Naruto enough that he had to cough to cover a loud bark of laughter, giving Sasuke an amused glance.**

"**For the second part of the exam, the objective is to retrieve and protect. First things first, I'm going to need you to sign these papers if you wanna participate in this portion of the exam." They were handed clipboards with a sheet of paper attached, with the large letters 'WAIVER OF CONSENT' printed on top. Reading through it, Naruto was hard pressed to suppress his amusement. As he signed his signature, he heard a genin from across the group call out.**

"**What do we need to sign these for, when we obviously want to take these exams?"**

**Anko waved a dismissive hand, and with a breezy smile explained, "Oh, that's your agreement to accept all risks in the forest, so your respective villages don't come after my blood. Basically, I'm not responsible if you die in there, 'k?" **

"At least they don't skimp on the psychological conditioning in the future." Tsunade muttered.

"Yeah but Academy standards still seem so low." Minato added, but decided to leave thoughts for an academic overhaul for later, after this chapter.

**Next to him, Naruto felt Sakura shiver at the words, but when he looked up she had signed the waiver and was looking forward with a steady gaze. **

"**Alright, listen or you're going to die before even reaching halfway. One of each team is going to take the waivers of the team to the row of tents over there, where the waivers will be exchanged for one scroll. Some will get Heaven; others will get the Earth scroll. You need both, and you need to get both to the tower in the middle of the Forest in order to pass. Of course, there are stipulations. You need all your teammates to pass upon arrival, and you must not open the scrolls until you get there." Anko explained with a serious expression, burning brown eyes staring into them and practically daring any one of them to disregard her rules.**

"Not bad for cutting down competition." Kushina complimented.

"**What happens if we do open them in the Forest?" Ino asked.**

"**Something unpleasant . . . for you and your team." Anko answered with a nasty smirk.**

**Sasuke was the one to get the scrolls, and came back with a Heaven scroll. Once all the scrolls were looked over by the teams, they returned their attention back to the proctor.**

"**So, this test is designed to cut our numbers down in half— only half of us can go on to the next round!" Sakura realized, with a sharp look to Anko.**

"**Smart girlie . . . you're right. We can't have weaklings being chuunin, so we gotta weed out all the bad seeds. Now, you've got a time-limit— five days only. Run outta time? Too bad, try again next year."**

"**What are we going to do for food?!" Chouji cried, looking distinctly upset. **

"**The Forest is full of food! Giant, juicy bugs, and large predators that'll eat you first if you don't eat them." Anko extolled these 'virtues' and Chouji looked ready to cry at the atrocity.**

"**Can we quit?" Shikamaru asked, wincing at Ino's punishment strike to the back of his head.**

"Shukaku asked the same thing." Minato laughed, shaking his head.

"**Hell no! You think you can just quit in the middle of the mission? You want to quit, hurry up and die." Anko barked.**

"Harsh!" Rin cried out.

"Not if Shikamaru's okaa-san is who I think it is, then that might be the kinder option." Kushina joked.

"**Line up at the gates and get ready!" She shouted, pointing to the gates surrounding the Forest. Team Seven jogged up to the gate closest to them, one gate for each genin team. Before Naruto turned away, he saw Anko shoot him a cheeky grin which he quickly returned before following his teammates.**

"**Contestants get ready! Three . . . Two— GO!" Her giddy voice shouted, and once the gates opened genin from all sides shot in with the intent to win.**

**Team Seven took up a triangular formation, Naruto and Sakura on the sides with Sasuke behind. The other two acknowledged Naruto's superior senses, so this position would prove advantageous as he'd be the first to sense something. **

"**We really ought to stop and think out a plan." Naruto said casually, dodging a low-lying branch. **

"Plans are good, but plans on the fly are better." Kushina snickered, catching Obito's furious nods in agreement.

"No." Minato deadpanned.

"**Fine, down there in the clearing." Sasuke ordered, and they descended to the clearing he spoke of, hidden from sight by a large fallen log.**

"**Let's make this quick lady and gent, the air is permeated with the smells of our opponents." Naruto murmured, casting wary eyes around.**

"**My plan is pretty simplistic— ambush a weaker team for their Earth scroll then high-tail it to the tower, take brakes sparingly, even at night. We can rest at the tower."**

"Decent plan, but I must object to not resting even at night." Jiraiya said.

"**Even at night?" Sakura parroted, looking at Sasuke like he'd forgotten something important.**

"**Don't look at me like that, I was hoping we could rely on Naruto, he's proven his night vision is on par with a cat's." Sasuke dismissed Sakura coldly.**

"Oh sure, glad you thought that out, but no need to be so rude." Kakashi scolded.

"Quit acting like the kid can help it, his family was around long enough before the massacre to cultivate his Uchiha attitude. It's a miracle you can get a joke out of him every now and then." Obito defended his little cousin, figuring enough of his character had been put down in previous chapters.

"**Hm, I guess I can do that. We'd have to go on the ground though; I can do nothing for you if you miss a branch. But, if that's all to your plan, might I suggest a few things, leader-sama?"**

"**Call me that again and I throw you to the man-eating Venus Flytraps. But, yes, you may suggest something." Sasuke answered promptly.**

"See? Remarkable progress, in my humble opinion." Obito piped up, sending a smug look to Kakashi in return to the silver-haired boy's glance.

"**I can look for the Earth scroll with my clones; we just have to find a good spot to play the waiting game. Then, when we get both scrolls I can make decoy scrolls with the ones I have here and we divvy up the real ones between me and Sakura, while you keep the fakes. By the way, here's some fun-filled fake Heavens here for you guys, one for each." He handed them the fake "heaven" scrolls, and snickered at their looks of amusement upon realizing exactly what they were.**

"They'd assume the Uchiha is the strongest one, therefore he'd have the scrolls." Rin realized.

"And the decoys will be so realistic that they'll run with them anyway." Jiraiya finished.

"But I want to know what's special about those fakes." Kushina pitched in with an eager look.

**Sasuke thought about it for a moment, black eyes flickering down to observe the dirt before looking up directly into Naruto's sky-blue eyes. "Sounds good, Uzumaki, let's do it. Now, where would be a good hiding place?" the last part was mumbled to himself as he looked around for some inspiration.**

**It was Sakura who provided the answer, interrupting Sasuke's musings with a nervous voice. "A-ano, Sasuke-kun. Let's hide up high in the canopy of the trees."**

"An interesting choice." Tsunade commented, voice speculative.

"**And just how is that a good hiding spot?" Sasuke asked the girl, one eyebrow rose as he regarded her flushed face.**

"**Everyone expects Konoha to be in the trees, but they also know we know that, and so they'll be more focused on ground hideouts than on something even higher than they anticipated. The branches look sturdy even at the very top. They'd never think we'd actually be **_**hidden in the leaves**_**."**

"That logic." Obito deadpanned.

"That's pretty creative, good on her for thinking of it." Minato praised.

"**I like that, if only for the poetic justice." Naruto agreed, larger-than-average canines showing in his devilish grin.**

"**Fine, we hide in the canopies. Naruto, make your clones now and after we'll go up." Sasuke said, and Naruto obliged. Without any hand seals thirty-five shadow clones appeared with nary a whisper of smoke, and disappeared to perform their task as quickly as they appeared.**

"He's been training really hard, I'm so proud of our sochi." Kushina murmured to Minato, smiling softly.

"**You've gotten better." Sakura complimented quietly as they rose from their positions and immediately leapt into the trees, going higher and higher.**

"**Thanks, lots of practice and meditating." Naruto accepted her thanks with playful boasting, and soon they were settling into the almost rickety boughs of the tree on its highest level.**

"Ah, the waiting game. Sometimes the hardest thing for young ninjas to endure." Jiraiya recalled, remembering his days as a sensei to often hyperactive brats, even if Minato was more controlled than his teammates.

"**How long do you think it will take before they find anything?" Sakura asked Naruto after ten minutes of waiting.**

**Naruto, eyes closed and sitting cross-legged with the branches supporting either knee was slumped against the trunk of the tree with arms folded loosely. Without startling or opening his eyes he answered, "Remember, they're also cataloging the teams— weak and strong, as well as searching for Earth scrolls. It will be a little longer, and even then when their memories come back to me I'll go through them to ascertain the best path for Sasuke's dash."**

"Thorough." Tsunade commented.

"**Sounds like you're pulling most of the weight." Sakura noted with concern. Both Sakura and Naruto turned to Sasuke, who looked at Naruto and said, "Your good karma is piling up, I assure you."**

"**Prick." Naruto sniggered. It was another five minutes before Naruto jolted violently, almost upending himself before Sakura lunged and caught his hood in her grip, jerking him back. Naruto gasped for air after the sudden constriction to his throat, and with a grateful nod to Sakura he readjusted himself and reported to his two teammates who looked at him urgently.**

"Something seriously spooked him." Kakashi murmured with concern.

"What's enough to spook this kid?" Jiraiya asked incredulously.

"**First thing's first. If you see the Suna team, run **_**away**_**. But if you see that bitch from Kusa? **_**Fucking sprint, fly, teleport**_**— I don't care what you do, just do whatever **_**the fuck**_** you have to in order to get away from her. No way she's a genin, I'll commit seppuku if she is." Naruto whispered harshly, glaring blue fire into his teammates in order to fully get across the seriousness of that statement.**

"Hey!" Kakashi snapped.

"A kunoichi from Kusa? I don't recall Kusa nins being particularly vicious or anything, like their counterparts from . . . Mizu or Kiri, say." Tsunade recalled, brows furrowed in her confusion.

"**Why, why is she—?" Sasuke began to ask before Naruto cut him off with a dangerous snarl and a warning, "Don't ask me that. Just get away from her. Now . . ." he took two deep breaths and visible calmed down, the storm in his eyes dissipating for now.**

"Whoever he's scared of I don't even want to know of." Obito claimed.

"Something tells me we're going to find out whether we like it or not." Minato sighed heavily, worry apparent.

"**I found a good team to beat up. A team from Ame, about two kilometers southeast from here. They're arguing over who gets the real scroll and the fake so we're good, if we hurry now." Naruto informed them, a glint back in his eyes in light of the new game. Sasuke looked at him sharply, but decided not to push for information on the Kusa kunoichi and instead led his teammates to the area where their target was.**

"**Their real scroll is with the one in the middle." Naruto told them just before stopping behind a large tree.**

**They found the group of Amen nins now setting up traps around their perimeter. Sasuke looked to Sakura and whispered, "Can you make a genjutsu to confuse them?"**

"**Only for thirty seconds, and if they figure it out they'll rip through it like tissue paper." Sakura answered.**

"**Thirty seconds is all we need. Naruto, fall back— you're our Plan B." Sasuke said, and with a nod Naruto leapt back a few trees and waited, peering around the trunk of his chosen tree. **

"Whoa this plan is sounding all sorts of weak and stupid." Kakashi said, leaning back in his seat, shocked that Sasuke would use a plan so shaky.

**Sakura went through her hand seals with the surety of one who practiced it for hours on end, and with a nod to Sasuke, she completed it. The group below stilled, and then looked around uncertainly, as if unsure of where they were. Sasuke dropped down to the ground, crouching behind a large shrub, before a kunai suddenly danced around his fingers and he shot out, ring end of the kunai heading straight for the back of the closest Ame nin's head.**

**Then the Amen in dodged just in the nick of time, and as his teammate dispelled Sakura's minor genjutsu, he laughed derisively at Sasuke. "You really thought we'd fall so easily to such pathetic plans? Tell your teammates to get down here and we might let you live."**

"I'm sure this is part of his plan." Rin said, trying to sound like she believed it herself.

**With an angry growl, Sasuke glared at the three nins as Sakura jumped down to his side, eyes wide and wary as she crept close to Sasuke's side.**

"**Where's the third one?" The ame nin who, Sasuke suspected, was probably the leader, asked roughly.**

"**He went in the other direction to find us a hiding spot." Sasuke answered in clipped tones.**

"This sounds more and more like a feint . . . whew thank Kami, or I'd have run Sasuke into the ground with training as soon as I had him!" Kakashi exclaimed in relief.

"**Alright kiddies, as punishment for such a weak plan, hand over your scroll." The leader ordered with a mocking tone, and though his mouth was obscured by his breathing apparatus Sasuke was sure he was smirking at them. **

**Sasuke glared at the trees across from them as Sakura took out the heaven scroll from her weapons pouch and threw it to the leader, who caught it in one hand.**

"Nah-ah, it's. A. Decoy!" Rin sang mockingly.

"**A heaven scroll!" the man crowed. "Perfect, it'll be nice and cozy next to our Earth scroll. Ok, you two: kill them." The two nins behind him chuckled as they took out kunais and advanced slowly.**

"Hope they planned for this." Tsunade remarked flippantly, earning glares from Kushina and Rin.

"**But-but you said—" Sakura stuttered fearfully as she took a step back.**

"**I said I might let you live— it was in my discretion. I decided however, that you'd be better dead. That's life for you kiddies." The leader shrugged, looking very bored with the proceedings now that he'd gotten his quarry.**

"**HIT THE DECK!" At the sound of Naruto's all-too joyful roar, Sakura and Sasuke couldn't get down fast enough, throwing themselves back.**

"There's the plan coming into play." Obito giggled almost maniacally.

**Just as they covered their heads with their arms, the "heaven" scroll Sakura had given the enemy nin detonated, revealing itself to be a very effective and very loud exploding tag. Even on the ground as they were, Sakura and Sasuke were blown back a few feet from the blast radius by its sheer power, though they weren't harmed too much besides a few scrapes and some dirt. **

"Overkill much?" Jiraiya muttered, wrinkling his nose.

"If something's worth doing, it's worth overdoing." Obito advocated firmly, Kushina backing him up by shouting, "Hell yeah!"

"**I might have been a bit overzealous." Naruto admitted upon arriving to the clearing, signaling to Sakura and Sasuke that it was fine to get up.**

"When an Uzumaki says they're a little overzealous, does that really mean they decimated their surroundings?" Rin asked Kushina.

"Pretty much . . . well, that's the best case scenario if it was _just_ the surroundings." Kushina answered.

"**Yeah, but the plan worked." Sasuke grunted, getting up with some difficulty as he was still a little disoriented from the blast. **

"**Yeah, good idea to use the surprise scroll and scatter them." Naruto agreed.**

"**Naruto? Are they . . . ?" Sakura asked, really not wanting to know.**

"It's hard to deal with the first time up close, but it is a norm for our profession." Minato sympathized with the girl.

"**Of course they're dead, you think that was just a flash tag with some serious oomph? No way, man, I fried those dudes and— well. The guy who was holding it is definitely dead, but the other two might just either be on the verge of death, or seriously injured." Naruto admitted. **

"I get what you're saying and all sensei, but your son doesn't even seem fazed at the life he just took. Like, he's used to seeing dead bodies or killing." Obito pointed out with a concerned expression, seeing Minato's face also twist in distaste.

"With his childhood, it's not entirely impossible he became inured to death." Minato admitted slowly, grimacing at such a dark thought.

**He turned to Sasuke. "The one who has the scroll is over there." He pointed a little to the left, in the thick shrubbery where Sasuke spied a foot laying limply on the ground. "You're getting that, right?"**

"**Yeah, yeah, keep your hair on." Sasuke, grumbled in mock irritation as he moved over to the brush and bent down, picking through the pockets of the unconscious nin. **

"**Alright, we've got the scroll. Let's make the decoys—"**

"**You mean, I'll make the decoys." Naruto interjected.**

**Sasuke glared at Naruto, who shut his mouth and made a show of locking his mouth closed and throwing his hand behind him. "Make the decoys, we'll split them up, and then we make for the tower. Naruto you've got three minutes."**

"**I'll only need two." Naruto promised as he dropped down to his knees and unraveled a scroll from his weapons pouch, pushing in his chakra into three different seals and taking out more scrolls, ink, and his brush. As Sasuke and Sakura covered him, alert for any threats, Naruto steadily inked out his seals, adding a seal to keep the henge on the scrolls so they looked exactly like the real ones permanently unless the seal was smudged. As he promised, two minutes later he was done, with a couple additions.**

"Damn our kid's good." Kushina whispered quickly to Minato, and hurried to read as a goofy grin spread across his face.

"**Alright, Sasuke, here's the fakes. Sakura, you take the Earth scroll and I'll keep the heaven. In addition, here are some more surprise scrolls like the one from earlier. Some are smoke screens; others are explosives so just take one of each." Naruto explained, handing out the scrolls and taking the real Heaven scroll.**

"A good ninja always carries exploding tags in any conceivable way." Kakashi agreed, nodding appreciatively.

**Sasuke nodded, pocketing the scrolls and giving Naruto a nod of thanks. "OK, same formation as before, let's get going."**

**They went through the trees again, setting a comfortable pace as they moved forward. It wasn't too long though, when Naruto sensed something . . . something big.**

"Hey, don't panic just yet; it might be the local animals!" Obito tried to cheer up a suddenly tense Minato and Kushina.

"Doubtful." Minato ground out.

"**We've got a stalker people, let's move." Naruto ordered, moving from his position on the side and taking Sasuke's position in the back. Sasuke moved forward to Naruto's original position as he tensed, and increased the speed. They moved quickly, not staying on a straight path but instead zig-zagging. Try as they might though, whatever was behind them was on their tail and starting to gain. And it had been joined by something else . . . something darker.**

"That for sure doesn't sound like any animal." Kakashi muttered.

"No jokes now, please, everyone." Kushina barked out.

"**Faster!" Naruto barked.**

"**We're going as fast as we can!" Sakura responded, nerves fraying as she felt adrenaline take hold.**

"**No, you're going as fast as you're comfortable with, I'm telling you to **_**move!**_** There are two of them now, and not one feels even remotely merciful let alone friendly." Naruto growled.**

"**Dammit!" Sasuke growled, thoughts flying as he tried to figure something out. Finally, it clicked. "Naruto, you tired?"**

**Naruto smirked. "Don't make me throw you behind me Uchiha. Shadow clone decoys coming right up boss-man!" As promised sixty clones popped into existence and, with a cloud of smoke, every other one transformed into either Sasuke or Sakura.**

"Good, if that doesn't throw whatever's behind them completely off then it'll certainly slow them down." Tsunade murmured, but everyone was more focused on the sudden danger in the story than anything.

"**Alright people, you know what we have to do, get those freaks off our tracks!" Naruto called.**

"**Got it, boss!" The clones all shouted, and they were off, each fake team seven splitting off into different directions.**

"**Okay, just for a while, move your asses like a fire's lit under 'em, let's go!" Naruto shouted, and as one they kicked their speed into high gear and got as far away as possible. Naruto kept his senses open and nearly strained to make sure the two chakra signatures had moved away, and when they did several minutes later, Naruto signaled his team and they stopped for a quick breather.**

"Ack, no, keep going!" Rin fretted.

"**So, I know what those two chakra signatures were. The big one was a fucking giant snake that seemed all too interested in devouring me, and the other was that Kusa bitch I was telling you about. After the fifth fake though, she got mad. Meaning we've got to get out of this Forest, and quick." Naruto reported, taking a quick gulp from his canteen and returning it to his storage scroll.**

"Giant snake?" Jiraiya echoed, raised eyebrows showing a loftiness that was being betrayed by the fire burning in his eyes.

"Only two people we know with a snake contract . . . not like giant snakes are extremely common in Konoha." Tsunade murmured, and her statement caught everyone's attention.

**Sasuke blew out a breath sharply as he eyed Sakura's lightly panting form. Noticing his assessing gaze, Sakura blushed and assured him, "I can keep going."**

"**Good so—" Sasuke turned away for a second. Just a second or two— at most— and shit hit the fan and just exploded everywhere.**

"Aw crap." Obito whimpered under his breath, almost falling out of his seat he was so close on the edge— everyone was.

"**Well, damn." Naruto's voice sounded resigned to something, and it peaked Sasuke's curiosity. He started to turn around.**

"**What?" he was halfway turned when he felt a hand shove him and he was flying off the branch. From his peripheral he could see Sakura being pushed as well, her shriek cutting through the air. He turned in midair, just to see Naruto's gritted teeth and blazing eyes before he was . . . swallowed.**

"Eehh?!" nearly all the room yelped, before being shushed by Minato to continue the story.

**Naruto just got swallowed by a giant snake, Sasuke thought dazedly. **

"He was _eaten_?!" Kushina yelped, trembling hands nearly tearing the book in half.

"Kushina calm down, you see how thick this book is? I'm sure he wasn't eaten." Minato soothed his frantic girlfriend, despite his own heart having skipped a beat.

"He was _swallowed_! So he got _eaten_!" She nearly wailed. Minato hugged her close and tried to think of something to calm her.

"Kushina, I promise you he won't go out like that, now keep reading and see for yourself honey, please." Minato's words were both a command and a plea. With a deep, shaky breath, Kushina read on.

**Then it really hit him, and with a curse he grabbed Sakura's wrist and let his momentum as he flipped carry over to the grip on her wrist, so she managed to right herself in the nick of time. They shot up from their crouch just in time to see the snake that swallowed Naruto slither away deeper into the forest.**

"**Sasuke-kun, come on, we have to get Naruto!" Sakura screamed, already tensing to spring, when a slick voice, drenched in malicious amusement even in its feminine lightness, spoke up from behind them.**

"**I'm afraid your friend has already met his end in the belly of my friend. What you have to worry about now . . . is me." **

**Sasuke and Sakura turned around, the tension of their bodies almost painful, and saw who it was that spoke. **

**It was the kunoichi from Kusa.**

**Meanwhile, on a tree a few miles from the three of them a large snake was resting on a sturdy branch and attempting to digest the restless meal in its stomach. Squished between the muscles of the snake's esophagus, Naruto was covered in its saliva and fuming.**

"Not eaten." Tsunade was quick to point out to a near hyperventilating red head.

_**This snake just ate me. I just got eaten by a snake. Oh . . . hell no, **_**he snarled in his mind.**

_**You look like you could use a hand there. **_**The Kyuubi's darkly amused voice grated on Naruto's already thin nerves. **

"Now is so not the time!" Rin growled.

_**No, no I've got this. I'd appreciate your help with dismembering whoever this snake belongs to though? **_**Naruto asked as calmly as he could, considering he was slowly but surely sliding down this creature's throat to its stomach no doubt full of acid.**

_**Hm, why not if you're going to tempt me with violence for the sake of violence? It's been so long since I engaged in an act of physical cruelty, and was able to enjoy it as well . . . but first; I want to see what you're going to do to this snake. Make it pay . . . for swallowing us. It doesn't deserve such richness in its gullet. **_**The Kyuubi's dark whispers were, for once, not ignored by Naruto but wholly embraced. It was all good and well to stoop to the fox's level when Naruto's thinking and moral duty was in line with it. **

"I agree." Kakashi snarled under his breath.

"Fox is right for once." Kushina snapped, cold fury in her voice.

**With a look of intense malicious amusement, Naruto's hand struggled up from where it was being pinned between his side and the throat of the snake, forming the hand sign for the shadow clone jutsu. Clone upon clone popped into existence, filling the already cramped space and then some. From the outside it looked as if the snake was suddenly expanding, contorting with a look of pain on its face, before it exploded in a shower of mucus, blood, snakeskin and cackling Naruto's. **

"Nasty, and oh-so-satisfying." Jiraiya complimented.

"An original concept, I give full points for creativity." Kakashi added with a large smirk.

"**Ugh, that was nasty." One clone said in distaste, brushing a piece of snake meat off its shoulder.**

"**Come on man, it's only the first day." Another clone whined.**

"**Alright enough, I'll complain after I get to the tower. For now, there's a whore from Kusa I have to see about payment." Naruto said in a chilling tone of voice, already moving forward. The clones agreed and dispelled, and Naruto was off, shooting through the Forest to get to his friends' sides. He had to hurry and get there, who knows what that crazy witch was doing! Naruto went faster, and he knew he was there when he felt a sickening feeling in the air— it was killing intent. So potent even he stumbled, and with wide eyes he jumped higher into the tree, looking down at the scene from his hiding spot.**

"How did someone so obviously powerful even manage to get into the exams?" Tsunade cried out in frustration, fists forming in her lap.

**There was the Kusa woman, staring at Sasuke with a look of amusement, as if she knew she could end this at any time but was only allowing it to play out for her amusement. Thinking about it, Naruto's fists tightened until the skin over his knuckles turned white, because she was absolutely right. Who the hell was this Chuunin Exam intruder? **

**The kunoichi from Kusa chuckled. "Come now, Sasuke-kun, you know you can't win. What will you do?"**

**Sasuke shivered, but he spoke up. "It's a scroll you want right? Here, just take it and leave us in peace!" he threw the surprise scroll to the Kusa nin, who probably thought it was just a regular Earth scroll.**

"Yes!" Rin and Obito hissed.

**That plan went to hell when she threw it behind her, and the scroll went off in just as glorious an explosion as its predecessor, though the last one was truer to mark.**

"Fuck!" They cursed, not even minding if Minato heard— he had bigger things to worry about.

"**Ku ku ku. You don't think I didn't know about that little trick your team pulled off?" The kunoichi mused, smirking in false pleasantry. **

"**D-damn . . ." Sasuke pushed out through gritted teeth . . . gritted to keep them from chattering in a show of his fear. **

"**Come, Sasuke, give me . . . what I really want!" And the kunoichi darted forward, scaring Sasuke. **

"**Get away from me!" Sasuke screamed, palming a kunai and throwing it at her. She dodged it with ease, and was almost upon him when a foot came out of nowhere and smashed into her cheek, sending her careening. The woman didn't fall off the branch however, merely allowed herself to spin with the kick around the branch and back up again, before leaping back to gain space. **

**It was Naruto's angered face she stared into as she gently touched her cheek, impressed with his ability to catch her unawares like that.**

"No!" Kushina groaned, anger and fear filling her, for her son showing himself to the enemy.

"**My, Naruto-kun, you escaped my friend's stomach?" she tittered.**

"**Do you have even the slightest idea how disgusting that was? I'm giving you the dry cleaning bill, you crazy bitch." He spat.**

"Does he always have to quip with his enemies?" Kakashi moaned in impatience, dragging a hand down his face.

**She laughed. "Oh, how amusing. I was just telling Sasuke-kun here how useless it was to defy me! But, you I see, don't know the meaning of give up, am I right?"**

"**Not really . . . depends on the circumstances. Who are you really? What do you want with us?" he fired off the questions.**

"**Does it matter who I am? Saying I'm your executioner wouldn't be all that wrong either, you know?" she teased with a condescending smile.**

"**It's only polite. And since you're acting so familiar with us, calling our first names and adding such familiar honorifics, you can follow through on your impropriety." He answered evenly, eyes not straying away from her own intense stare.**

"Stop talking and run!" Rin hissed.

"Do you realize how powerful their opponent is? Maybe the story hasn't made it clear, but they can't really run. The best thing he can do is make small talk, look for an opening and then start praying as he runs." Jiraiya retorted.

**She regarded him for a moment before throwing back her head and laughing. "You **_**are**_** amusing! If I'm going to introduce myself then, it had better not be in this fake skin, so if you'd wait a moment . . ."**

"**Fake skin?" Sakura echoed, as confused as the rest of her teammates.**

**And then suddenly she wished she was ignorant again.**

**That woman . . . no it wasn't a woman. It was a person in a woman's skin, and that person had just . . . **_**shed**_**. **

Sounds of disgust filled the air but Kushina read over them, transfixed on the words in the book she was so filled with terror at the revealing of the person's identity.

**And from the now loose and very much dead looking skin of that woman from Kusa came an extremely pale man, with long black hair and gold eyes surrounded in purple markings almost like eye shadow. He wore a tan shirt with a long-sleeved black undershirt and a large purple rope around his waist tied in an equally large bow.**

Minato hid his face in his hand as he crushed Kushina's trembling form to him, hoping to both soothe her and be soothed by her warmth. "Oh Kami, not him . . ." he whispered in dread-filled voice.

"That . . . bastard." Tsunade swore quietly, so angry she had stilled her fidgeting and was now eyeing the book like a vengeful tigress.

**The man rose from his stooped position to look at them, shoulders relaxed and face even more malicious than before. "I think . . . if the look on your face is any indication, that you know who I am, Naruto-kun?"**

**When Sakura and Sasuke turned to look at their teammate, any sense of relief or any smidgeon of hope that grew at Naruto's calm reserve during the earlier face off died at the instant they saw his face. Wide eyed and pale with horror, Naruto rasped out, "Orochimaru . . . of the Sannin?"**

"I'll kill him. I'll deal with whatever punishment there is, but when we get home, I will kill him." Jiraiya swore, voice raw and cold.

"**Yes, indeed." Orochimaru answered with a smile.**

**Naruto looked him over, up and down, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, there was no longer any fear or horror. Just clear blue eyes, revealing and nothing and it appeared as if Naruto was seeing nothing anymore. Like he had drifted away . . . but he hadn't. No he was on higher alert than before.**

"Showing your opponent fear only makes them feel better . . . and it's the only type of rebellion you can do." Kakashi said softly.

"**So . . . to what do we owe this misfortune?" Naruto asked, rocking back on his heels.**

"**That doesn't really matter. What matters is what you plan to do now." Orochimaru deflected, the question, but Naruto persisted.**

"**I think it does matter. You're here for a particular reason, and knowing that reason makes my job easier. Now, you're awfully interested in terrorizing my teammates, but out of us three it's only Sasuke that's the most roughed up. So I can conclude that you've been picking on my Uchiha teammate here an awful lot. Also, based on the information I have of you and your . . . dishonorable discharge? Whatever you call it, with that I can say that you're interested in Sasuke and his sharingan." Naruto analyzed, and Orochimaru had to give the boy credit. Who knew this child would be son interesting? Not to mention, the child reminded him of someone . . .**

"Yes, you're remarkably bright but please use that intellect to find a way to live!" Minato chided, worry apparent in his voice.

"**Very good Naruto-kun. So, what will you do with all that?" Orochimaru asked curiously. **

**Naruto huffed, rubbing the back of his head. "Shit, what can I do? How about . . . a favorable trade?"**

"**What could you possibly offer me?" Orochimaru laughed, and it grated on Naruto's nerves, that terribly false, **_**off**_** laughter. **

**Naruto took a scroll from his pocket and tossed it to Orochimaru, who caught it with interest. It wasn't one of those surprise fake scrolls, so perhaps he could spare a moment to . . . **_**FLASH!**_

"YES! I knew he had a plan, I knew it!" Obito cried out victoriously, but he was quickly shushed by the adults.

"It's going to take more than a plan and his so far remarkable luck if he wants to survive, let alone succeed in his plan." Jiraiya snapped, sharp stare quieting the others from celebrating.

**What Naruto had given him was a surprise scroll— a flash tag bomb in combination with a smoke bomb that covered them all in thick, dark grey smog. As soon as the bomb went off Naruto was already turning away from the flash and grabbing the frozen forms of his teammates, who hadn't turned away from the near blinding light. Naruto didn't stop, didn't pause his momentum even as he heard the decidedly angry snarl of Orochimaru— he just kept going, and around him cropped up kage bushin clones who threw explosive tags behind them to cover his tracks. He looked down at the now struggling Sakura and Sasuke in his arms, and dropped them onto the tree limbs.**

"**Come on! We need to get away!" Naruto urged them, tugging on their hands. The two of them recovered quickly, side by side of Naruto as they moved as quickly as they could. Orochimaru caught up to them quickly however and threw Sakura into a tree, knocking the girl out for a few seconds as he descended on Sasuke and Naruto. **

"**Sasuke, hang back its you he wants!" Naruto barked as he rushed forward to meet Orochimaru. **

"Shit, shit!" Kakashi hissed, hands fisting into the sides of his hair as he slumped forward.

**Sasuke grit his teeth but decided to heed the other boy's words, moving back to check on Sakura, who was slowly stirring. As he watched the fight between Naruto and Orochimaru, occasionally throwing a kunai or shuriken at the older man, he was suddenly sick of himself— the self-loathing was like acid coming up his throat and nearly corroding everything inside him. Orochimaru was on a whole other level from anyone else he'd ever seen. He had frozen like a bird entrapped by the eyes of the snake, he felt so helpless and pitifully weak! He would never kill Itachi at this rate! But Naruto . . . **

"Now is not the time to throw yourself a pity party you selfish child." Kushina snarled, tears starting to run down her cheeks at the thought of her son fighting for his life against someone so dangerous and vile. Struggling past her sobs, she read on, grateful for Minato's comforting grip on her, anchoring her to reality.

**Naruto was giving his all and holding his own. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed— the blonde boy in front of him was doing far too well for his tastes. He hadn't been hit so many times since Jiraiya had last caught up to him several years ago in another attempt to take him down. What were they teaching this boy? It was time to stop playing around; he had more important matters to deal with . . . **

**Naruto back flipped and dodged a sudden barrage of snakes that came from the man's sleeves. He ducked under and moved to stab at Orochimaru, and felt so surprised when it hit . . . and then felt horrified when the body turned brown and crumbled.**

_**An Earth clone! **_**He realized. **_**Then, Orochimaru is . . . **_**cursing wildly he turned and saw Sasuke being pushed back and taunted by Orochimaru, every blow hurting despite Sasuke successfully blocking them, if Sasuke's contorted face was anything to go by. **

"**How weak you are, Sasuke-kun, I expected better!" Orochimaru chuckled, watching the boy try to land a hit on his person.**

"Bastard, they're just children." Rin whimpered, biting her lip so hard it started to bleed.

**Sasuke had just fallen to a seriously nasty kidney blow when Naruto jumped in front of him, grabbing Orochimaru's fist and landing a high kick to his shoulders.**

_**Kyuubi, I'd like to ask a favor. Your power is potent, it might be too much for me, and I'll lose my head. I need to keep a clear and level head if I want to stand any chance! Mind lending me some chakra now? **_**Naruto asked frantically.**

"It might be enough of a power boost to kick Orochimaru away and get the hell outta there!" Obito realized, clinging to some hope for those three children.

**The Kyuubi's answer was a feral growl and a sudden influx of power. At first he almost lost to the overwhelming sensation of Kyuubi's chakra, so warm and heady, but soon it died down and he was left feeling better than ever. Orochimaru's eyes widened at the changes that the boy had just gone through right before his eyes. His whisker marks had thickened and took a more jagged appearance, his eyes had turned ruby red, pupils slit, and glittering with malice and his canines had taken a longer, sharper appearance. Grinning at Orochimaru's surprised expression, he growled behind him, "Sakura, take Sasuke and run." **

"Stop trying to take him on by yourself and run with them!" Minato growled; face burying into Kushina's crimson locks.

_**The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki? **_**Orochimaru thought in surprise.**

**Naruto dashed to Orochimaru— but he was so much faster this time, with the Kyuubi's chakra. Orochimaru growled at the boy's show of skill, dodging far more of Orochimaru's hits than the man liked, and landing far more blows than a mere genin ought to.**

"Damn straight, Naru-chan, show him not to mess with such a powerful family legacy!" Tsunade hissed, finding some small celebration in this terror fest they suddenly were forced to read.

**Cursing, Orochimaru leapt back and shoved a hand far down his mouth, pulling out his sword, the Sword of Kusanagi. Naruto took out his daggers in kind, and the two met blow for blow. Naruto had the advantage with his smaller and more versatile daggers, though Orochimaru kept even with his years of experience in wielding the fine blade. Though he was taken aback at the volley of kunai that came for him, forcing him to bend back until his head touched the branch— and then he was really surprised when a wall of flame came toward him.**

"**Sasuke?" Naruto gasped, ruby eyes locking with a similar pair, which he now realized sported a pair of tomoe circling slowly in each eye. **

_**Don't freeze like some idiot, kit, run! **_**Kyuubi blasted the boy, growls rippling through Naruto's mind.**

"What Kyuubi said!" Rin shrieked.

"Wait . . . kit?" Obito parroted, a funny expression coming over is features.

"**Let's go!" Sasuke shouted, mirroring the Kyuubi's logic.**

"**You're not going anywhere!" Orochimaru snarled, suddenly bursting forth from a tree trunk and running toward them, a demented glint in his ocher eyes. Naruto growled and picked out two kunai with exploding tags attached and threw them toward the man, hands forming the Ram seal and detonating the tags right over Orochimaru, who had replaced himself with a log just in the nick of time. Enough time, also, to let Sasuke throw a flash bomb in the air and allow them to take Sakura and escape. Naruto pushed the two of them in front of him, not wanting to take any chances.**

"Argh, he is deliberately putting himself in harm's way!" Kushina sobbed angrily, roughly scrubbing away tears from her eyes so she could keep on reading.

"**Hurry, Sasuke, you absolutely can't let him get you. Sakura, no matter what, you get Sasuke to that tower and alert someone, got it?" Naruto ordered, nearly glaring at the girl until she gave him a timid nod, tears glittering in her jade eyes. His eyes softened and he gave her an encouraging grin. "Don't worry, Sakura, everything will be al—"**

**He never got to finish reassuring Sakura, because suddenly he found himself jerked to a stop, something grasping him in a restricting hold that nearly crushed his middle. Sasuke and Sakura were wide-eyed and fearful, but it was Sakura who recovered first and made to grab his hand just as he was being pulled back by whatever had a hold of him.**

"**NARUTO!" She screamed, arm stretching forward, hand desperately trying to grasp his and pull him back to them.**

"**Sakura!" Naruto gasped faintly, reaching for her hand. **

"Oh Kami, oh kami . . ." Tsunade chanted, hands holding fistfuls of Jiraiya's jacket and the Toad Sage himself grabbing onto the back of the couch, and hard if the creaking sounds it made were any indication.

Rin was sobbing quietly, muffling the tears behind her hand as her two teammates grabbed a fistful each of her apron, tense forms ready to spring at any form of danger. Kushina took a moment to catch her breath, and try to calm down her sobs as she put a hand to her chest, taking in deep gulping breaths. Minato rubbed her back, his own eyes showing the torture he felt at the pain of his loved ones. He reached hesitantly for the book.

"Kushina, do you want me to keep going . . . ?" he asked.

Kushina shook her head violently, jerking the book back from his reach. "No! I already wimped out on one chapter, I won't do it again. I'm the kami-damned Habanero _dattebane_!"

**But they missed, fingers only brushing, and Naruto was left with the sound of Sasuke shouting his name in his ears as the wind whipped his back, and he was ripped from them. He was suddenly right in front of Orochimaru, and he realized with disgust that it was Orochimaru's tongue that was wrapped around him like a boa constrictor, holding him in the air.**

"**Ugh, you nasty fuck! First that snake and now your tongue!" Naruto snarled, hands reaching up and his lengthened fingernails, claws really, sunk into the pink muscle wrapped around him. **

"Still rebelling any way he can." Rin let out a watery chuckle, brushing away tears that continued to fall.

"Don't blame him, that is totally disgusting." Obito agreed, voice rough and low.

**Orochimaru shouted in pain and landed a blow to Naruto's head, stunning the boy and forcing him to let go of the tongue, arms limp by his sides. Through the ringing in his ears and his sluggish movements as the Kyuubi's chakra started to recede, leaving him feeling the aftermath of such a rush, he saw Orochimaru perform a set of hand seals so fast he couldn't tell what they were. He definitely noticed when the fingertips of his left hand each suddenly had tiny purple flames though.**

"No! The Gogyo Fuin?!" Jiraiya cried out in dismay, the familiar name also prompting Minato to stiffen and growl viciously.

"What is it?!" Kakashi asked.

"It's a very nasty, very advanced chakra suppression seal basically. I won't bore, or scare you with the details so just keep reading dammit." He growled in answer.

_**That doesn't look good . . . **_**Naruto cursed in his mind, forcing his sluggish body to try and resist, to block the oncoming blow.**

_**If that's what I think it is . . . it isn't. For me. **_**The Kyuubi revealed, and Naruto only grew more panicked when Orochimaru laughed, a sound muffled by his tongue, and the tip of his tongue lifted Naruto's shirt to reveal the Kyuubi's seal. Naruto's legs kicked out in a vain attempt to hit Orochimaru and at least distract him, but Orochimaru had had enough. **

"**Gogyo Fuin!" Orochimaru hissed, arm shooting forward to make contact with Naruto's seal.**

**PAIN. It exploded upon Naruto, took over his thoughts, and overwhelmed his senses. It was such unbridled agony, that his vision blacked out moments before he did, and the scream that tore from his throat was almost inhuman. He suddenly felt weightless; when the world started tilting he realized Orochimaru had thrown him off the tree— and the last thing he saw before darkness took him under was Orochimaru stalking forward towards his two teammates. **

Kushina's entire form trembled violently, like a leaf in a storm trying desperately to hold onto its tree. And so Kushina was desperately trying to control her temper, the object of her ire not being there, but a room of breakable things also providing an interesting alternative. "He . . . he's hurt my child so bad." She choked out. She turned burning grey eyes, haunted and pained, to her love.

"He hurt our baby." She whimpered. The others in the room flinched at the sound, feeling the pain of the mother who couldn't help her son, even if it was in the future and hadn't happened yet.

"And he will suffer for it, I promise you, my love." Minato vowed in a fierce whisper, blue eyes burning and nearly subzero, two icy chips of hate. "Just give me time."

Kushina sniffled and took in a shuddering breath. She returned to the book, and with great reluctance, continued, her voice tired and breaking in her internal pain.

**When Sakura saw that man— Orochimaru— throw Naruto, her heart skipped a beat in cold fear. She had never even seen Naruto look mildly uncomfortable, and to hear that sound coming from him . . . that **_**agonized**_**, pain filled scream . . . she suddenly felt like nothing was going to save them, that they were going to die. It was only a reflex that had her throwing that kunai, pinning Naruto's jacket to a tree instead of allowing him to fall to his death. Sasuke trembled in front of her, and she thought about how she'd never seen Sasuke the least bit afraid or unsure . . . not even after the Uchiha Clan Massacre. But he was scared **_**now**_**, he was unsure **_**now**_** . . . he wasn't that glamorous dark knight she had always painted him in her mind to be— he wouldn't suddenly take heart and protect her, and honestly she didn't want him to. She saw him now just as she was— a child in way too deep, scared and confused and wishing for someone, anyone to come and help them. But no one would come, they were alone and their last hope was now dangling from a kunai, totally knocked out. **

"Kami, I can't even imagine what terror and fear she's feeling right now." Rin breathed, suddenly feeling bad for every harsh thing she'd thought and spoken about her over the course of the story.

**She was utterly terrified, and she **_**didn't want to die**_**— but she got in front of Sasuke with a kunai held in a defensive reverse grip. She wouldn't let anything happen to Sasuke, Naruto asked her to keep him safe. So when Orochimaru suddenly sprung forward, and— to her horror and disgust— his neck suddenly elongated and extended, his mouth opening to bare fangs, she wasn't ready to die per se, but she was ready to buy Sasuke some time to run for the tower.**

"Brave girl." Tsunade murmured, honey eyes filled with sympathy and sadness.

**She wasn't ready for the hand that pushed her aside— Sasuke's hand pushed her aside, pushing her out of harm's way. She wasn't ready to see Orochimaru's fangs sink into Sasuke's pale neck and some sort of black insignia to suddenly appear at the bite area . . . and Sasuke's **_**scream**_** . . . it was just as terrible as Naruto's, and she was just **_**so sick**_**. **

Jiraiya swore vehemently, his fist banging down on the back of the couch. "What sort of fucking monster has Orochimaru become?!"

**Sasuke fell to his knees, still screaming, and then abruptly he just stopped screaming and he slumped forward, unconscious but still in such pain. Orochimaru chuckled and looked down at Sasuke with satisfaction in his eyes. "Now, show me more of your power Sasuke-kun. You were good, but you can do far greater." And then, in a whirl of leaves, he was gone. **

**Sakura stayed for a long minute where she was, shivering and pale, tears streaming as she looked around. She struggled up on shaky legs, stumbling to Sasuke and picking him up with trembling hands, putting him on her back. She gritted her teeth as the weight of him nearly made her teeter over, but she persisted and managed to get down the tree, placing Sasuke on the ground. She looked at him, scared as he panted harshly, breaths sounding painful and shaky, whilst his face was covered in sweat, his cheeks bright red. She'd have to make sure to keep him cool once she found a place to hide . . . but first things first. She ran to the tree Naruto was stuck in, rushing up the trunk and using her utmost care to maneuver Naruto onto her back, even though the effort it took her was seriously draining. Dropping down to the floor, she placed the two boys side by side and wondered desperately how she was going to move them both. She patted her pockets and sides, hoping futilely for something to help. **

**She perked up when she felt a thin, long bulge in her weapons pouch. She took it out and saw it was a scroll, saying **_**'open for a little help'**_** on it. When had Naruto given her this? **

Kushina perked up a little at this, a tired yet fond smile quirking her lips. "Clever little gaki, even if he has no sense of self preservation."

**She didn't know, nor cared really, just grateful for the help he provided even now. She unraveled it, and there was a storage seal in the middle of the scroll. Placing it down on the floor she pushed her chakra in, and leapt back when a cloud of smoke rushed out. Out of the scroll came ten Naruto's, and she blinked rapidly, unsure how to feel about this. When the clones simply picked the boys up and smiled at her, she had to blink rapidly to push back the tears or relief in her eyes, and she muffle her sobs as best as she could.**

"Aw damn, how stupid is it that we're acting the same way and we haven't even been through what she has?" Obito laughed through his own tears, looking around at the sniffling Rin and Kushina, and the suspiciously glassy-eyed Tsunade and Minato.

"**It's okay Sakura, you did well. The other clones from before, when we were looking for Earth scrolls, found a nice cave. You can go there— we could probably risk trying to get you to the tower, but I doubt we have enough chakra to both get you there and keep you safe from any attacks." The clone told her.**

**Sakura sniffled, rubbing away the tears. "I— I think I should make sure Sasuke's fever goes down before I try to move him any further, but, I really just want to get to the tower." She whispered, unsure of what to do. She looked at Sasuke and Naruto, and thought about what she should do.**

"**Are you guys going to stay out here all the time?" She asked, needing to know how long they would be around for. She felt so much better, not alone, with them.**

**The clone that had Naruto, smiled at her. "We can be put back into the storage seal, don't worry. We'll get you to the cave, and if you need us after that you know what to do."**

**Sakura nodded immediately, striding forward to stand with the clones. "Okay, let's get to that cave." With a nod to each other, the clones leapt into the trees, Sakura taking forefront as she lead them to the tower with quiet determination. She glanced at the clones from the corner of her eye every now and then, and silently thanked Naruto.**

"Like a boss." Obito and Rin sighed, chuckling at the lighter demeanors of the others.

**They reached the cave after what felt like two hours, and Sakura was absolutely shattered. The clones put Naruto and Sasuke down, making sure they were alright, before turning to her with concern in their eyes. Sakura felt so ashamed, didn't feel worthy of those looks from Naruto when she had failed him.**

"You didn't fail; you're doing just as he asked now. No one can ask you to take on Orochimaru." Jiraiya mumbled.

"**I'll put up traps around here, so could you guys please go back into the scroll?" She asked, them, feeling awkward about commanding Naruto's clones. The clones nodded and promptly sealed themselves away, and then Sakura was just left with her two hurt teammates and an empty feeling. Slowly, painfully, she put up the traps and then dragged herself to the river that she spotted not too far away, drawing water into her canteen to wet a cloth for Sasuke's face. Returning to the cave, she started to work, trying her best to lighten Sasuke's fever. She worked through the night, making sure to check up on Naruto as well— who showed no signs of wakefulness or pain— and by the next morning she had never felt so absolutely miserable. She started to doze off by mid-morning, waking fitfully every few hours. She fished around in her pouch for some ration bars, and a spare chakra pill she had saved up for. Popping the chakra pill into her mouth, she swallowed it dry, and sighed blissfully at the feeling of her energy replenishing itself almost instantaneously. **

"That is very dangerous!" Tsunade intoned, eye narrowing at the obvious health violation.

"**I hope you guys wake up soon, I'm running out of ideas here." She sighed, replacing the cloth on Sasuke's forehead as she stared out forlornly into the trees. She tensed when she heard a sound in the forest, but relaxed when she saw it was just a squirrel. But then three ninjas stepped out of the brush and she quickly got up, palming a kunai and body tensed for an attack. There was one girl a little taller and older than her, and two boys.**

"**What pathetic traps!" a boy sneered, his hitai-ate showing a sign she remembered vaguely as being referred to as Oto. "Where is Uchiha Sasuke? We want to fight him." **

**Sakura leapt out of the cave and faced them, looking a lot braver than she felt. "You won't get near here!" She barked, kunai at the ready.**

"**If we can't get him out, then we'll just lure him out with your screams. You take care of her Zaku, we'll just get Sasuke." The girl giggled, and then they leapt at her. Sakura met them face on, and did her absolute best. They were better, more experienced— but she wasn't the Kunoichi of the Year for nothing! She was clever, smarter, and she had more on the line. She made use of the traps she laid around the perimeter and even managed to escape a major blow with Kawarimi switching near the boy that spoke first and pouncing on him, her teeth sinking into his arm. The boy let out a pained shout, and she leapt back before she could get hit, but that was then end of her lucky streak. Suddenly, she now found herself cornered by the two boys; with the girl behind her having grabbed a painful hold of her hair and forcing her to her knees.**

Kushina winced in sympathy. "That's the danger of having long hair."

Obito eyed her calf-length red hair. "Oh . . . really? I suppose everyone's just too scared to touch yours then."

"**Ha! Just look at your hair— so soft and silky, so well cared for. That's more than I can say for your physical conditioning! You spend too much time playing dress-up, and now look where it's gotten you!" the girl taunted her, hands tightening with every sentence. Sakura gritted her teeth against the pain, the words cutting into her more painfully than the hair pulling. That girl was right, she was weak— but she wouldn't be anymore! She wouldn't be a burden to her teammates, she'd get stronger! One day, she'd be able to walk with them as equals, this she vowed!**

"**I won't be weak anymore!" she cried, taking her kunai and roughly sawing at her hair, escaping the grasp of the girl as her hair was cut away; short, uneven, choppy strands surrounding her battered and bruised face. So . . . she'd gotten out . . . now what?**

"**Dammit Dosu, get her!" Zaku cried out in anger.**

"**Dynamic Entry!" a voice shouted out, before a green spandex and orange leg-warmer clad leg drilled into the cheek of the bandaged boy and sent him flying. Sakura smiled— Lee! **

"**Lee, what are you doing here?!" Sakura cried out in surprise.**

**Lee winked at her and sent her a thumbs-up. "There's no way I wouldn't assist such a beautiful young lady in such a non-youthful situation!" And with a determined fire in his eyes, Lee started to put the Oto nins through their paces. **

"Gai taught this kid remarkably well." Kakashi commented, an almost fond tone wrapping the words.

**With him, their chances improved and they were doing a good job of pushing back the team, but it wasn't enough after a while. Lee was hit with a weird sound jutsu, something that knocked out his equilibrium and set him back. Just as the Oto team were about to attack the knocked out Lee, Team Ten rushed in.**

"The Will of Fire is burning brightly for this generation!" Obito cheered.

"**Ino, get a hold of the girl's mind while I have a hold of him." Shikamaru gritted out, shadow pinning the shadow of the bandaged Oto boy in place, Chouji rushing forward to land a blow. Ino's body soon slumped forward at the same time as the girl's head slumped down— Shaikamaru moving over to hover over her body— perking up after a moment to smile wickedly. She took the kunai in her hand and bashed the ring end against the head of her teammate, but unfortunately that didn't knock him out, only hurt him and anger him. To add to that failure, the shadow bind Shikamaru had on the boy broke and he dodged Chouji's punch just in time. The boy moved back to face his female teammate, kunai coming out and poised at her throat, much to the shock of the Konoha genin.**

"Disgusting." Tsunade scoffed.

"He would kill his own teammate, not even _try_ to help her?!" Rin asked incredulously, horrified.

"**You would kill your own teammate?" Shikamaru asked quietly.**

"**If she fell to the enemy's jutsu, then she's outlived her use." The boy answered uncaringly, kunai pressing in to draw a drop of blood. The girl stiffened, her face showing the nervousness Ino felt in this situation. Shikamaru growled, thinking of a way to get the bandaged boy away from that girl long enough for Ino to get out of her body, when they all froze. A shuffling sound had come from the cave. **

**The shuffling increased in frequency, and soon it was the sound of slow footsteps. Those footsteps were revealed to belong to Sasuke . . . who looked so much different than the last time Shikamaru had seen him. He was covered in black marks, almost like waves in a pattern upon his ivory skin. His eyes were blank, the Sharingan blazing as he took in the scene slowly, almost leisurely.**

"It must be a curse mark, probably one of the experiments he did before leaving Konoha." Jiraiya said softly.

**Ino took this time to leave the girl's body and return to her own, and her body jerked up, eyes fluttering rapidly than freezing open in wide-eyed horror at Sasuke. With a nod to Chouji, and clamping a hand around Ino's mouth to be quiet, he hefted her up and the three of them headed for the safety of the trees, staying a safe enough distance away and yet still close to see everything. **_**Where is Naruto? **_**Both Chouji and Shikamaru wondered.**

"Good to see they genuinely care." Minato muttered, a small smile worming its way onto his face.

**Sakura was the last of Sasuke's perusal, and as he took in her bruises and haggard appearance, he asked her, "Who did this to you?"**

**Sakura's mouth opened and close, she gulped, before opening it again. "S-Sasuke-kun . . . are you alright?"**

**Sasuke looked down at his hands, clenching them in fists, and then slowly looking back up at her. "I feel . . . great. This power makes me feel better than ever. Better than I've ever felt my whole life. Sakura . . . who did this to you?"**

**Foolishly, Zaku stepped forward. "I'll admit, I take the majority of the blame for that. What are you going to do about it?"**

"Oh, you are in so much trouble." Obito said in woe, shaking his head at the miserable bastard in the story.

**Sasuke gave the boy a small, cold smile. "Kill you, of course." **

**Zaku smirked wildly, looking all too cocky as he flew through hand seals. "We'll see about that! Super Sonic Slicing Wave!"**

"**Zaku, no!" Dosu cried, but far too late, as a blast went through the clearing, shaking the trees and forcing Team Ten to clutch at their trees lest they be blown away. Zaku smirked when he no longer saw the two Konoha brats, but that smirk slipped off his face quickly when Sasuke appeared right behind him, Sakura leaning against a tree behind them. Sasuke performed the hand seals for his Katon jutsu, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Katon: Grand Fireball no Jutsu!" **

**The three Oto nins leapt away, the girl just barely making it as her full faculties returned. Zaku leapt to the side, confident that he'd missed the worst, when Sasuke reappeared right behind him and kicked him in the back, sending him flying. Zaku hit the ground hard, coughing, and he struggled to get up. He was just on his elbows when Sasuke's foot slammed down on his back, forcing him back down.**

"**You don't need your arms, do you? You weren't going to become Chuunin anyway." Sasuke said almost nonchalantly as he reached down for Zaku's arms and started to pull. **

"He never showed any indication of being that cruel before . . . it must be the seal; it affects you mentally or something." Tsunade guessed, frowning.

**Above them, in the trees, Shikamaru's face was twisted in disgust, and shooting an impatient look at the crying Ino. "What the hell happened to Sasuke?" he muttered to Chouji, who just shook his head, at a complete loss for the cause of such a change in attitude in the young Uchiha.**

"**GYAH!" Zaku screamed when his arms popped out of their sockets, but Sasuke kept pulling. He was really going to rip his arms off!**

"That's too much!" Rin cried.

**Sakura pushed off the tree she leaned against, and started to stumble over to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, stop! You don't have to do anymore, please!" Sakura cried, reaching out for the boy.**

"**The ones who hurt my teammates will suffer the consequences." Sasuke said coldly, pulling harder on Zaku's arms and increasing the boy's screams.**

**Sakura shook her head, starting to stumble into a run, when a figure sauntered out of the cave and stopped her cold in her tracks.**

**Sasuke was pulling once again on the Oto nin's arms when a hand suddenly slapped the back of his head, and in his surprise he dropped the arms. His head swiveled around to see Naruto, looking tired but smiling wanly, as he shook a finger at him. "Sasuke, you've done enough now. Why don't you get off him and stop using that despicable chakra?"**

"He's okay! He's awake!" Kushina whooped, the loudest of the cheers as Minato heaved a big sigh, hand over his heart.

"**But, they hurt Sakura . . ." Sasuke said blankly, the shock of seeing Naruto looking so injured and roughed up robbing him of his earlier anger. Unbeknown to him, the waves started receding on his skin, and soon vanished completely into the seal on his neck.**

"**Yeah, and you did your part. Come on, please get off them, I'm too tired to argue with you." To prove this, Naruto stumbled to the side a little, and Sasuke quickly grabbed a hold of his shoulder to steady him, getting off Zaku. Sakura rushed forward, putting Naruto's arm around her shoulder to help steady him, and he smiled at her.**

"He's really roughed up . . . I thought the Kyuubi's chakra would heal everything?" Obito asked.

"Yeah, if he could access it. But Orochimaru suppressed that with the seal he put over Minato's." Jiraiya explained, expression dark at the thought of his teammate.

"**Sasuke." Dose caught their attention as he slowly held out a scroll— an Earth scroll. "You're strong. Too strong for us to take on, so we'll make an exchange. Let us leave, and we give you the Earth scroll." He dropped the Earth scroll a few feet before them, and they realized that Zaku had started crawling away to his teammates, slowly beginning to stand.**

**Sasuke threw a look at Naruto, who just shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, get lost." Naruto waved them away, and the Oto nin departed, taking to the trees. Almost immediately after they left, Team Ten leapt down from their trees— Ino rushing over to join Sakura in fussing over Sasuke, and Shikamaru and Chouji moving over to Naruto.**

"**Damn, Naruto . . . you look beat." Shikamaru said in shock. He had never seen Naruto look even winded. And now, this . . . Naruto's entire posture just screamed exhaustion and hurt. Naruto chuckled, and even that didn't hold the usual vibrancy it did.**

"Poor thing, he put so much into that fight with Orochimaru." Rin fretted, heart aching for Naruto's pain.

"**I, uh . . . got my ass handed to me by . . . this freaking powerful dude." Naruto lied, not wanting to alarm them with the news that Orochimaru was in the test. He'd been long gone, Naruto was sure, now that he got what he wanted. Besides, he felt worse than he was saying. Orochimaru fucked him up seven ways to Sunday and then back to Monday. **

Everyone winced. "Damn that has to hurt. How can he even stand?" Kakashi muttered.

"He's not just an Uzumaki, you know? He's a Namikaze too." Kushina informed them, smiling when Minato kissed her cheek.

"**Naruto, can you keep going?" Chouji asked in concern.**

**Naruto nodded, though both boys tensed when he swayed back a little before righting himself. "Yeah, I'm good . . ."**

"**He's got his teammates to carry him if we need to." Sakura interrupted, going up to the three of them, eyes locked on Naruto's confused ones. She marched forward, not stopping, and surprised every one of them when she threw her arms around Naruto, face buried into his jacket as tears trickled out of her eyes. Naruto tensed at first, then settled down and returned her hug.**

"Aw, she was so worried." Obito cooed, feeling sympathetic to the girl, as well as approving of her attitude towards Naruto.

"**Thank you, thank you, and thank you!" She whispered. Sniffling, she released him and stepped back, glaring at him. "You baka! Putting yourself directly in that freak's way, getting hurt just so Sasuke and I could get away! Look at you, you're so hurt, and . . ." she sobbed, rubbing her eyes. "But thank you so much, that helped more than you know."**

**Naruto blinked, before he caught on to what she was saying. **_**Man, I am messed up if it took me this long to get it! **_**He realized with chagrin. Outwardly though, he smiled his usual foxy grin, though muted, and said, "Ah, I'm glad you found that scroll. Did you put them back or did they fade out?"**

"**They went back into the scroll. Naruto gave me a scroll, though I don't know when, that had ten of his clones in a storage scroll." Sakura explained, seeing the looks of confusion they got. Sasuke moved forward, expression brooding and closed.**

"**We need to move, we lost a lot of time after that fight." He said shortly. Naruto nodded, and turned to Team Ten with a smile.**

"**You guys need an Earth scroll? Take that one over there, we already have ours." Naruto offered.**

"**Thanks, we haven't gotten one yet!" Ino chirped, picking up the Earth scroll. "Whiskers, take better care of yourself okay?" Ino scolded, and Naruto snorted.**

"Whiskers? I didn't think they knew each other that well to have nicknames." Rin said.

"From all their other interactions, it would seem they weren't friends at all." Minato agreed, looking curious.

"**Don't tell me what to do Dolly." Naruto shot back. Ino and Naruto smirked at each other, and he realized at times like this it was easy to remember the easy camaraderie they had— when they wanted, and Ino wasn't being a hardcore fan girl— of being the only two blondes in the Rookie group. **

"Oh, of course." Kushina scoffed.

Minato flicked her nose in retribution, grinning at her yelp. "Can't help it if blondes have more fun."

"We blondes have to stick together." Tsunade agreed, smiling.

"**What are we going to do about Lee?" Sakura asked worriedly, looking over to the still unconscious boy. They all looked at him in thoughtfulness, when a voice cut through their musings.**

"**We'll be taking him. I suppose he got into a fight he couldn't handle?" A boy— a Hyuuga, Naruto realized upon seeing the eyes— with long brown hair pulled back in a low pony tail and his hitai-ate on his forehead said, and with him was TenTen. Naruto waved to her, and she waved back, looking at him with concern.**

"**Hey, TenTen, I'm good, don't worry." Naruto assured her.**

**TenTen sighed. "Yeah, I can **_**totally**_** see that. I better see you at the tower you reckless kid." Neji picked up Lee, slinging him over his shoulder, and with a salute from TenTen, they were gone again.**

"**That was rather abrupt." Ino mumbled, pale blonde eyebrow rising in confusion.**

"**That's just how they roll. And we better get going too." Naruto reminded them all. They said their goodbye to Team Ten, and they departed in different directions. Naruto and his teammates leapt through the trees at a reasonable pace, though Naruto could see Sasuke's tense frame showing he'd rather go faster. Well, tough— his body hurt with every step, and he was going as fast as he could. That damn Orochimaru had messed with his chakra control, he could tell, it was taking more effort to just tree hop than usual. Naruto scowled, **_**And I'm in the Chuunin Exams with fucked up chakra control . . . great, just great. Guess I'm just going to have to pull a Lee. **_

"**Can't you guys go any faster?" Sasuke's patience finally broke, and he turned around to glare at them. Naruto frowned at Sasuke's unusually short temper, and frowned even more at Sakura's timid response. **

"**Please, Sasuke-kun, we're going as fast as we can— we're all injured after all." She said meekly, a little scared of Sasuke after what happened in the clearing.**

"**Chill out, Sasuke, it's the second day; trust me when I say we've made good time, even if it is moving into late afternoon." Naruto shot at the boy, meeting the onyx glare with his own glacial glare. Sasuke snorted, and returned his attention to the front.**

"**Naruto . . . when we get to the tower I've got some questions for you." Sasuke said.**

"**If it's about that seal, I'm afraid I've got little to offer you, and I'm not able to perform a suppression seal for it well enough that I'd risk your life. All I can say is . . . that power is not the kind of power you want. It's rotting and corrupted, disgusting. The very smell of it makes me gag. Now, if you want to know about Orochimaru and what kind of bastard he is, then I can be of more use to you." Naruto replied casually, moving up a little ahead of Sakura but still behind Sasuke. **

"**That's fine then." Sasuke replied quietly, and the response was so normal compared to what Sasuke had been doing that Naruto and Sakura shared a little smile. They spent the rest of the trip in silence, and by the time the pink of the sunset had touched upon the canopy, they had reached the tower. They jumped out of the trees, Sasuke helping to steady Naruto when he stumbled and nearly fell.**

"**What did Orochimaru do to you?" Sasuke asked, not willing to label the emotion he was feeling as concern.**

"It's okay for men to care Sasuke, be true to your feelings!" Obito promoted, smile exuberant.

"**He fucked up my chakra, same as yours. Mine is easily fixable though." Naruto explained.**

"**So you can do something?" Sakura assumed.**

"He better fucking not." Minato snapped, surprising the room with his unexpected expletive.

"**Shit, no. I am nowhere near experienced enough with suppression seals to try tampering with any, especially this one. No, I mean, I'm sure I can find someone to fix it after the exams." Naruto said, inwardly cringing at the thought of even trying to tamper with the Gogyo Fuin and accidentally messing up the Fourth's seal. **

**They walked into the tower, Naruto being supported by Sasuke and Sakura even though he didn't really need it, but Sakura's teary look made him cave. When they entered they saw a banner with a riddle on it. Sakura eyes narrowed as she read it, and she looked to her teammates.**

"**We have to open the scrolls now." She said. Naruto moved up and took out his Heaven Scroll at the same time Sakura took out the Earth scroll. With bated breath, they unraveled it and Sakura at first thought that she might have been wrong, until Naruto started.**

"**These are Summoning Scrolls, drop 'em!" Naruto barked, throwing his to the ground, and Sakura was quick to follow suit. They jumped back to Sasuke's position, and waited for something to come out. Imagine the shock when Iruka popped out of the scrolls, at first with a smile and a wave, then horror took over his features when he saw how badly they were beaten up.**

"**Kami-sama, what happened to you three?" Iruka spluttered.**

**Naruto shrugged, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension. "Eh, tangled with Orochimaru, got the shit beaten out of us, then got ambushed later on. Can we take a nap or something man, I'm going to pass out in a minute."**

"Admitting defeat and weakness . . . like a _BOSS_." Obito said in a smooth tone, arms crossed as he made a cool pose.

"No, like the responsible kid he is." Jiraiya argued through gritted teeth, tired of trying to get them to stop with the 'Boss' thing.

**Iruka, still shocked, stuttered. "Orochimaru?! I'll be sure to report to the Hokage. For now, yeah, I'll take you guys to your room." He beckoned for them to follow, and they did, up a set of stairs, past a Canteen, and into a hallway where he opened a room for them and they trooped in gratefully.**

"**Naruto, get some rest and come out only when you feel rested, okay?" Iruka requested of the blonde, who was the last to get into the room.**

**Naruto nodded his assent, too tired to say anything. As the door closed, and not even bothering to check with his teammates, Naruto flopped down face first into his bed— and nothing had ever felt so good, so wonderful— and was out like a light. **

"My poor baby." Kushina sighed as she closed the book.

"Hey, don't look so upset— he totally survived an attack from Orochimaru, and he gave the dude some bruises to think about!" Obito rallied, trying to turn Kushina's soft frown into a smile.

"And now we get to see how he does in the Finals!" Rin chirped, joining in.

"Alright guys, either get some food or go rest up, that chapter was seriously draining." Minato said with a yawn, rising with Kushina.

"Who's reading next?" Tsunade asked.

"Oh, definitely me." Kakashi insisted forcefully.

* * *

**As always, read and review. Ow, this hurts . . . **

**Love, **

**Bloody Mad~ **


	16. Chapter 16

**Alright, everyone! This is gonig to be short so: Thanks for all the reviews, i heartily welcome the new people who favorited, and . . . enjoy the Semi-Finals done my way! This chapter was inspired by: My awesome first time at Halloween Horror Nights, Attack!Attack!, Simon Curtis, Arizon Green Tea, and a heart wrenching episode of Walking Dead. Please enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Naruto, only Misashi Kishimoto does. Also, i don't own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_C__hapter Sixteen_

_The Burning Fire of Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

"Okay, hurry and start the book, Kakashi!" Rin insisted, nearly shoving the book in the boy's face. He took it with a glare to his teammate.

"Okay . . . let's see, chapter sixteen . . . Kami, how many more chapters do we have to go?" Kakashi muttered incredulously, before starting to read.

**When Naruto opened his eyes, blinking slowly in the dimness of the room, he was happy to find he no longer felt sore or tired. He felt good as new, in fact. Pushing himself up on his elbows, he spied his two teammates also sprawled out on their beds. Like him, they hadn't bothered to freshen up; they had probably just fallen out a little after him. **

**Taking the opportunity to hit the shower first, Naruto jumped up and moved to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, the world was beautiful and new, he was clean and fresh in a spare jumpsuit, and Sakura and Sasuke were just stirring awake when he walked out the bathroom.**

"**Hey, guys!" Naruto chirped with a grin, holding on to the ends of the towel slung around his neck.**

**Sakura blinked rapidly, his cheery voice almost seeming to take her aback. "Naruto . . . you're looking better."**

"**Yeah, feel SO much better let me tell you, especially after that bath. Sakura, you should hurry up and take yours too, before the Uchiha-hime over here figures out he needs to wash his hair."**

"Ouch, burn!" Obito shot.

"Yeah, he's back to normal now." Rin laughed.

**Sasuke snarled at the same time Sakura's lips pressed together, obviously hiding her amusement. She scurried up, now starting to realize how bedraggled she looked— even if she had her moment of clarity in the Forest, one cannot simply just let go of a crush— and moved into the bathroom.**

Obito couldn't help but let a bark of laughter escape him— that's exactly what Rin did during the second chapter. Noticing the looks he was getting, he waved them away. Only Kakashi kept staring at him, a knowing glint in his eye . . . Obito couldn't help but smirk at him, and Kakashi reciprocated.

**Naruto chuckled and plopped down on his bed, swinging his legs up and crossing them. As he toweled his still damp hair, he peeked at Sasuke, who was lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. "You want to have that talk now?"**

**Sasuke's eyes shifted to him, surprised for a moment before regaining his cool. "Sure."**

**Naruto nodded, towel slowing down until he had forgotten his hair still dripped. "I'll tell you the basics of that seal, and what I can gather it does from a previous experience . . ."**

"Let's see how knowledgeable he is about seals." Jiraiya said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Minato leaned in closer as well, making the others giggle at his obvious interest.

"**Previous experience?" Sasuke interjected.**

"**Not my story to tell. Anyway, that seal . . . it's, though this will sound bad, a beauty. So complicated, so intricate, it'll take years of study to try and find a counter to it. It's like . . . a storage seal that only you can activate. Within that seal, is stored some of Orochimaru's own chakra, but it's been tampered with. It's a dark chakra, sick and rotting. To me, anyway— to you it probably feels like euphoria, a rush of such power so potent and unparalleled by anything you've felt before. It's the sun, and you're poor Icarus. Now, based on what I saw in the forest, this is triggered by your emotional state. I have no doubt though, that you could also will it into being, no matter what you feel at the time. I urge you not to Sasuke. I was told that it was nothing but a slave collar. In other words, it is a way to get Orochimaru to bring you to heel. Ask yourself if that power is worth the price."**

"Simplified probably for Sasuke's benefit, but all in all this sounds like a nasty piece of work Orochimaru created. I liked the metaphor though, comparing Sasuke to Icarus." Tsunade murmured, breaking the silent pause.

"The conjectures made were probably based off his knowledge of his seal, so all in all it sounds like my kid's got a good grasp of the sealing arts. I expect he'll be as quick in practice as he is in theory concerning advanced seals." Minato boasted, a surge of paternal pride warming him.

**Sasuke looked pensive, as he nodded to show he understood. It was silent for a few minutes, and in that silence Naruto could hear Sakura humming to herself in the shower. "Tell me about Orochimaru." Sasuke said.**

**Naruto hummed thoughtfully, head tipping back to look at the ceiling as Sasuke had before. "Orochimaru . . . was one of the students of our Lord Sandaime, Sarutobi Hiruzen, alongside Jiraiya of the Toads and Senju Tsunade of the Slugs. His own moniker corresponded with the snakes, he being the first person to have such a summoning contract with snakes in Konoha. The only other to have it is his ex-student, Mitarashi Anko. Anyway, he fought alongside Tsunade and Jiraiya against Hanzo, the Black Salamander of Ame, and so impressed them that it was he who dubbed them Sannin. Orochimaru was known as the prodigy of the Sannin, his brilliance unparalleled for quite a while— he was even suspected to become the Yondaime Hokage— until an upstart prodigy challenged him wit for wit . . . the man who would become the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato.**

"Upstart prodigy . . ." Jiraiya snickered, and Minato crossed his arms in a way that was almost petulant.

"Challenged wit for wit, huh? Man, sensei sounds really cool in the future." Rin noticed.

"Too bad we can't feel the same way; we've been with you for too long." Kakashi cracked, laughing at the man's accusing glare.

**I suppose that after such a blow, having a title you were basically promised snatched from you by a younger, cooler guy like Namikaze-sama that he started to get sloppy. You see, Orochimaru had a few dirty little secrets. He was a scientist you know, was fascinated with improving humanity to a stronger, greater degree. The only problem was . . . he had no scruples, no lines he wouldn't cross, to achieve such perfection as he wanted. It's rumored that he even tried to find a way to become immortal. Foolishness, in my opinion, but— the point is, he was found with his hand in the lab jar, all filled with human bodies of those young and old, women and children. I heard it was pretty sick . . . needless to say he hightailed it out of there, though I always wondered how jiji let him get away. To sum this up in a simple way: Orochimaru is one sick, twisted little man who never has good intentions of any sort, so it's best you avoid him and any mention of him."**

"To think he'd pursue a super soldier that far." Tsunade muttered, biting the side of her thumb anxiously. Jiraiya however, said nothing at all, the realization of knowing exactly why his sensei let Orochimaru get away a bitter pill to swallow, even now after all this time. Orochimaru was always the favorite of Sarutobi, something of a second son to the man— though he cared no less for Tsunade and him . . . he had always known it was different between Orochimaru and Hiruzen.

"**That's a lot to take in." Sasuke breathed, dark eyes narrowed and glaring at the area between his feet.**

"**Hm, that's true. It's okay, you have time, so don't overthink things or try and plan around this like it can be controlled. Anything coming from such a deranged man isn't a trifle matter— it's best to be wary, no matter how reckless you want to be." Naruto muttered. Sasuke glared at him, and opened his mouth to say something, when the bathroom door opened revealing a fresh-faced Sakura smiling contently.**

"**That was a wonderful bath . . ." Sakura mewled into her towel, rubbing her damp hair softly. Catching a long strand between her fingers, she frowned as she recalled her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Impromptu haircuts with a kunai did not translate to cute styles, just a choppy, straggly mess of what used to be her favorite feature about herself.**

Rin hummed in commiseration, just now noticing her right pointer finger that had wandered up and twirled a strand of hair around it.

"You're sensitive about your hair?" Kakashi asked, looking at her in mild surprise. Rin had never before made too much a fuss about her personal hygiene or beauty regimen around them, save the understandable instances when they came back from missions caked in mud, grass, and Kami knew whatever else.

"Oh yes, it's why I keep it so short you know? I couldn't bear anyone to pull it, my scalp's really sensitive." Rin answered, self-consciously patting her hair down.

"Hmph, the women who couldn't care about their hair keep it long, but the one girl here who appreciates hers and she cuts it down." Jiraiya reflected with amusement, seeing his teammate and the last Uzumaki look askance at their hair, light blushes on their cheeks.

"**How am I going to even this out?" She muttered.**

"**I have scissors; I can do it for you." Naruto offered. **

**Sakura looked at him dubiously. Should she seriously consider his offer? "You can trim hair? Is it your own?"**

"**Hm, occasionally, though I meant I could do your hair since I've trimmed girls' hair before. Katsu, my teacher a couple times before." Naruto chuckled. He could understand why she'd be nervous if it was just his own hair he'd done. You certainly couldn't tell if it was trimmed or not, and even if he botched it, his hair would probably still look the same, the damn spiky mess.**

"Hey— be proud of that 'damn spiky mess' you brat." Minato teased.

"Yeah!" Obito, Kakashi, and Jiraiya hollered.

**Sakura thought about it for a second before agreeing. She wasn't all that good in doing her own cuts and trims anyway. "Okay, thank you Naruto!"**

**Naruto smirked and took out a storage scroll. Unrolling it he searched for the seal he was looking for and said, "Just sit on the floor then, right in front of me."**

"Naruto!" Kushina sighed, exasperation clear in her voice.

"Kid you can't be so blunt with girls, their sensitive to honesty." Jiraiya lectured.

"Don't forget, your sensitive to my fists too idiot." Tsunade pointed out to the Toad Sage.

**Sakura blushed, barely restraining herself from shrieking at him— she knew he didn't mean to be perverted or insensitive to her feelings, but really, didn't he feel the slightest bit embarrassed at basically telling her to **_**sit between his legs?**_

**Naruto glanced up at her with a small smile. "If it's too embarrassing I guess we can just stand in front of the bathroom mirror." **

"So he knows, he just doesn't really care, except when he senses that they do." Obito noted.

**Sakura smiled and shook her head, as much to tell him not to bother as to shake herself out of such childish thoughts. They were ninja, not little school kids. "It's fine, I was just spacing out." She sat down, knees coming up to her chest and arms looping around them as Naruto adjusted himself on the bed. She felt hands in her hair, fingers gently combing through it. Sakura thought she ought to offer him the customary warning she gave every other male except Sasuke, but the gentle carding motions through her hair resonated through her and put her almost in a trance. She only just registered the 'snip snip' of the scissors as Naruto got to work fixing the mess she made out of her hair.**

"He's so oblivious it's cruel." Rin pouted, tongue poking out.

"But he's so charming you can't even really feel mad at him, or at least never for long." Kushina continued, elbow gently pushing into her lover's side. Minato huffed a laugh under his breath, but didn't respond.

"**So what are we going to do now?" Sasuke's voice made her open her eyes slowly (when had she closed them?) and Naruto paused for a moment in his trimming, before continuing with his answer.**

"**For starters, once I've finished with Sakura, and you've had a bath we will be getting some food. Then, we wait out our time until the next part of the test. Today's the third day, only two more to go." **

**Sakura spoke up. "Should we try and see if Kakashi-sensei can do something about the seals?"**

"None of the higher-ups will be able to interfere until either their fights are done, or whatever they're doing is over with." Minato answered, head shaking in the negative.

"Won't it be telling them to wait a month for the Finals sensei?" Rin asked, recalling her and Obito's own Chuunin Exams, the results of which were postponed once the war started. Minato-sensei did say though that they'd most likely get their promotions after some time serving in the war.

**Naruto shook his head. "No, first off he can't help us before a test, it'd be considered cheating. Though, I'm sure once Sasuke finishes with whatever we have to do, Kakashi will take him and seal off that hickey Orochimaru gave him."**

_Hickey? _They all sweat dropped at Naruto's cavalier attitude towards the curse mark.

"**Dobe, it's not a hickey!" Sasuke spat at the same time Sakura did a giggle/gasp. **

"**Sure, sure." Naruto soothed the boy's ruffled feathers, fingers fluffing Sakura's hair a final time. "Okay, all done!" Naruto patted Sakura twice on the shoulders, signaling her to get up. She did and moved to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she turned her head this way and that to see, and liked what she saw. Really, she didn't look too bad with short hair.**

"**Thank you, Naruto!" Sakura chirped, steps light and buoyant as she walked out the bathroom.**

"**Anytime— get a move on Uchiha, I'm starving over here." Naruto jeered, dodging the pillow thrown at him. When the door closed with a sharp snap, Sakura looked at Naruto with a worried expression.**

"**Naruto . . . should we really make fun of that curse mark?" Sakura half asked, half scolded.**

**Naruto leant back on his palms, regarding Sakura with an indecipherable expression. "It's only as bad as he wants it to be. Besides, you know he'll barbeque us if we start tiptoeing around him, trying to be considerate of his feelings. Maybe if we play it off, he'll see it's not a big deal and perhaps even strengthen his resolve to not use it."**

"**Sounds like a gamble." Sakura stated quietly.**

"**I'm good at gambling." Naruto confessed with an impish grin.**

**Sakura looked at him, trying to detect any ill humor or meanness in him, and when she couldn't find any she sighed and conceded— but then she spotted something strange. Just in time too, as Sasuke came out the shower cleaner and— deep, deep down— a better person for it. **

"**Naruto . . . were your eyes always like that?" Sakura asked, making Naruto blink in surprise and Sasuke swing his head around to see.**

"**Like what?" Naruto asked intelligently.**

"Alluring blue pools of seduction?" Obito mock swooned in a high falsetto voice, low enough for only his teammates to hear, sending them into a fit of coughs to conceal their snickers.

"**Your pupils . . . they're slit, not round." Sakura explained. Truly, Naruto's eyes had undergone a small, yet noticeable change. They were still the same radiant blue, but the pupil was no longer oval like any other person's . . . instead it had taken on the slash-like appearance of a slit pupil, much like any feline's or foxes. **

"That's strange." Kushina muttered, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"That ever happened to you?" Jiraiya asked her, frowning when she shook her head.

"You can see clearly that my pupils are the same as yours. They only turned slit once, the one time I used Kyuubi's chakra . . . I assume it was one of the marks of its chakra and didn't care much when it went away. For it to stick to Naruto like that . . . it means something." She answered.

**They weren't like that before. But Naruto wouldn't tell them that. "Oh yeah, they've always been like this! Can't believe you only just noticed!" Naruto laughed it off, saving it as a question for Kyuubi later . . . whenever he could speak to him again.**

"**Well, let's head to the Canteen and then chill; maybe catch up with whoever got in from our group." Naruto prompted them, coming to stand between his two teammates as the moved out the room and down the hall.**

**The next two days went by in a similar fashion, resting their bodies and preparing for whatever came up. Naruto tried only once to contact the Kyuubi, and never did so again— that seal had cut them off from each other perfectly. The silence in his head was unnerving to him now; he missed the presence of the Kyuubi that was always at the back of his mind. **

"He seems really close with the Kyuubi, it's kind of cute." Kushina spoke up.

"I don't know about cute, but . . . it's nice he's making an effort to be fair to all." Tsunade said slowly, deliberately.

**They were pleased to find that all of the Konoha teams made it in, along with the team from Suna Naruto always made sure to steer them away from, and the Oto team. Though no one made any sudden moves, there was a palpable tension as they all waited together for the next round of the Chuunin Exams, and so a big sigh of relief came from all of them when the fifth and final day had passed, and the next part of the Exam started.**

"Sweet, fights start!" Obito and Jiraiya whooped high-fiving each other, whilst Tsunade and Rin rolled their eyes heavenward.

**They stood now, all of the remaining contestants, all lined up in a large room with railings for the sensei and the ones not fighting to observe from. In front of them stood the Sandaime, serious and imposing, every bit the shinobi a man of his status should be. The Kami no Shinobi observed them all from under the hood of his Hokage hat, none of the kindness he was usually known for by his people of Konoha present at that time.**

"**Congratulations on successfully completing the first half of the exam. You've proven you've at least the will to make it to chuunin . . . but will alone is not enough. It's time for me to reveal to you the real reason for the Chuunin Exams, the first of many darker truths you'll uncover in this business." Hiruzen spoke, his gravelly voice akin to a bullhorn in the silence, though he spoke no higher than his regular tone.**

"I wonder how Naruto will react to it." Minato mused.

"What do you mean? Wouldn't he be excited to showcase his skills?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, he doesn't even really feel much loyalty or love for the village anyway. So the idea that he's being used to promote it, by basically being put forth as a prize, might not sit well with him." Kakashi, having caught on immediately to what Minato was saying, explained.

"**In actuality the Chuunin Exams are war games, a representation of the conflicts between all nations. It is also a chance for the hidden villages to show the best of their shinobi, who carry their hitai-ates with pride and strive to bring glory to their homes. Other nations, cities, all potential clients for our profession will watch the battles. They will make not of the stronger showings from the various villages, and the ones who bring glory to their villages will also bring in more clientele."**

**The Sandaime had more to say, but Naruto tuned it out as he shared a look with Sasuke, not amused by the underlying message of the Hokage's spiel. **_**This is a show, and we're the prize cattle at the Fairground, **_**Naruto summed it up with a sigh. It made sense, and if it brought the village more missions and commerce, and in turn put more money in his pockets, was he in any position to complain of feeling abused?**

"As long as the pay is good, he doesn't give a damn." Jiraiya chortled.

**He returned to attention when the Hiruzen cleared his throat. "Very well, I will . . ."**

**He trailed off when a jounin from the line-up behind him jumped forward, kneeling by the side of his Lord with head bowed respectfully. "Hokage-sama, please allow me, as the proctor of this exam portion, to explain."**

"**As you wish." The Sandaime allowed, and moved back to stand in front of his ninja, eyes sharp and observant.**

**The ninja stood up, and a vague sense of recognition hit him. The man was of decent height, bandana with metal plate attached covering most of his brown hair save for the bits that hung from it over his face, bags underneath his eyes alluding to is sickly nature.**

"That sounds . . . like Hayate." Rin guessed, nodding to herself.

**The man cleared his throat, and began to speak. "My name is Gekko Hayate, and I am the proctor for the third exam. We usually don't do this, but we find that there's a need to put you all through a preliminary round." The coughs that liberally interrupted his introduction made them all sweat drop, wondering if this guy was actually ok. **

"Aw!" Kushina groaned. "Preliminary rounds suck, just takes up more time."

"Poor Hayate never got over that illness." Obito sympathized.

"It's chronic for a reason, dummy." Kakashi reminded him.

**Mutters filled the air as the rest of them frowned at having to be cut for whatever arbitrary reason. "What? Why do we have to go through some troublesome preliminary?" Shikamaru asked in irritation.**

"**Like the Hokage said, people will be coming to watch this. Important people— royalty, businessmen, and we want them to have a good time, watching good fights. Ting is, the first two tests were too easy, and we didn't figure on having so many people remaining. We want the best fights, with the best chosen fighters— with that being said the preliminaries will start immediately so if you don't feel your best you can drop out now and it won't affect your teammates." Hayate explained. **

**At first there was just uncomfortable mutterings and shuffling— who would really give up now after all that? Nonetheless, a hand rose up from the line . . . a hand belonging to Kabuto, the silver-haired bespectacled genin they met back in the first test.**

"**I've got almost nothing left, I'm out." Kabuto said.**

"That'll make it the eighth time!" Obito snorted.

Minato hummed thoughtfully, but both he and Kushina shared a significant look with Jiraiya and Tsunade, feeling that there was something more about that Kabuto.

**Hayate nodded. "Always good to know your limits. You can leave now."**

**Kabuto nodded, and walked away. Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the turned back, and when he turned around again he caught Shikamaru's eyes and saw that the other boy had also found such an act highly suspicious. There was little that could be done about it now though, so they let it go and returned their attention to the front.**

"**OK, this marks the start of the Preliminaries. Listen up!" Hayate ordered before descending into a coughing fit. He recovered quickly enough though, and pretended like nothing happened as he continued explaining the rules. "There will be ten matches now since we're even numbered. The names of the fighters will appear on that screen at the top, while the rest will wait up there in the railings. All teams and sensei go on up and we can begin with the first fight."**

**The teams went up their railings, foreigners on the left and Konoha on the right. As one they turned to the screen to see names flashing by, before they stopped on the first two. Sasuke vs. Akadou Yoroi, a genin from Kabuto's team. **

"Come on, baby cousin!" Obito whooped.

"**Don't let him give you a bad touch, Suke-chan." Naruto said innocently, and Sakura snorted.**

"I just want to make one thing clear!" Obito interrupted with a sharp cutting motion of his hand. The others turned their attentions to them, but he turned his head the other way, facing something they couldn't see.

"We don't endorse molestation, assault, or rape, of any child, woman, or man." Obito said firmly.

"What the hell are you talking about, and who the hell are you talking too?" Kakashi snapped.

**Sasuke whipped around to glare at them both, before stomping down the metal stairs. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other sniggering, and when they saw Kakashi looking quizzically at them they bit their lips to muffle the laughter.**

"**Begin!" Hayate called, jumping back to allow them to fight.**

**The fight wasn't going too well in Sasuke's favor. The fact that he couldn't use his Sharingan without the curse mark getting in the way seriously hampered him, and Yoroi was actually quite the challenge. Add to the fact that Yoroi had the pesky ability to drain your chakra with just a touch, and Sasuke was facing a doozy. **

"Too much for a genin of only six months to handle?" Tsunade wondered.

**The fact that his teammates cracked loud jokes at his expense **_**did not help.**_

"**He can drain your chakra? Why does that sound like the perfect molesting power?" Naruto wondered out loud to Sakura, who laughed. She turned to lean over the railing and hissed at Sasuke, **

"**Sasuke, it's a trap! Run!"**

"Oh shit!" Kakashi snorted, at the same time Obito nearly swallowed his own tongue in laughter.

"The best friends can seriously be the worst assholes to you." Kushina reminisced fondly.

**Naruto and she both nearly doubled over in laughter, and Sasuke finally managed his first hit on Yoroi, punching his opponent in the face as he imagined his teammates laughing heads.**

"**I will kill the both of you, do you **_**understand?!**_**" Sasuke roared at them, dodging Yoroi's hands.**

"**You don't have to be a victim Sasuke!" Sakura continued. She fell to her knees trembling with her mirth when Sasuke glared at her at the same time Naruto cried over a stitch in his side, still laughing.**

"**Sing it Sasuke! The 'No-No Square' song!" Naruto howled. Kakashi snorted, practically smothering himself with his book so no one could see him laughing.**

"You can't even control yourself there Kakashi!" Rin giggled, slapping her knees as the Kakashi sitting next to her did the same thing with this book as the future Kakashi did.

"Oh Kami, remember that song?" Tsunade wheezed, waving her hand at Kushina to get the girl's attention.

"_Stop! Don't touch me there— this is, my no-no-square_!"Kushina half sang half howled as she doubled over.

**The other teams looked on in amazement, the jounin at seeing Kakashi lose his cool even slightly, and the other genin at the antics of Naruto and Sakura.**

**Seeing for what was Kakashi, outright hysterics, at his own predicament Sasuke finally snapped, glaring black fire at Yoroi. Panting heavily, he realized just how tired he was from his energy being drained so easily by those damn glowing hands of Yoroi, and he'd be damned if he was going out so easily. **

"**Lee!" Sasuke called, making the boy in question look at him in confusion. "Sorry about this, I have to borrow a move of yours."**

"Whoa! An Uchiha actually calling out credit of a copied move to the original user?!" Jiraiya gasped in mock amazement.

"I'm more shocked than you are, and I am an Uchiha." Obito agreed.

"**What . . . ?" Lee muttered, but he saw what Sasuke was talking about. Just as Yoroi extended his arm to once again grasp Sasuke, Sasuke disappeared. To Yoroi at least, but a few up top were able to see that he had actually moved incredibly fast, crouching below just in front of Yoroi, when Sasuke's leg uncoiled like a spring and snapped up into the older boy's jaw. Yoroi was sent flying, and Sasuke was quick to follow. **

"**Lion's Barrage!" One-Two-Three hits— each hit was delivered with punishing force, and then Yoroi's counter spin was used by Sasuke to spin around for another hit. Yoroi hit the ground with a heavy thud, and Sasuke skidded back as well, Yoroi on his back and Sasuke on his front. Sasuke got up though, when Hayate started counting down, and he emerged victorious.**

"Ooh, that sounds vicious! Way to go little cousin!" Obito cheered.

"That sounds vaguely like the Hidden Lotus." Jiraiya mused, looking to Minato for confirmation.

"**Woo! Yeah, Sasuke, that's how Team Seven does it!" Naruto hollered, fists banging on the railing. Sakura added her own cheers, clapping. Sasuke wasn't celebrating though— as soon as he was named the winner he immediately started running up the stairs and headed for his teammates with murder in his eyes. Sakura shrieked with laughter running behind Kakashi as a shield, while all Naruto could do was scramble back as he was laughing too hard to try and talk Sasuke down. **

**Ignoring Naruto's wheezes from laughing while being sucker punched, and Sasuke's own rather manic laughter, Hayate stepped forward after the medic nins had taken Yoroi and spoke. **

"It's so nice to see your cousin having fun like a regular kid, Obito," Rin said, ignoring the snorts from the others. "He's really lightening up from that avenger he was at the beginning."

"Well, I don't think he's forgotten or given up on it but . . . yes, I'm glad to see he's at least considering ensuring a life after his revenge." Obito replied.

"**We'll call for the next fight." Hayate started, coughing before turning to the screen.**

**Thankfully, Kakashi had hauled Sasuke off of Naruto, who was shaking on the floor. "Alright Sasuke, time to go."**

"**What? But I wanted to see the other fights!" Sasuke protested, straining against Kakashi's hold on his shirt.**

"**We have to take care of that curse mark now, or it'll be harder later. If you can make it, then we'll come back after." Kakashi promised, already knowing that wouldn't be the case. Sasuke glared at the man but relented and turned back to look at his teammates with a sullen expression.**

"**You won't be missing much anyway." Naruto appeased the boy.**

"**Yeah, and if there is something important, we'll tell you straight after we get out of the Forest." Sakura promised. That seemed enough to convince Sasuke, because he eased up on the sullen attitude, and turned willingly to Kakashi. Kakashi turned to look at his two students.**

"Aw," Kushina said softly under her breath, not wanting to admit the behavior of the little boy she _still_ (mostly) considered a little horror was adorable.

"**I'll be back . . . hopefully before your fights." And then he and Sasuke were gone in a swirl of leaves.**

**Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and sighed, turning back to the Arena. The second fight was just starting, and it was Shino vs. Abumi Zaku . . .**

"**That guy, from the Forest." Sakura gasped.**

"**Hmm, so he still went on with the Exam? Props to Oto for churning out such hardy bastards." Naruto murmured back, smirking at Sakura's scandalized look.**

**The match was, though boring to most of them, won in a true shinobi fashion that Naruto could appreciate. Zaku had only one arm to use, but the holes in his arms were special made for his types of attacks, and the one that he used called Zankuuha almost got Shino. Shino, though hurt, was still able to trap Zaku with his Destruction Bugs and giving him an ultimatum— kill them and get hit, or vice versa. Zaku tried using Zankuuha again to clear a way, but the bugs actually **_**stuck inside**_** of the holes in his arms thus rendering it completely useless, and making it a simple victory for Shino.**

"As expected of the Aburame— they don't waste chakra they don't have and make their wins as efficient as possible." Minato summed up, nodding in appreciation.

**The match after that was Kankuro, the cat suit wearing boy from Suna vs. Chouji, and the battle was the first loss on the Leaf's side.**

"Poor Chouji." Rin sympathized.

**Kankuro was too skilled with his puppet, and just when he thought he had rolled over Kankuro and knocked him out with his Human Bullet Tank jutsu, it turned out to be his puppet which had miraculously survived such lethal force with only a few chips to show for it. After shrinking back down to size, Chouji was captured by the puppet and had multiple bones broken before giving up, marking Kankuro as the winner.**

"**Haruno Sakura vs. Yamanaka Ino!" Hayate called, holding off his coughing fit until the very end. Sakura groaned at the same time Ino cheered, skipping down to the floor.**

"Catfight!" Obito leered, Kakashi wolf whistling.

"Kakashi that is your student!" Minato said in mild disgust. Kami, what if he acted that way toward Ri— NO. Nope, not going there.

"Student or not, you got to appreciate a good catfight." Kakashi staunchly supported his side, Obito and Jiraiya backing him up.

"**What? You can totally take her." Naruto encouraged his pink-haired teammate.**

**Sakura threw him a look mixed with shame, exasperation, and good humor. "You might have convinced me to up my training a little before, but she's not a clan brat for nothing. The Forest showed me just how much work I have to do, but as long as I'm here I might as well give it a shot. I didn't come into this exam with any dreams of actually making Chuunin."**

"It's still good to recognize that though. And, even with all that, who knows you might get lucky!" Obito shrugged.

"If she wins it won't be lucky— she'll be murdered by whichever more competent opponent she gets in the Finals." Tsunade lectured.

**Naruto smiled at her. "However, as long as you realize what you need to do, then everything should be fine right?"**

**Sakura winked, turning around to jump down to the arena and throwing him a victory sign. "That's the idea!" she called as she descended to the floor. Ino raised a brow at her rather confident entrance, a small part of her that wasn't overtaken by their rivalry proud of her once-friend for gaining at least some confidence from the shy, beaten down girl she used to know.**

"Ah, the classic story . . ." Rin realized.

"Excuse me?" Kushina asked, confused.

"Fan girl thing, Kushina-san," Rin waved it off. "Girls are best friends until Academy, the new wonder boy arrives and he's a total cutie! Then both girls— to their shock and horror— find out that they both like him and instead of trying to work out their differences, they claim that the other one can't have him, _the nasty bitch_, so they split and become rivals."

The males in the room blink rapidly, feeling unsettled by such cutthroat attitudes in females. The ladies, however, just nodded their head in acceptance.

"What? Why is that _acceptable_ to you women?" Minato asked, voice raising a couple octaves in incredulity.

"It's survival of the fittest." The three females said bluntly, not looking the least bit sad or embarrassed.

"**Ready to lose Forehead?" Ino taunted, throwing the old nickname Sakura was known for in the other girl's face.**

**Sakura's eye twitched, but she didn't go off as she once would have— surprising Ino, for no one knew as well as she did how the subject of Sakura's larger than average forehead was a sensitive topic for the girl. "Yeah, yeah. Gekko-oyabun can we start this all ready?"**

"Naruto's aura of _Boss_ has begun to spread to his fellow man. Let us rejoice." Obito intoned softly as he joined hands with Rin, as if in prayer.

"I've never hated a pair of adolescents as much as I hate you two." Jiraiya mumbled in agitation.

"**You're confident." Ino snorted. Gekko raised an eyebrow at the addition to his name. Chuckling, he called for the match to start.**

"**Begin!"**

**Sakura shot forward first, startling Ino as she had never gone first in a fight before. Sakura went for a high kick, Ino dodged, and Sakura spun around for another try. It went on like this for a while, Ino and Sakura— exchanging blows, dodging blows, and the fact that they rarely hit each other wasn't so much a sign of their weak skills as it was a show of improvement and training. **

_**Let's not hold back, Ino! **_**Sakura thought with excitement, a renewed vigor in her movements.**

"**Yeah, Sakura, show her how much you trained!" Naruto whooped.**

**Things got really interesting when Sakura started to gain the upper hand in their taijutsu battle.**

Obito and Rin whooped, and Kakashi furiously shushed them as he kept reading, eager to learn how his student fairs.

**Ino was starting to sweat, and so with a twist of her wrist she suddenly sent out three kunai, forcing Sakura to abort her attack and dodge— and suddenly Ino was right there with a fist sinking into her stomach.**

_**You've gotten really good, Sakura, **_**Ino thought fondly a softness in her eye that none could see before she banished such thoughts and concentrated on doing her best.**

"So why don't you just _tell_ her that?" Minato pointed out in almost desperation, still completely confused with the explanation given by Rin before.

"That would be breaking their honor in the rivalry, sensei!" Rin scolded, looking at him as if he ought to know this.

**Sakura leapt back, coughing, and Ino made to press forward when Sakura suddenly retreated with several backflips. Sakura came running forward again, creating three bushin clones.**

"**Such a weak basic jutsu!" Ino cried out, preparing to face the real Sakura. But something happened, all the Sakura's at the same time leapt forward, chakra seeming to come from each stomp on the ground— but that couldn't happen with bushin clones! Ino tried to avoid each one, but the smoke of the two popping one after the other confused her, and left her open for a vicious right hook into her jaw that sent her flying. Growling, Ino struggled up and stepped forward to address Sakura, who had now stopped some few feet from her.**

"Props for such a clever attack." Minato complimented.

"**You aren't the only one who's really trying to take this seriously Sakura! Watch my resolve!" Ino yelled, and with a vicious yank to her long ponytail Ino cut off most of it and threw it on the ground at Sakura's feet.**

"Psh, oh now they made this emotional." Obito snorted.

"On the contrary . . ." Minato said lightly.

**Naruto, however, sensed a bullshit call. "Wait, can she . . . ?" he trailed off, but Shikamaru heard and answered anyway.**

"**I believe that's what she's trying to do, yes." He answered, irritated with his teammate's impulsive behavior.**

**Down on the floor, Ino smirked and her hands suddenly came up in hand seals, seals which Sakura recognized, but too late! Just as soon as she had started to move she became still along with Ino, and both girls' heads dropped down to their chests. Ino tried to force Sakura to forfeit, but Sakura broke the jutsu at the last minute with an encouraging call from Naruto. Both girls shot forward, knowing this would be the last hit, and both managed to land a blow on each other, fists sinking into the other's cheek. They flew apart and rolled on the floor, eventually coming to a stop. Ino was down for the count, but it was Sakura who was still trying to stand.**

"It might be better to except defeat gracefully." Tsunade said.

"Fuck grace, we're ninjas! Except defeat with knock outs Sakura, nothing less!" Kushina rallied.

"**Come on Sakura, come on!" Naruto shouted, hands gripping the railing tightly.**

**Sakura chuckled weakly, arms shaking as she struggled up from her hands. "Come on, it can't end so stupidly. Draw from a double knock-out, if I could . . . just . . . stand—" Sakura fell to the ground, unconscious. It ended in a tie, and both girls lost. But they had to admit, Sakura's struggle to the very end was sort of impressive. **

"That _was_ pretty cool." Jiraiya agreed.

**Asuma went down to pick up Ino, and Naruto himself was going down to fetch Sakura when a hand stopped him— Kakashi had come back, and now he was bringing up Sakura. Putting her down, propped up against the wall, the two turned back to the arena floor.**

"**Your eyes?" Kakashi questioned.**

"**It's a long story. Sasuke?" Naruto returned.**

"**He was too tired from the sealing." Kakashi answered, and Naruto took it without too much fuss. The next match was starting soon, and it was . . . Temari, the girl from Suna, vs. TenTen. Naruto grimaced— judging by the fan, and Suna's most popular elemental affinity . . . TenTen was in for a rough time.**

The people in the room winced, knowing just how well weapons and wind mixed courtesy of their resident Wind user.

"It still might be possible." Minato hedged.

**He was right— the battle was rough. He cheered her on though, up until the end when Temari made a big mistake in his book. As expected, TenTen had only her weapons, and no matter how much she threw, no matter how fast or at what angle— they were all blown away with a careless swing of Temari's giant fan. Then Temari decided to end the battle in one swing, throwing all the weapons back at TenTen.**

"It was just her bad luck to go up against that girl— had it been _any other_ person she probably would have won." Jiraiya said, shaking his head.

**This was acceptable; a defeat was a defeat no matter what. But when TenTen flew up into the air, knocked out from a futon jutsu courtesy of the fan? Temari **_**did not**_** have to hold her fan up for TenTen to fall on. **

"Harsh!" Obito hissed at the same time Kakashi and Minato growled.

"She could be seriously injured like that!" Tsunade barked, anger lighting up her honey eyes.

**Lee moved immediately, plucking TenTen out of the air as he somersaulted and landed on the ground with TenTen safely in his arms. He handed her over to the med-nins when they arrived, and turning with a glare he made to attack Temari— but Naruto was already there, holding him back with Gai-sensei at his side to make sure they didn't do anything.**

**Naruto leveled a cool gaze at the uncaring smirk on the older girl's face. "Pretty is as pretty does, Temari-san . . . and what you just did was revolting."**

Rin snapped her fingers at the same time Obito drew back and hissed, as if he had been the one checked. "Burn . . ." Kakashi uttered.

"A good lesson for any girl, as well as being a good show of his mannerisms." Tsunade applauded, leaning back in her seat for comfort.

**Temari snorted, but didn't answer as she walked back to her teammates. Naruto and Lee did the same, Gai-sensei guiding them back with an uncharacteristically solemn face. This, Naruto supposed, was exactly the kind of expression you should be showing when your student almost had her spine broken by some Suna kunoichi.**

**Back up in the railings, the teams were awaiting the next battle. **

"**Naru Shikamaru vs. Tsuchi Kin!" Hayate hollered, hacking coughs following.**

"Come on, when is it going to be Naru-chan's turn?" Obito whined, flopping over the arm chair as he fidgeted restlessly, impatient to know how his sensei's son would do.

"It can't be much longer now." Kushina said uncertainly, just as antsy as Obito.

"**Is someone going to offer this guy some tea?" Naruto asked, nervously assessing the now fine jounin.**

"**It won't do any good— trust me, we all felt the same way years ago." Asuma assured him, while clapping his student on the back.**

"**Go get 'em Shikamaru!" Asuma grinned. Shikamaru grumbled in annoyance, ambling down the steps to face his opponent.**

"**Shikamaru if I think for even a moment that you're trying to lose on purpose I'll tell Kurohime to cut you off the list!" Naruto warned him, grinning at the slight flinch the boy made before returning to his usual slouch.**

"The list?" Rin echoed.

"I'm going to go ahead and assume the cooking list." Minato laughed.

Kakashi flinched in mock horror. "Isn't that a bit too much?"

"**Man, fighting a girl is so troublesome." Shikamaru groaned.**

"**So be a good boy and stand still so I can win, then we can just go on our way." Kin snickered.**

"**Let the match begin!" Hayate ordered, giving the two room.**

**The match was . . . interesting. The girl from Oto, Kin, used needles and bells in a clever manner. She threw needles with bells toward Shikamaru, who figured that she would throw one with a bell, and one without in an attempt to mess him up— little did he know she meant exactly to use all those bells. Kin threw more bells, which Shikamaru dodged easily, but then he heard a bell.**

**Shikamaru turned around, but there was nothing there?**

"Genjutsu?" Jiraiya guessed, intrigued by the attack.

**Kin threw a needle at him while he was preoccupied, but it was lucky that Shikamaru instinctively put up his arm and let the needle hit that instead. Kin then started moving the strings that Shikamaru hadn't noticed were connected to the needles, trapping him in an illusion. Shikamaru suddenly realized that it was a sort of genjutsu, but he managed to get out of it and dodge the three needles Kin threw at him. She tried again, but Shikamaru had her trapped in his Shadow Imitation Technique, and when he threw a shuriken, they both dodged— but Kin dodged straight into a wall, knocking her out when she hit it. **

Obito laughed. "What a lame defeat for her!"

"**Woohoo! Awesome, Shikamaru!" Naruto whooped, slapping the boy on the back as he passed them to stand by Asuma's side.**

"**Yeah, yeah . . . what a weird genjutsu." Shikamaru noted as he saw the unconscious girl carted away to the infirmary. **

"**Yeah, these new guys . . . the Oto nins . . . they're a surprising bunch eh?" Asuma noted.**

"**Yeah, but that style was kind of familiar though." Kakashi replied.**

"**Oh?" Naruto piped up. "Does it, perhaps . . . **_**ring a bell**_**?"**

Obito, Jiraiya and Kushina were the only ones to laugh at that, even if a part of them didn't really want to.

"Cute, son. Real cute." Minato deadpanned, looking away from the book as if it pained him.

"**That's hilarious." Asuma and Kakashi both deadpanned, looking at the laughing blonde as Shikamaru bopped him on the head. **

**A sound from the screen brought their attention back to it as names flashed through, about to show the next two contestants. It finally stopped on the next battle.**

"**Uzumaki Naruto vs. Tsurugu Misumi!" Hayate announced.**

"Hell yes, finally!" Obito and Kushina cheered, giving each other aggressive double high-fives.

"Shut it, let's hear how the kid does!" Jiraiya shouted, waving them down in their seats.

"**Hooray for me." Naruto murmured, pleased as he made to walk forward. He stopped when he felt a tug on his pants leg, and looked down to see a groggy Sakura, trying to get up. He helped her up, and moved her to the railing, where she looked at him and smiled.**

"**You better win, Naruto!" She warned him playfully, to which he answered with a blinding grin. Naruto hopped over the railing to drop down to the floor, crouching low when he hit the ground then rising smoothly and walking forward to meet his opponent. Naruto assessed the man, just as he knew his opponent was doing the same. Misumi wore round glasses, just as Kabuto and Yoroi did, a bandana hitai-ate, and a cloth covering his face. Everything else was standard . . . but there was a look in the man's eyes, as if he expected an easy victory.**

"Someone please inform him that he's being stupid." Kakashi said in a bored voice just shy of monotone.

**Naruto grinned with full teeth, showing his impressive canines to Misumi— **_**he'd be sure to change that opinion. **_

"**The match will now begin." Hayate called, jumping back to observe the fight.**

**Neither contestant moved, but Naruto spoke first. "Shall we start off with honorable decency, Tsurugi-san?" he asked, smiling politely.**

"He's probably going to have your infamous reputation with chivalry and manners, Minato." Kushina laughed.

"**Might as well, this match will be quick anyway." Misumi answered, and Naruto could just hear the smirk in his voice. **_**So, you're overconfident huh? I can work with that, **_**Naruto thought. They both bowed towards each other— not too deep to mean great respect, but reserved enough to offer their acknowledgment of the other. **

"Already picking out weaknesses." Rin giggled, feeling very excited as she gathered her legs under her, hands clutched tightly together.

"**Now, we shall begin, yes?" Misumi answered, attacking right off the bat. He ran forward to punch Naruto, who blocked it by slapping away Misumi's wrist, then jumping back. Naruto didn't go into his taijutsu stance just yet, but instead took the Academy's standard one. He would conserve his energy, and wait to see Misumi's habits before really getting started.**

"**Afraid, Uzumaki-san?" Misumi taunted.**

**Naruto smiled. "I'm the one waiting for you to get started, Tsurugi-san. Why should I get serious if you won't either?" **

"The wait and bait game . . . ah, a classic that never fails." Tsunade informed them with a knowing little smile.

**Misumi growled, rushing Naruto. All Naruto did was dodge and deflect the attacks, keeping a distance from his opponent. He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up without getting impatient though . . . **

"**Fight me like a man, Uzumaki!" Misumi snarled, his attacks coming faster and harder.**

"**If you mean head on, then that would be going against everything a ninja stands for no?" Naruto countered, benign smile starting to infuriate Misumi. He aimed a high kick to Naruto— and Naruto pressed his advantage. Like a striking snake he stepped forward, knocking the leg to the side and setting Misumi off-balance, and quickly sent a succession of punches to the man's middle. Misumi stumbled back once Naruto disengaged, also moving back, and he clutched his stomach as he panted.**

"First contact goes to Naru-chan?" Obito wondered whether Misumi's blocked hits counted as contact in this instance.

_**This damn brat . . . ! No more! I'll capture him! **_**Misumi vowed. He was suddenly put off from those plans when Naruto threw down a smoke bomb. Coughing, he tried to wave away the smoke, cursing himself for not knowing a futon jutsu.**

**Like Hayate on the floor, up in the railings, the others leaned closer to try and make out any movements in the smoke. To their surprise, a figure suddenly leapt out of the smoke— it was Naruto! Naruto had his hands in the now familiar (to every ninja in Konoha, that is) hand seals for the Kage bushin technique, his eyes closed in concentration. A clone suddenly appeared, and they linked hands, spinning once and then a Naruto— the real one, they think— being thrown up further. Another moment, and then a second clone came into being, and repeated the throwing motion, sending Naruto so far up that he reached the ceiling. Naruto stuck to the ceiling by his feet, crouching and looking down, or was it up in his case? The teams looked on in amazement as Naruto waited on the ceiling, watching the action below. They also turned their vision back down to the arena floor.**

"He's using the shadow clones to scout!" Kakashi realized, voice warm with approval.

"What is he hoping to learn while he's up there?" Rin asked.

"Any special attacks or weaknesses his opponent might reveal." Minato answered, intense interest showing on his face.

**The two clones had since sunk down into the smoke, and they were what awaited Misumi as the smoke finally cleared away. Misumi narrowed his eyes, believing one to be the real Naruto and another a clone, and feeling extremely insulted.**

"**Damn you, you think a clone is going to do any good?" Misumi snarled, shooting forward with his palms glowing blue, aiming to shut down the function of Naruto's limbs. The clones dodged and attacked in a pattern. While they would both dodge and try to get in to Misumi's guard, after a while one would ease up, and when it seemed that Misumi had forgotten about it the clone would suddenly come in with a sweep to his legs or a hit to his kidneys. It didn't always work, but it kept Yoroi on his toes and the few times it did work enraged the man greatly. Finally, he managed to catch "Naruto" in his grasp— and it was then that he revealed his secret.**

"Ah, it worked!" Rin gasped.

"Of course, and his kage bushins angering him to near distraction also helps greatly." Kushina told the girl, smile fond and indulgent, enjoying hearing of her precious son's battle.

**The clone that wasn't caught leapt away, unable to help his brother as the opponent had him in a chokehold. Then, Misumi's body suddenly . . . contorted. It seemed like his limbs, no his entire body, suddenly got longer, and his arms and legs wrapped around Naruto, with both wrapped around the boy's neck.**

"Eugh, another Orochimaru?!" Obito whined, shuddering at the thought.

"Too soon, too soon, don't mention _that_ in front of me!" Kushina wailed, tearing up. Minato hugged her closely, glaring sharply at the sheepish Obito.

"**Wha . . . what a strange ability, Tsurugi-san. A bloodline of some sort?" Naruto rasped out, the part of Misumi's arm that was wrapped around his neck constricting almost painfully.**

"**I am able to unlock my joints, twisting myself around my opponent, and in position to do anything I want to do . . . now, if you give the slightest hint of trying anything clever to defeat me . . . I'll snap your neck like a twig!"**

"Kabuto's teammates seem to specialize in medic jutsu, or some special ability with their body." Tsunade recalled, finger tapping her cheek absentmindedly.

"Which might mean that Kabuto also is a medic of at least proficient standards . . . now, how that all adds up with his suspicious behavior and knowledge of the opponents is something we need more information on." Minato continued, eyes darkening to sapphire as he catalogued the information.

**Naruto, despite his strained expression, grinned innocently. "Now, why would I do that?" he fingers twitched. Misumi's arms twitched to, and Naruto's neck snapped audibly, making his friends flinch. They breathed sighs of relief, overpowered by Misumi's enraged shout, when with a burst of smoke Misumi realized it was a clone he had just "killed."**

"**So, you must be the real one then!" Misumi snapped, glaring at the one now standing before him, spinning a kunai around nimble fingers. **_**That was a kage bushin wasn't it? How the hell does this kid know such a technique! **_**He tried to answer his own question, but his thoughts were scrambling for a way to win.**

"**What will you do about it if I am?" The clone questioned, grinning. Misumi growled and— well, the clone couldn't describe it in any other way but slither towards him, and fast too. Jumping away, the clone concentrated and with a grunt of effort managed to create two other shadow clones. The three of them darted forward, and their dance with Yoroi began.**

**Sakura could hardly take her eyes away from it all— the nearly careless way the clones dodged, occasionally chuckling or offering a comment meant specifically to needle Misumi, and to make him lower his guard. She wouldn't have even blinked if it weren't for sensei's hand on her shoulder and his lazily interested voice. "I think, Sakura, that the real action is happening on the ceiling."**

**Sakura raised her head, and from the corner of her eye saw the message being passed down by word of mouth so that other heads quickly craned upwards. Everyone in the building, with the exception of the ones fighting, was looking up quizzically at the real Naruto fiddling around with something up there. Every now and then, he'd throw a kunai to a clone down below, until every one of them carried one, the clones making sure to distract Misumi from noticing the weapon's descent so that he wouldn't see Naruto up above. Naruto was still above, doing something to the kunai that they couldn't see. He seemed to finish later, as he looked down and saw that everyone was looking up at him. He smiled and waved, then pointed down to the fight below and mouthed, **_**"Watch it." **_

"A deadly ninja and a showman all wrapped up in one." Jiraiya chuckled. They all leaned forward in eager anticipation, wondering exactly what Naruto was doing.

**Giggling in anticipation, Sakura looked down, eagerly searching for whatever it was Naruto was looking for. For a few minutes nothing much happened except for Naruto's clones baiting a now furious Misumi— until suddenly a clone leaped high into the air and whistled— a long, high, excited sound that immediately put Sakura on alert.**

**And what happened next was, even years down the road, still a confusing jumble to her.**

**Suddenly kunai wrapped around the railings in front of them, three on each side— the clones threw their kunai and she suddenly saw what it was Naruto had done to those kunai— ninja wire were on them! The clones threw their kunai up, around, over and under— and above, Naruto was steadily adding more wire, creating a tightly contained area, until he cut off chakra to his feet and fell down, slowly flipping until he was right-side up, and then he landed on a single, taught wire that rose above the rest of the tangle of wires he had created.**

"It sounds like a wire cage!" Kushina squealed, hands clapping together quickly in excitement, like a child in a toy store.

"Oh! He's trapped Yoroi, right?!" Obito asked, looking for confirmation as he nearly vibrated in excitement.

"When you say that, then, it seems more like a spider's web, right?" Kakashi pointed out, before shushing them and returning to reading.

**Caught in the middle, wires wrapping around his body, his arms and legs, neck and hands and feet— Misumi struggled as much as he dared without hurting himself.**

"_**Don't strike the fly! He wrings his hands! He wrings his feet!**_**" Naruto quoted, looking dispassionately at Misumi. "A fitting haiku, in your case Tsurugi-san, by an old master named Issa."**

"Ah, a literary connoisseur?" Tsunade said loftily, a smile brightening her features as she chuckled softly, amused at the intentional dig made craftily by the young boy.

"Naruto's the spider, waiting to prey on his freshly caught fly." Rin mused, feet tapping on the floor.

**Naruto smiled at Misumi, walking forward with a grace that many females in the room envied him for, and on just a single wire too! Naruto slowly moved over to just a little in front of Misumi, looking down at him with an amused smile. He lifted up his hands, fingers splayed to show the metal strings wrapped around his fingers like puppet strings— the strings in the tangle he had created all connected to his hands.**

"**I do enjoy when an enemy takes the time out of his busy schedule to enlighten me as to his secret attacks and how they work . . . it's so considerate of them to inadvertently offer a second chance to defeat them." Naruto murmured, and Misumi cursed as he remembered his folly.**

"Yeah . . . why do we do that?" Obito asked, looking confused.

Only Minato snorted, looking smug as the rest of his companions merely looked stupefied. "You mean to say, why do _you_ guys do that?"

"Hey, we don't do it either! It's just our enemies . . . for some strange reason." Tsunade claimed, Jiraiya and Kushina nodding furiously in support.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I would, however, like to go on with the story." Kakashi put his piece in testily.

**You look a little confused, Misumi. I'd help you out, but . . ." Naruto flexed his fingers the tiniest bit, making the wires move enough to catch the lights above them and shine for all to see. **

"**What the hell is this?!" Misumi bit out, fighting back his trepidation. Naruto smiled, nodding his head as if Misumi had said something incredibly smart.**

"**Oh, it's a little something I thought up— my teammate, you see, he's very good with ninja wire. I asked him for a few pointers, as I thought they'd be pretty good weapons. Certainly, they don't pop up in your mind when you think of viable weapons, but . . . I wanted to see if it was possible to do so, to make an effective attack out of it. This is, Ninja Art: Spider's Web. And you, my good sir, are the fly caught in the web. I believe you know what must be done now."**

"_Whoa, that's so cool!"_ Obito and Rin gasped together. They looked at each other, before pausing, and then turning expectantly at the adults.

Minato and Kushina grinned at each other as they knew exactly what the kids wanted. Turning to stare dead on at Obito and Rin, they drawled in unison,

"Like a _Boss_."

Obito and Rin whooped ecstatically, fist pumping as Jiraiya merely hung his head at the stupidity of it all.

"**I must escape and kill you!" Misumi answered, struggling wildly. His movements resonated throughout the web, the entire thing vibrating. Naruto shook his head. "Tsk, tsk Tsurugi-san. You mustn't move too much, you see— I might lose my balance, and then you . . ." he playfully swayed from side to side, as if her were about to fall, and as he moved he waved his fingers up and down. The movements corresponded with the tightening and loosening of the wires around a different area of Misumi's body each time, making the man freeze. "You might just lose your life, you see?" Naruto finished, head cocked to the side as an innocent smile played across his lips.**

"He might like playing with his enemies a little too much. Think that'll get him hurt in the future?" Tsunade asked.

"Nah!" Minato, Jiraiya and Kakashi denied, shaking their heads.

**Misumi opened his mouth to say something, but only a choking sound came up when Naruto's middle fingers curled inwards, tightening the wires around Misumi's neck almost to the point where blood was drawn. "Tsurugi-san, I don't think you understand the position your in." Naruto began lightly, starting to walk around. He hopped onto other wires when he had no more room to move, always circling around Misumi, the latter nervously watching the strings in the boy's hands . . . just as his fate was in his hands.**

"**You have only two options before you, Tsurugi-san. You can struggle and I kill you— for my amusement. Or you play it safe and forfeit— for my respect." Naruto stopped just behind Misumi, noticing the tension in the line of his shoulders.**

"**You bastard . . ." Misumi growled, the aggressive sound cut off with a pained gurgle when Naruto tightened the wires around his neck and hands.**

"**You won't really be needing those hands anymore . . ." Naruto mused, pinky and thumb moving further up as the wires tightened around the trapped man's hands, blood starting to well up from the thin slices. Misumi screamed in pain as he felt the wires bite deeper and deeper into his hands . . . they'd be ruined if he didn't stop!**

"Hoo, boy, he sure doesn't play around for long though." Obito muttered warily, reminding Tsunade of her earlier question.

"**Dammit, stop!" Misumi shouted, fear, pain, and anger mixing in his voice.**

"**This can all stop, Misumi. Just say those few little words." Naruto coaxed, voice honeyed and smooth as he smiled at the sight of Misumi barely restraining himself from writhing.**

"He's enjoying this a little too much." Rin said, looking a little nervous.

Kushina sighed impatiently, feeling a spark of irritation at their wondering expressions. "Excuse him if he can't help a little predatory amusement, seeing as he has a giant ass demon inside of him that destroys villages faster than you can sing a Christmas carol."

"Oh, yes . . ." Rin winced, the others also feeling a little chastised, "sorry, Kushina-san."

"**I forfeit!" Misumi screamed, Naruto now working on his calves. "I forfeit the match!"**

"**Wonderful." Naruto chirped, all the wires going slack around Misumi and allowing the now limp body to fall heavily to the ground.**

"**The winner of the match is Uzumaki Naruto. Uh, Naruto . . . the med-nins are going to need to get Misumi, and we still have two more matches to go . . . mind cleaning this up?" Hayate asked, motioning to the wires.**

"**Sure, let me just get Misumi out of here . . ." Naruto trailed off, the effort to put his chakra into the wires nearly taking all of his will and effort. **_**Damn snake bastard messing with my chakra control . . . **_**Naruto grumbled in his mind as he eventually maneuvered the wires around Misumi's body to lift him, and swing him out the web. His body collapsed outside the web a few feet from it, and the med-nins carted him away with only a few looks back to Naruto's creation.**

"I'm more and more impressed!" Kushina sighed.

"**I'm going to need you guys to do me a favor. Can you unwind the kunai for me? I don't have the control to do it myself at the moment . . . thanks." Naruto launched himself into the air after jumping on the wire he stood on. Once the kunai had all been loosened, he suddenly closed his fingers into a fist quickly, and with a few more flips in mid-air, the wires all flew to him. Somehow, inexplicably, when Naruto landed in a slightly coiled crouch, the wires were now all looped and orderly, his arm holding them up. **

"Show off!" Tsunade muttered, throwing a playfully dirty look at an innocent looking Minato.

"**Show off!" Kiba called out. Naruto looked over his shoulder at the boy and smiled cheekily. When Naruto got up to the railings again, he was given an approving nod by Kakashi and a quick, tight hug from Sakura.**

"**Thanks for the scout trick, sensei!" Naruto said brightly to the older man, who merely ruffled his hair, eye scrunched up in a smile.**

"Oh, so that's your habit he picked up Kakashi?" Minato asked, eyeing his student with approval.

"Huh, I wonder when I learn that . . . pretty useful." Kakashi thought out loud, secretly pleased by Minato's approving expression, but trying hard not to show it.

"**That was so cool, Naruto!" Sakura chirped, and Naruto laughed.**

"**Sure, sure. But it was tough, my chakra control is still totally wacked from the Forest." Naruto replied. Catching Shikamaru's eye, the boy gave him a smirk, to which Naruto responded with a fanged smile of his own. "Come on, let's see the next match!" Naruto said, looking forward to the arena. **

"**The next match is between: Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji!" Hayate called, and the reactions of the two contestants were rather strange. Hinata flinched, and Naruto suddenly saw her regress into the painfully shy girl from Academy— bowed posture and all. Neji, however, merely stiffened up a moment before relaxing and looking as if he expected this. As Neji started walking down to the arena, Naruto stopped Hinata before she could go down the stairs.**

"Oh, it must be the whole . . . main family, branch family feud." Obito guessed, recalling vaguely a few details from the contemptible whispers of the Uchiha family in regards to the rival Hyuuga.

"But it seems like Hinata doesn't want anything to do with it." Rin mused.

"**Hinata!" Naruto called, making the girl perk up and turn around. "I saw that . . . don't give me that look, I saw you! Whatever it is, don't let it drag you back down. We worked far too hard for that." Naruto winked, and Hinata suddenly brightened. She knew when he said 'we' . . . he meant, not just the two of them, but Katsu as well . . . her best friend. For them, she wouldn't be that stuttering Academy outcast, too painfully shy and scared to speak up! **

"Ah, the power of friendship!" Obito sniffed. He turned to his silver haired teammate, "Kakashi, you—"

"No." Kakashi cut him off flatly.

"Damn." Rin said in the awkward pause between the two, Obito sniffling pathetically as Kakashi looked ahead with a stony expression.

**Back straightening and eyes wary but sure, she walked down to the arena. Kurenai and her teammates watched this with well-hidden surprise, unused to seeing the girl so at ease near any of her family members. Even Neji showed some surprise, but his eyes narrowed and Naruto could swear he saw a flash of anger play across the other boy's face before it returned to his emotionless mask.**

"**The match will now begin." Hayate called, jumping back to give the two fighters room. Both of them, at the exact same time, slid into a stance that Naruto recognized from the many bouts in the Academy— the Hyuuga's signature style, Jyuuken. A flowing style made specifically for their bloodline limit, as well as their superior chakra control to attack their opponents chakra systems.**

"Annoying." Obito grunted, recalling too many instances against a Hyuuga where he ended up on his back, backside and pride stinging.

"**Hinata, you should give up." Neji declared suddenly, and the only indication that Hinata had heard him was a slight tensing up briefly in her shoulders. "Fate has decreed that I will be victorious today."**

"What a lovely reason." Kushina snorted.

"**Neji-nii-san . . . we live in the same house. I've heard your talk of fate, and for one stupid moment I had believed myself to be spared of it since we're supposed to be fighting. I should have realized you'd try such a tired tactic." Hinata said, voice smooth and sure. Neji's eyes widened. **_**Who was this person in front of him . . . ? Hinata would never be so bold! **_**He thought, anger coursing through him, but never showing on his face.**

"HOT DAMN!" Obito shouted, hand to mouth like he had just heard something scandalous.

"Someone put on their big girl pants." Tsunade said, with eyebrows raised in admiration.

"**Hot damn, that a girl Hinata!" Naruto cheered, Kiba echoing similar sentiments as they delighted in the sudden show of a backbone by their friend. **

**Neji's eyes narrowed. He'd show them all just how weak the main house was. It was only a matter of time, and if it was Fate's bidding— nothing could stop it.**

"He's got a _serious_ grudge against the main house." Jiraiya observed.

"**A false bravado won't help you in this battle." Neji said calmly, eyes activating.**

"**Neji-nii . . . if anything helps you win this match, it is your admittedly prodigious talent with the family's style. To call in such a fickle force is fate is insulting not only to you, but to our ancestors and to me." Hinata answered back, her own eyes forming the characteristic veins around them as she activated her Byakugan in turn. **

**As one, they moved forward. It would almost be ignorant to call it a battle— it was so much more. It was, Naruto thought, a dance— choreographed and fluid . . . smooth and deadly, like brandy laced with absinthe. The sound of palms slapping together as Hinata batted away Neji's attempts to stop her. Flashing blue palms made glowing designs in the air that stayed only for a millisecond, but could be seen in the back of your eyelids— the two opponents danced around each other, with each other, and against each other. Truly, the Jyuuken was so beautiful it almost distracted you from its deadliness. **

**But, things didn't stay that way. Neji soon showed the "prodigious talent" Hinata had mentioned earlier. Soon, he started pushing Hinata back, who for her part merely grit her teeth and tried not to give her cousin any more ground.**

"Oh, no, don't let him be right Hinata!" Obito and Rin cried, wringing their hands.

"**Come on, Hinata, don't let him get you!" Naruto called from up top, still encouraging her.**

_**Really trying not to, **_**Hinata thought with a grimace. It was just damn hard— her cousin trained hard, and his talent furthered him than she could get with her own training, hampered not only by her, until recently, low self-esteem and meager will, but by the contempt and abandonment of not just all of her family, but by her own father and sister. It was hard to do it all by herself, but she saw now . . . no, she had seen it before. How far just pure will could get her. Look at Naruto! Look how far he had come . . . but she didn't have his iron-clad will and endless belief in himself— not yet. That would take more work on her part.**

"She seems to be the black sheep of her family." Obito noted with a grimace, empathy filling him for the poor girl.

"She's kind— you could even call her soft hearted . . . no, she isn't a typical Hyuuga at all. But for her family to just, shun her like that!" Kushina growled, punching a pillow beside her in frustration.

**A pain in her right arm made her snap back to the match, cursing herself for letting her thoughts wander as she jumped back. Looking down, she was dismayed to find her arm not responding to her . . . Neji had blocked the tenketsu points!**

"**Just as I said, Hinata . . . you cannot win." Neji pointed out, observing her with the same cold, assessing eyes she had to face constantly back home. The look he gave her filled her throat with bile— she swallowed heavily, panting harshly as her energy was severely drained. **

**She would lose. She knew that.**

"**I'll make you work for it." She promised in a low voice, charging at him. **

"That's the way; don't make it easy for him!" Jiraiya encouraged, the others shouting out similar cheers.

**The unexpected full frontal stunned Neji for a second— no Hyuuga attacked outright— but he wasn't the Rookie of his Year for nothing. He met her blow for blow, and felt anger nearly blind him the more she continued to fight, despite the hits he landed, despite the fact that her Fate had been decided. Snarling lightly under his breath, he suddenly applied a burst of speed, startling Hinata.**

**Neji smirked. She'd pay for that.**

**Neji knocked her arms out from her center, leaving her body wide open for a hit. Her eyes widened when he landed a hit right on her chest. She coughed up blood, flying back to land heavily on the ground.**

"Foul!" Obito howled.

"He's done serious damage with that blow." Tsunade muttered, honey brown eyes hardening to ice chips at the unnecessary force displayed. If he was so good, he could have found a way . . .

"**Hinata!" Naruto cried, gripping the railing. Beside him, Sakura gasped in alarm.**

"**Dammit, Neji, you bastard, you didn't have to hurt her like that!" Kiba snarled, being restrained by his sensei, who also glared at the branch-member Hyuuga.**

**Hinata coughed, pain blooming through her chest. Still, she tried to get up. Neji saw this, and so angered was he that he charged forward, intent on landing a blow to her heart.**

"Where's Hayate?! Why isn't he calling the match?" Kakashi asked, forcefully hitting the pages with the back of his hand.

**He was suddenly stopped short, scrambling back just in time to see a dagger fly past his nose. Naruto crouched low over Hinata, snarling body protecting her now limp form, daggers held out in defense. Around them were several jounin. Neji's own sensei, Gai, was holding the youth by his shoulder, grip impossible to shake off.**

"That's right, show him how we help out our friends Naru-chan!" Kushina shouted, just barely restraining herself from jumping out of her seat.

"**You . . ." Naruto snarled, slit pupils nearly disappearing into the charged blue of his eyes as they dilated, bared canines making him look more feral than normal.**

"**She shouldn't have tried to fight against Fate." Neji said uncaringly . . . though he couldn't look Naruto in the eyes for too long. **

**Naruto eyed the boy, suddenly silent— the two's gazes locked, and they were unaware of the scrutiny by the jounin on the floor, as well as everyone else in the room. Naruto suddenly smirked, and moving away from Hinata, he walked over to a spot on the floor, where her blood was. Stooping down, he dipped his fingertips into the blood. He stood, examining his fingers idly, before his hooded eyes flickered up to Neji's face. Naruto slowly turned his hand over, palm to floor, and just as slowly closed it in a fist.**

"**This isn't a promise, Hyuuga-san," Naruto said, voice silky and quiet, yet still clearly audible in the quiet. "If Fate sees fit to lump us two together in a Final's match— it's a guarantee. I will show you, just how I feel about your predictions of Fate, and the Blood Betrayal of today. You will not like it. You will not enjoy it. You probably won't feel much after it. But, I . . . I will savor it for you."**

Obito pantomimed a gauntlet being thrown down, getting up from his seat and slowly walking away with his hands in the air. The others chuckled, brought out of the solemn mood of the book with his antics.

"Challenge presented?" Kakashi asked the boy as he completed his circuit around the room.

"And accepted, whether he likes it or not." Obito answered, nodding firmly.

**Kakashi looked at his student, shocked at the level of intensity such an oath carried. Kakashi sighed, suddenly feeling like he was too old for this. Whatever happened, he just hoped Gai didn't pester him for the rest of his life about having a student crippled by his own . . . not to mention the hell he'd get from the Hyuuga. **

"You've got so much confidence in our son, Kakashi!" Kushina twittered, face nearly splitting from her wide grin as Kakashi ducked his head a little, not meeting her eye.

"Well, when it's warranted . . ." Kakashi trailed off, focusing on the story.

**The silence was broken by the frantic pounding of feet as medic-nin scrambled onto the scene. Hinata was carefully, oh so very carefully, loaded onto a stretcher, and taken out. Kurenai hesitated, wondering whether or not to follow.**

"**Go, sensei!" Kiba barked, and startled, Kurenai turned to him. "My match will be over quick, but you have to be with Hinata— go!"**

**Kurenai hesitated for a moment more, before resolution filled her, and with a nod she ran after the medics. Hayate cleared his throat, Kiba's words suddenly reminding him of what he was supposed to do.**

"**Let's clear the arena for the next match." He said, and slowly, they all went back up to the railings.**

**The next match was Kiba vs. Dosu, another Oto genin— and Naruto tried to watch it with as much enthusiasm as he could. With Neji so close, however, he found his patience sorely tested, and many times he had to jerk his attention back to the arena.**

"Keep it together please; I'd like to hear how Kiba-kun does." Rin pleaded, looking almost anxious to know.

**The match, unfortunately, served to make him feel even more wretched. Dosu won, and in Naruto's heart— despite the total fairness of the match, which his mind recognized— in a cowardly way, one that set his already boiling blood just under the surface of his skin. **

Rin clucked her tongue, falling back into the couch with a petulant crossing of her arms. Obito chuckled and patted her arm in sympathy.

**The manner in which the bandaged genin attacked his opponents was intriguing, to be sure. Dosu relied primarily on sound attacks, the special vibrations wreaking havoc on the inner ear and thus Kiba's equilibrium and balance, which was exacerbated by the boy and dog duo's acute hearing. **

"Jeez, what a way to attack. Poor kid never stood a chance." Obito said grimly, shaking his head.

**Naruto suspected Dosu also had a way of amplifying the effects of this . . . he just wasn't sure how. So even if Dosu's hits didn't always manage to connect, the damage was done. In the same manner, no matter what damage Kiba inflicted on his opponent (though his Gatsuuga never hit Dosu, the boy being much too dizzy), he had it worse.**

**In one such instance where Kiba was on the floor, dizzy and unsteady as he tried to get up, Dosu snagged his chance. Rushing forward, he grabbed Akamaru by the scruff of his neck hauling up the puppy roughly, and placing a kunai to the dog's neck, close enough that blood started to bead on the shallow cut made. Kiba, infuriated, could do nothing but forfeit as Dosu bade him, concern for his partner overwhelming any indignation or drive to win.**

"Urgh, who does that?!" Rin cried out, angry. "That's totally cowardly, not at all fair!"

Minato, despite the lesson opportunity presented to him, wisely stayed quiet. Kushina looked at him out of the corner of her eye with a smirk, mouthing the word coward at him.

"**Winner: Kunita Dosu!" Hayate called with a slight cough in the silence after Kiba's forfeit through gritted teeth. **

**Dosu threw the whimpering puppy away from him, turning away to walk back to his team. **

"Not okay." Kushina said sharply.

**Kiba dove for the small, fluffy white puppy with an angry cry, holding Akamaru close to him. The puppy whimpered in pain, and Kiba's eyes softened as he gazed down at the puppy. With a dejected, yet grateful air, Kiba climbed back up the stairs to stand by his teammate Shino.**

"**At least one of us got in, buddy." Kiba said with a small grin to Shino. The boy nodded, head tilted down to look at Akamaru.**

"**Kiba-san, Akamaru is still bleeding. Are there no bandages you can use?" Shino enquired, and despite the monotone Kiba could tell the taller boy was concerned. **

"**No . . . use them all up in the Forest." Kiba growled, pressing his hand on the cut, muttering an apology to Akamaru when the dog whimpered. **

"**Kiba." The feral boy looked up at the sound of his name, and saw Naruto approaching them with a roll of fresh bandages. "Use this for Akamaru, and your own wounds okay?"**

"Even though Kiba was such an idiot to him in the past . . . Kiba better be thankful for the part of him that's his kaa-chan." Kakashi muttered.

"Whoa, you saying I wouldn't do that?" Minato asked, affronted.

"Not without getting in several subtle yet cutting remarks." Kakashi retorted, smiling at his sensei's mock hurt expression.

**Kiba hesitated for a brief second, looking at Naruto, before smiling and taking the bandages. "Thanks man." He said, already unrolling a length to use.**

**Naruto smiled. "No problem man, pack has gotta stick together."**

**Kiba smirked, "Yeah, we do."**

**What happened after was hazy to Naruto, for he had lost interest in the proceedings. He, along with the other finalists, had to pick a number that would determine the match, and who it would be with. He recalled with great clarity though, that he would be the first match— against Hyuuga Neji. The other matches he couldn't recall.**

"Fate has decreed you're about to become Naruto's bitch, my friend." Obito said stonily, making Kakashi snort in amusement.

**They were guided out of the Forest, each team with their jounin sensei. Kakashi went off somewhere as soon as they had cleared the gate, so Naruto thought it prudent to walk Sakura home. **

"What a gentleman!" Kushina and Rin cooed, giggling.

"He's so whipped!" Obito said under his breath to Kakashi, mocking the girls' cooing tone. Kakashi coughed to hide his laugh, continuing on with a deep breath.

**Once he had seen her safely at her doorstep, he trudged his own way home. He glanced up at the sky, face falling just slightly as he realized just how early it was. It couldn't be any later than three in the afternoon, meaning Katsu wouldn't be home— he'd have to wait to tell her about the Forest, and the Exam . . . and Hinata.**

"Neji better make himself scarce until the Finals." Jiraiya snorted.

"Forget Naruto— Katsu is going to massacre him if she so much as glimpses him." Minato agreed with a chuckle.

**The house had never looked so warm, never so inviting— not even after the mission to Nami. Still, it would be empty for a while longer, not counting him. He opened the door, locking it behind him. **

**Pausing, he narrowed his eyes as he deliberated. Well, it wouldn't hurt . . . **

"**Tadaima." He called out into the silence.**

"**Okaeri!" The chirpy vice he was so familiar with brought a burst of happiness to him, and he rushed into the living room. Katsu was on the floor, lying on her back with one ankle propped atop her raised knee, book in hands and looking up at him with a knowing smile.**

"**I didn't expect you to be here!" Naruto cried joyously, sitting beside her, looking down at her cheerfully smug face.**

'Aw!" The females in the room all echoed each other, the cuteness of Naruto's happiness with Katsu filling them up.

"Where am I?" Jiraiya muttered to himself. "Apparently I need to teach this kid how not to give up his manhood so early." A snort from his side made him look up and grin, having seen the grin Minato had just struggled to hide.

"**I know!" she confessed with an impish grin. "My schedule isn't going to be quite so ectic anymore A woman who was on maternity leave came back, and Haruhi-san hired her niece, so I'm left with more free time, a possible bonus on my paycheck, and already a vacation day I know exactly how to spend."**

"**My Final's match?" Naruto asked, a little hopefully.**

"**Of course!" Katsu affirmed, laughing. Naruto gave her a sunny smile, squeezing her hand between his. **

"YAY!" Obito, Kushina, Rni and Tsunade cried out, laughing happily.

"**I've got a lot to tell you . . ." Naruto started, before being cut off by a hand tugging his shoulder down.**

"**Later, you're exhausted. Take a nap first, ok?" Katsu insisted, still tugging at his jacket until he relented. Though, she was a little shocked when he suddenly scooted down and rested his head on her stomach, arm thrown over her hips.**

"**Er . . . not exactly what I meant. I have to get up and cook—"**

"**No you don't." he cut her off with a half-slurred reply.**

"**I still have to get up and—" **

"**No, you don't."**

"She really doesn't." Obito said to Kakashi, who nodded in agreement.

**Katsu huffed. "But—"**

"**No. You **_**don't**_**." he insisted firmly.**

"Case closed." Minato settled.

**Katsu was silent for a few moments, before capitulating with a giggle. "Fine . . . ah, but, jiji sent you a message Naru. He wants you to go to his office and explain some things— I'm guessing something happened during the Chuunin Exams?"**

**A nod was her answer. Continuing on, she told him, "He said come whenever you're able, but preferably soon. He said he'd also have an answer to your dilemma, or –"**

"**Ah, soon means right after this nap . . . or maybe in the morning." Naruto brushed off the summons of the Hokage, and not a moment later he was asleep. **

The others in the room shivered. "Only Naruto." They swore. The Sandaime they were familiar with . . . they wouldn't dare do that.

**Katsu lifted her head a little too look down at the spiky blonde head burrowing into her midsection, before shaking her head with an exasperated smile and returning to her book. **

**Jiraiya-sama, it seems, would just have to wait.**

"Aw, came on! You're going to nap just when I get there?!" Jiraiya cried out in dismay, pouting. Tsunade snorted and whacked him on the shoulder— forty-something year-old men shouldn't pout.

"Whoa, Jiraiya-sama finally appears!" Rin and Obito shouted.

"Oh, good!" Minato chirped perkily, sunny smile and cheerful expression at odds with the dark tone of his words. "Let's hear his excuse in the next chapter for _not being there before."_

Jiraiya paled for a moment, before his cheerful face came back up. "I'm sure it's a very good, very logical reason. One you'd have already thought about if you weren't so mean to your poor sensei."

"Save it, you." Both Minato and Kushina said bluntly, staring at his now miserable form which had retreated to a corner.

"Well, can't wait for the next chapter!" Tsunade said brightly, seemingly ignorant of the awkward stare-down she was smack dab in the middle of, even as the younger kids sweat dropped at her expression.

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**As always, your reviews are appreciated. So, please, do click that review button! here's hoping the next chapter comes out soon! **

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad**


	17. Chapter 17

**Guys! Here is yet again, another chapter of Genesis of the Nindo. now, listen, i've thought about where i want this story to go, so listen to my itinerary:**

**OK, so i'm going to do at least two or three naruto movies (i already know which ones) and five "filler" chapters. That's my top two favorite fillers from the anime, and three others i make up myself. THEN we get to VotE. After that is Shippuden, which i've decided to write in. Now, the original story, Naruto's True Nindo, only goes to 58 chapters. I don't know where Reading the future: Naruto's true nindo was going to go. But, i think that this story is going to end around 80 chapters. i've got so much i want to write, the timelin'e soging to change a little, i'm going to add more stuff . . . so, there yuo go. If you don't like long commitments, tough, lol!**

**So withou further ado . . . this chapter was inspired by the latest manga chapter, the bookfair, and the upcoming holidays!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i don't own any songs english or japanese.**

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_Chapter Seventeen_

_The fateful encounter (reunion) between Uzumaki Naruto and Jiraiya!_

* * *

"Couldn't sleep last night?" Tsunade asked mockingly as Jiraiya cracked his jaws open in a huge yawn. Jiraiya shot her a dirty look— they both knew why he had such a restless night.

"You know damn well I was worried about Minato's reaction to me in this chapter. But since you're looking so smug, where the hell are you? If I'm the kid's godfather, you're surely the godmother." He drilled, eyes narrowed at the way Tsunade's lips thinned.

"Sensei's got a point, Tsunade-sama." The two Sannin turned around in their couch seats to see Minato walking in with his left arm wound around Kushina's waist. Looking at the Slug princess he continued, "Though Jiraiya's got every right to be afraid of me in this chapter, his words ring true. Where are you exactly?"

"I left the village after the war was over, obviously." Tsunade muttered, looking into the dark brown contents of her cup as if it would divine the future.

"You what?!" Kushina and Jiraiya shouted, Minato merely stifling a gasp at the unexpected answer.

"Oh, don't act like it's such a big surprise for you Jiraiya— you've known for years that I considered leaving Konoha." Tsunade chided the man, irritation plain on her face.

"Yeah, but, I never thought you would actually do it." Jiraiya mumbles in astonishment.

"Why though?" Kushina persists.

"I think answering that would count as a spoiler . . ." Tsunade muses, taking a sip of the hot liquid and relishing in the warmth that made a beeline down to her stomach.

"And we don't want spoilers now do we?!" Obito cries out, jumping into the living room. Rin and Kakashi follow at a far more sedate pace, exchanging quiet good mornings with the rest of the group. They settled into their seats and suddenly the mood shifted practically 180 degrees. They looked at each other with shifty eyes, fingers twitching towards the book.

Ever the voice of reason when others failed to do so, Minato sighed gustily and exclaimed, "Oh, this is silly! Whoever hasn't read as of yet, decide amongst yourselves. Though, I think hearing about Jiraiya's part in this by Tsunade would be interesting."

The ones who haven't yet read— Jiraiya, Tsunade, Obito and Rin— looked at each other thoughtfully, weighing the pros and cons, before coming to a decision.

"Minato's idea is better. It'd be too weird to read my own parts as: 'said Jiraiya', I mean that just sounds stupid." Jiraiya admits, leaning back into his seat.

"Yeah, we can wait." Rin speaks up for her and Kakashi, right leg rising to slide underneath her as she settled more comfortably.

"Then, I'll start!" Tsunade chirps with a grin, snatching the book up from the table. She flips to her chapter, and with a deep breath, begins to read.

**The next day after returning home, Naruto and Katsu seeing as she had no work until the afternoon head off early in the morning to visit Hiruzen, and the Sandaime gets a welcome respite from early bird paperwork. **

"**Ah, Naruto, I'm glad to see you looking so much healthier and well rested than before." The Sandaime said with a genial smile, taking the pipe stem from his mouth and resting it on the desk. Naruto smirks at his jiji, he and Katsu sitting down I front of the desk.**

"**Well, nothing can keep me down for long, right?" Naruto said, cheeky grin forcing Hiruzen to adopt his own grin. **

"**True, now how about you tell us what it was Orochimaru has done to you in the Forest? I imagine you'll have to go over the whole thing with Katsu here, so just explain from where you see fit." Hiruzen prompted, fingers interlaced and poised in front of his face.**

**So Naruto explained from the beginning— being swallowed by a snake, figuring out it was Orochimaru, his attempts to run away, fighting with Orochimaru, what he did to Sasuke, and then arriving to his own problem.**

"**I remember him shouting out the technique's name . . . Gogyo Fuin, I think. And so, ever since, my chakra control has been pretty poor in comparison to where I had it." Naruto reflects, frowning. **

"**Jeez, you weren't really feeling that usual Devil's luck huh?" Katsu says with a sympathetic frown, feeling a little faint just from **_**hearing**_** about Orochimaru. Naruto snorted, agreeing with her statement. **

"Devil's luck?" Tsunade repeated, perking up at the mention.

"No gambling with my sochi!" Kushina said sharply, immediately nipping any such ideas in the bud. Tsunade grumbled under her breath, slumping petulantly.

"**Well, as grave a problem as Orochimaru's involvement in the exams is, it's not your concern at the moment. As for your seal . . . I know someone who can fix it without any problems." Hiruzen revealed, and the two preteens before him perked up with the information. **

"**Ah, Jiraiya-sama, right?" Katsu said, and Hiruzen nodded at her.**

"Whoo!" Jiraiya hollered, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi clapping for him.

"Careful there, sensei." Minato warned, though the small smile on his face put the sannin at ease.

"**Wait, wait, hold on— Jiraiya-sama? The Toad Sage is in town?" Naruto said incredulously. **

"So he knows of you at least. It seemed the kids weren't very aware of the Sannin from Sakura and Sasuke's reactions in the Forest of Death." Minato pointed out.

"A crime after all we've done for the village." Tsunade said in mock disappointment, Jiraiya snickering next to her.

"**Ah yes, you are a fan of his book aren't you?" Hiruzen recalled with a fond smile.**

"**Tales of a Gutsy Ninja were awesome!" Naruto promoted with a grin. "Plus, he's got to be cool to be a Toad Sage and a Seal Master!"**

"Oh, Minato, he shares your love for Jiraiya's first book!" Kushina squealed, looking at the man with an excited gleam in her eyes. Minato laughed, arms wrapped around her slim waist and he squeezed gently.

"Funny, isn't it? I can't tell who he's more like . . . that's the wonderful thing about kids, right?" Minato mused, half to himself.

"And he certainly admires you, Jiraiya." Tsunade said, looking to the proud man that had puffed up next to her. With a smirk she said, "Too bad he's going to find out soon how lame you actually are." Jiraiya deflated almost immediately, gazing balefully at the Senju princess, and the others laughed at his expression.

"**Even if he writes Icha Icha?" Hiruzen questioned.**

"You—You've already corrupted Kakashi! If you corrupt Naruto with that I _will rip your hair out!_" Kushina growls at him, making Jiraiya jump from the unexpected mood change.

"**We all make mistakes. He just hasn't realized those books are mistakes yet." Naruto replied flippantly. Hiruzen chuckled, fingers tapping on the wood of his desk.**

"**Well . . . thinking of him reminds me of a topic I've wanted to broach with you. Now, Jiraiya knows you from long ago, and I'll let him tell you how, that is if you or Katsu don't somehow figure it out." He said, smiling at the sheepish grin of the orange-haired girl.**

"**Oh? What's the topic, jiji?" Naruto asked, leaning forward to cross his arms on the desk.**

"**Your family— I know you've at least discovered who your okaa-san is by now . . . I understand if you feel angry at me, or confused on why I wouldn't tell you, but I only hid the truth of your heritage from you to keep you safe, on that you must believe me."**

**Naruto sighed heavily, the subject of his parents taking him out of his flippant attitude. "I know jiji, that you did it to keep me safe. I believe you there— I just wish I knew why knowing about my parents would be so **_**detrimental**_** to my safety."**

"Well . . ." Minato and Kushina hedged, scratching at their cheeks with sheepish expression.

"**Well, only until you're able to keep yourself safe . . . and judging by what I saw at the Semi-finals, that time is now. So, I am willing to answer all your questions about your parents, whatever questions you have." Hiruzen promised, looking straight at the blonde haired boy before him.**

"**Well, my kaa-chan . . . what was she like?" Naruto asked.**

**Hiruzen snorted. "Imagine yourself without the teachings of Juu-sensei."**

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?!" Kushina demands.

"Too easy." Obito coughs.

"**Hot damn." Naruto and Katsu muttered in shock.**

"**Yes, children, that in a nutshell is Uzumaki Kushina. A kunoichi who served under the Leaf, though she was originally from Uzu no Sato— strong, kindhearted but she had a temper and woe unto you if she unleashed it on you, a very talented ninja. She had your love of pranks, an obsession with ramen much like you again, your general buoyant nature, and she fell in love with you from the moment she knew of your existence." Hiruzen extolled her virtues and faults with a warm tone, and Naruto too felt himself loving his mother fiercely now that he had a clearer picture of her, just as she must have done when she knew of him. **

Kushina's slowly abating anger from Hiruzen's earlier remark was forgotten instantly in the moment she heard that Naruto loved her. A merry blush spread across her cheeks, and a sappy, gooey, love-filled smile nearly spilt her face.

"Someone's day has just been made." Kakashi chuckled, interested in this entirely new facial expression the normally spitfire redhead was showing.

"I'm feeling really left out, and kind of jealous." Minato sighed, but everyone could see the love for Kushina he held on his face, and how happy he was that she was happy.

"**Uzu no Sato?" Katsu questioned, shaking Naruto from his daze.**

**Hiruzen nodded his mood from before now cooling with the weight of regrets and lost comrades that memories of Uzu brought back. "In the Land of Eddies there was a Hidden Village called Uzushiogakure no Sato. Within that village, lived the Uzumaki Clan—"**

"Whoop whoop! Uzumaki Clan rules!" Obito and Rin shouted, seeing Kushina's eyes begin to glaze over with memories. It was better that she held on to the cherry glow from Naruto's love for her. Kushina's eyes cleared, and she smirked at them.

"Damn straight. Hail to the Queen." She declared.

"**Kaa-chan was a clan brat?" Naruto asked, laughing slightly at the thought of his mother trying to follow clan traditions.**

"Ha! Yeah . . . that is funny." Kushina said lightly, making the others all sweat drop.

"You, uh . . . you're the clan heir; surely you had to learn some traditions?" Rin asked.

"Yeah . . . really funny." Kushina said, not answering the question— and yet, somehow, that was all the answer they needed.

"**Honestly, seeing her in a traditional kimono was the highlight of my life, but I think I nearly chewed through my tongue that night to keep from laughing. That dark look on her face, I'll never forget it . . . Yes, your kaa-san's clan was very powerful and very formidable. The Uzumaki were known for their prodigious talents in Fuuinjutsu, their longevity, and their trademark red hair. Unfortunately, during the Third World War, they were attacked by our enemies, Kumo and Iwa. Uzushiogakure was destroyed, and the survivors of the attack left to scatter and hide. As it stands, you are the last known survivor of the Uzumaki Clan."**

"**What? Ugh, totally lame . . ." Naruto groused, slumping forward in dejection. Just when he thought he'd found a connection, it went up in flames. **

"Oh, don't give up yet honey! Just because they don't take the name anymore, doesn't mean there aren't still survivors eager and willing to help you! Uzumaki always look out for family." Kushina said sympathetically.

"**I'm sorry there's not more I can offer for your kaa-san's family Naruto. If it helps, you're doing their legacy a credit by being so good in the sealing arts." Hiruzen offered.**

"**Poor Kushina-san, how she must have felt when it happened . . ." Katsu murmured.**

"**Well, my kaa-chan is all I care about in terms of the Uzumaki side anyway. You got some pictures of her, jiji?"**

"**Specifically, jiji . . ." Hiruzen and Naruto turned to look at Katsu, face normal except for a shadow of something in her eyes Naruto couldn't quite identify. "Do you have one from her Academy days, then one for her as an adult? It'll be fun to see the before and after."**

"Academy days?" Kushina asked, brow furrowing.

"She must mean a class picture!" Minato realized. "She's trying to help Naruto find out who I am."

"Oh, then this makes it twice as exciting!" Rin exclaims joyously.

"**Sounds good." Naruto piped up, though he was still trying to figure out what it was he saw in her eyes.**

"**The only picture I have of her as small girl is," Hiruzen suddenly understood Katsu's goal, but he didn't miss a beat as he continued, "her Academy class picture."**

**Hiruzen stood and walked over to the bookshelf on the adjacent wall to the Hokage portraits. He took a thin photo album, blue and simple, walking back over with it. He was already flipping the pages as he sat down, and he turned the book around to show them. **

**Katsu and Naruto murmured their amazement and, at times, amusement as they looked over the photo. Kushina had been in the class with today's current clan heads— Inuzuka Tsume, Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku among others. It surprised them that the clan heirs of today looked so very similar to the clan heads back then, at their age . . . **

"**Look, Naru!" Katsu gasped, finger gently touching the spiky head of a familiar person. "Kushina-san was classmate to the Yondaime!"**

"Oh, it's so fun to see what they think of you!" Rin squealed, hands clasped together to keep them from ruining her clothes.

**Naruto looked closely at the picture, also very curious. The little chibi-Minato of that time certainly didn't look like he'd become such a feared and respected ninja— he didn't really look like much of a ninja period.**

"Ouch." Obito and Kakashi hiss, sniggering at Minato's annoyed look.

"What did sensei look like as a child?" Rin wonders.

"Like a girl." Kushina snorts, yelping at the pinch Minato dealt her in retribution.

**Golden blonde hair spiked around his head like a halo, bangs framing bright and intelligent blue eyes, spiky ear tails framing a gentle smile. He seemed so small, far too **_**delicate**_** and **_**pretty**_**, and so . . .**

"Your own son thinks you look delicate and pretty . . . this must hurt." Jiraiya says as if they're having a casual conversation about the weather. Minato nods in despondency, Kushina patting his back in support yet giggling.

"**He looks kind of flaky, don't you think?" Naruto mused, looking up in surprise at the loud snort from Hiruzen. **

Kushina bursts into a round of guffaws, hands resting pressing her stomach to try and control herself. Minato glares at her and shrugs off her hold on him, making her wobble and she would have fallen off the couch had he not pulled her back to his side at the right time. Kushina struggled to contain her laughter as she felt the eyes of the others on her, wondering what she was going on about.

"It's just . . . just that— oh Kami it hurts! Aha ha ha— when I first saw Minato I thought he was too flaky looking and he didn't seem dependable—I couldn't believe this was the guy who was to be my rival for Hokage!" Kushina gasped for air, wiping away the stray tears that had escaped from her laughter.

"I get no love— no love and no respect." Minato grumbles, lower lip jutting out just enough to classify the expression as a pout.

**Hiruzen waved his concerns away, and Naruto returned his attention to the picture, Hiruzen had to marvel at the words that the boy's own mother had said so long ago.**

"**Flaky? Chibi-Yondaime is super adorable!" Katsu protested. **

"At least Katsu supports you sensei." Kakashi offers the man.

"She's such a cute daughter-in-law." Minato sighs, smile easing his put upon expression.

"**Hmph, it's a little weird to think of the genius Namikaze as adorable," Naruto snorted, but the he noticed something. "Hey, look, kaa-chan is standing right next to him."**

"**She seems pretty happy about it too . . . think she had a crush on him?" Katsu asked slyly.**

"At that time . . . did you?" Minato asks, expression far too hopeful.

"You were still flaky to me." Kushina denies flatly, turning away with a blush.

"But that's not an answer, is it?" Minato insists with a large grin.

**Naruto laughed. "That'd be so weird! Kaa-chan liking the Yondaime . . ." something, some feeling, rang through Naruto. He looked, not just at the two of them individually, but as a whole.**

"**You know . . . my face looks like kaa-chan, but . . . I don't have her nose, or the shape of her mouth." Naruto muttered, staring more and more at the kiddy Yondaime. As he started to connect the dots, Katsu and Hiruzen gave each other significant looks. **

"You're getting warmer!" Jiraiya sings.

"**We . . . sort of have the same hair. Same bangs, certainly, but I don't have those ear tails . . . and this is the only shade of blue I've seen that comes closest to my eyes . . . hell, those **_**are**_** my eyes." Naruto continued. **

"You're on fire, Naru-chan, keep going!" Obito encourages.

"Ear tails? Really?" Minato snorts with a raised eyebrow.

**Suddenly his head jerked up, and it swiveled to the portraits of the late Hokages. Minato's picture was right there, but he didn't have the kind expression that he did in the Academy picture. It was serious, austere even . . . and suddenly, Naruto got an uncomfortable feeling. His eyes roamed between the kid Yondaime and the adult Yondaime a few times, before suddenly his head dropped onto the desk with a resounding thud.**

"He got it." Minato murmured with a small smile.

"You don't sound nearly as happy as you should be." Tsunade scolds the man.

"I sealed a giant demon in him, without so much as a by your leave. As you can imagine, I'm a little nervous as to how he'll react to the news." Minato confessed.

"**You okay, buddy?" Katsu asked in worry. That had to have hurt even his thick skull . . .**

"**Jiji," Naruto said instead of answering Katsu, "can you show me the adult picture now? If it is what I think it is, it'll confirm my blindness and idiocy."**

**Hiruzen sighed, half worried and half amused. "Here" **

**Naruto raised his head slowly, butterflies of anticipation mixing corrosively in his stomach. Said organ dropped to his toes when he saw the full picture. A fully grown Kushina— and she was even more beautiful, Naruto decided with pride**

"What a mama's boy." Tsunade teases. "He's the kind of son that dotes on the mother, and just hates the father's guts for being near her."

"Oh great, another reason." Minato groans playfully, smirking at Kushina when she slapped his shoulder.

— **arm-in-arm with a fully grown Minato Namikaze, sans his Hokage cloak and in front of what looked to be their home. In this picture, the baby bump that would turn out to be Uzumaki Naruto was clearly visible yet still small.**

**The realization that the Yondaime was his father, and he'd been looking at the his **_**own father's fucking face**_** for years without realizing it, forced Naruto to chastise himself physically as well as verbally. **

"Hey, nobody else that didn't already know about it in the village can't see it either." Obito said with a shrug, still finding it a little hard to believe that his sense's carbon copy son was hidden so well.

"**Stupid, stupid, STUPID, **_**stupid**_** . . ." he repeated again and again as his forehead met the desk with impressively damaging force in time to the beat. Katsu and Hiruzen looked at him nervously, but it seemed Katsu was keeping her lips sealed this time and allowing him to do what he needed to.**

"**So . . . Minato is your father. Subsequently, he's also the man who sealed the Kyuubi inside of you. How do you feel about that?" Hiruzen asked nervously. He was sure he'd feel heartbroken for Minato if the boy denounced the man and cursed his name . . . and yet, he'd understand, and he wasn't sure which was worse. **

**Naruto repeated his face plants two more times before he stopped, blank eyes slowly considering the older man before him. He fully processed the question and his own response, and suddenly life came back to his eyes, full of annoyance as they slid shut with his weary sigh.**

"**I don't hate the man, you know that already. I can't really feel it in me to say I resent him for sealing the Kyuubi in me either . . . even with all the flak I get from the villagers, the benefits outweigh the costs by a significant factor. And . . . he's my tou-chan, as well as the Yondaime Hokage. I understand desperation, and I understand love, so I know what two forces drove him. But, I wish I knew why he chose me." Naruto finished in a quiet voice, near a whisper. **

"He doesn't hate you, doesn't even dislike you. I'd say it's a safe bet to say he loves you as much as any kid in regards to their father." Jiraiya said softly, seeing his former student's previously tense body practically melt with his relief.

"Now, think you can tell us the reason, Minato? Even if you're just guessing." Tsunade asked.

"He's our son. I know he's strong enough to handle this, and whatever else he must face in relation to this. I do wish he had at least Kushina with him, to make it easier, but he's got friends who care for him and I know he'll be fine. So, I guess I sealed the Kyuubi in him because I trusted him, and because I could never make another family do something like that when I had my own son. It wouldn't be right." Minato explains carefully.

"Too noble for your own good sensei." Obito mumbles.

"Apparently I am, if my own village treats their hero like this." Minato agrees with a weary sigh.

"**I can tell you that, at least." Hiruzen affirmed. Once the boy had given him his full attention, he continued. "Minato had an impossible choice before him. He knew that in order to protect his village, he'd have to create a jinchuuriki. Were there other options? Yes, there could have been someone else as jinchuuriki; your classmates aren't too much older than you so they might have been adequate. But, Minato couldn't use someone else's child when he had his own. Besides that though . . . he trusted you, Naruto."**

**Naruto, at first appeared even more confused, and he opened his mouth to ask it, before suddenly a look of concentration came over his face and he closed his mouth. "He trusted me . . . with the Kyuubi, and the village . . . right?"**

**Hiruzen nodded— there was no need to say anything more. Naruto nodded once, then again decisively. "Okay, jiji . . . thank you. Thank you for telling me about them, it's more important to me than you'll ever know. I mean, wow, my tou-chan is the freaking Yondaime." Naruto said sincerely, smile bright.**

"Nice to know he admires me too." Minato said with a smirk.

"**Of course, Naruto, they're your parents." Hiruzen smiled.**

"**Right— so! With all this emotional blackmail at the ready, we'd better be off to find Jiraiya-sama. Later, jiji!" Naruto called, opening the door for Katsu and leaving out behind her.**

"**He'll be at the hot springs!" Hiruzen called, and with a wave the two departed.**

"**So, hot springs . . . you think he'll be inside?" Katsu asked as the two of them walked to the Konoha hot springs together.**

Minato and Kushina chuckle. "Not likely, eh?" Tsunade asks with a grin.

"**I don't know . . . there's an ice cream vendor by the side of it, let's get some ice cream and then we'll go looking." Naruto suggested, immediately getting an enthusiastic agreement from Katsu. **

"**Ah, but first can we please go visit Hinata-chan in the hospital?" Katsu asked quietly, imploring.**

"**Of course, hime, but I don't know if she's awake . . . you're her best friend though, you have every right to check up on her at least." Naruto answered, taking her hand and the both of them jogged to the Hospital. They had some trouble at the front desk with the nurse in charge, but managed to convince her to at least let them check on her through the window pane in the door.**

**Hinata was on the third floor, having just gotten out of ICU, but still only having family as visitors. Though, Naruto suspected she wasn't getting too many concerned visits from her family . . .**

"No contest." Obito mutters with a roll of his eyes. Really, the Uchiha and the Hyuuga were far more alike than they'd ever know.

"**She . . . does she look better, Naru?" Katsu asked him worriedly, rising forward just a little on her toes to see in the room.**

"**Yeah, she looks much better. She's still tired though, which is perfectly understandable . . ." **

**Naruto and Katsu made to leave the hospital. As soon as they got outside, Naruto stopped, hand on Katsu's wrist to stop her as well.**

"**Naruto?" Katsu questioned.**

"**Sorry hime, sensei is here for something." Naruto answered, eyes trained on the trees clustered together not too far from them. As he said, Kakashi was there, melting from the shadows to greet them with a careless wave.**

"**Yo." He said, orange book in hand as always, but his attention on them.**

"**Ohaiyou gozaimasu!" Naruto and Katsu greeted the man.**

"**Naruto, I just wanted to see what you were planning to do for the coming month." Kakashi said.**

"**Ah, I've got some ideas lined up. Why, sensei?"**

"**Sasuke is going up against Gaara, so I'll need to train him well if he wishes to win. We'll be going off for the entire month, so I won't be around. It's okay though, because I've found a sensei for you." Kakashi told the boy, and Naruto could see a mild regret in his eye.**

"Mild regret or no, who do you think you are just abandoning my son, Kakashi?" Kushina growls out, leaning forward just as Kakashi leaned back across the way from her.

"Come on, he's got Jiraiya-sama!" Kakashi protested.

"But you didn't know that." Tsunade points out.

"**That's fine sensei, make sure Sasuke's a challenge for me as well!" Naruto grinned rakishly, before adding, "And about that replacement sensei . . . there's no need. I've got somebody in mind."**

"**Oh, and who might that be?" Kakashi inquired.**

"**Se-cret!" Naruto sang, tugging on Katsu's hand lightly as they started walking away. Katsu inclined her head in farewell to Kakashi, catching up with Naruto as they walked off. Kakashi followed them with his eye for a moment, before his eye trained on his book and he was off in a swirl of leaves.**

"I think perhaps Katsu isn't being so cold towards me anymore." Kakashi said with a bit of hope.

"Don't push your luck, then." Minato chides him mockingly.

"**What flavor, Kurohime?" Naruto asked, amused as he saw Katsu's eager eyes flit from option to option, never resting on one for long.**

"**Um . . ." Katsu hummed, fingers clutching the long skirt of her dress as she thought about it. "Coconut, please!"**

"**One coconut and one pineapple, please." Naruto ordered. He paid for the ice cream cones and gave Katsu hers, and they walked off happily towards the Hot Springs.**

"**Where do you think he could be? I doubt he's inside, the hostess looks too bored." Katsu mumbles as she licks the sweet icy treat.**

"**He's the writer of the Icha Icha series right?" Naruto mumbles, thinking about it. **

"**Uh-huh . . ."**

**Absently he bites into the freezing ice cream. "No ordinary guy can write that kind of smut, right? Hm . . . and those women are all surprisingly realistic, from what I glimpsed in Kakashi's book . . ."**

"Double drills immediately when we get home." Minato barks, stopping Kushina before she could even open her mouth. She relaxes back into her seat and grins at the horrified silver-haired boy.

"**It takes some study of the female anatomy." Katsu murmurs around her bite of ice cream, smiling at his deductions. "The separate baths would make that rather difficult."**

"Still peeping, eh Jiraiya?" Tsunade asks dangerously, eyes glinting with violence. Jiraiya gulped, wisely choosing to remain silent.

**Naruto smiled, draping an arm around Katsu's shoulders. "Walk with me hime. But if the old perv looks at you funny, start running and don't listen to any screams you might here. Plausible deniability is your best friend, remember that."**

"I'm a super pervert, not a pedophile." Jiraiya states with a roll of his eyes.

**The two friends walked to the bath, going around instead of inside. Upon arriving at the women's side of the baths, they started looking around, hoping to glimpse anyone near it. They had no idea what Jiraiya looked like, so they'd just have to count on dumb luck.**

**Naruto glanced up when they were near a tree that grew up by the fence, standing tall and proud over the bath. The perverted giggles certainly weren't crows. **_**Looks like Jiraiya would reveal himself, **_**Naruto thought. He nudged Katsu and pointed up, and she looked up as well.**

"**He's . . . certainly not what I was expecting." Katsu murmured, staring at the giant man in the trees. "I'll call him— Jiraiya-sama!" she called urgently, trying not to speak too loudly so the women in the bath would her hear. **

"Well isn't she considerate!" Jiraiya remarks with a grin.

"**Hime, please, no need to be so kind. Allow me," Naruto whispered with a wicked grin.**

"Crap!" Jiraiya curses, head dropping in defeat.

**He crept up to the tree, pausing to look at the famed Jiraiya-sama. Katsu was right, even crouched in the trees the man was larger than anyone he'd ever seen, even Zabuza. He had very long spiky white hair in a ponytail, and he wore a red haori over a green short kimono complete with a giant scroll on his back, hand guards and wooden geta. The man giggled like a fop as he spied on the women in the bath with a spyglass.**

**Naruto smiled impishly. "Hey, PERVERT!" He roared, and watched with unabashed glee as Jiraiya yelped, startled out of his position and fell into the women's side of the bath. **

"Ha! Got you, Jiraiya!" Kushina laughs.

"Oh, owned by a genin . . . don't worry, others feel the pain you've felt." Obito said sympathetically.

"Being beaten by a mob of women?" Jiraiya asked.

"No— getting owned by Naruto." Obito answers solemnly.

**Immediately the screams of women, and the pained screams of Jiraiya, filled the air. On the other side, Naruto and Katsu laughed, not stopping even when Jiraiya managed to leap over the fence and out of the war zone looking no worse for the wear. Jiraiya glared at the two kids, striding over to loom over them.**

"**What was that for brat?!" Jiraiya growled. Naruto gulped for air and straightened up from his bent position, allowing Jiraiya to see his face. Jiraiya's eyes widened infinitesimally when he found himself staring at a near perfect clone of Minato as a genin. **_**Well, I'll be . . . **_**Jiraiya thought fondly, but that fondness didn't reach his outer appearance, still keeping up his scowl.**

"**That's what you get for peeping on those poor women, Jiraiya-sama." Naruto teased, blue eyes sparkling as he took a cheerful lick of his ice cream.**

"**Brat, that's not peeping, its research!" Jiraiya insisted. He took notice finally of the girl standing next to Naruto. With a cheery grin he said, "And who might you be little lady?"**

**Katsu bowed. "Kuroshio Katsuhime, Jiraiya-sama."**

"**So, what can I do for you two brats?" Jiraiya asked, casually crossing his arms.**

"**Jiji tells me you can help me with a little problem I have -ttebayo." Naruto said, now nibbling the cone of his finished ice cream.**

"**Which is?" Jiraiya prompted, muffling his snicker at the –ttebayo ending the boy's sentence. **_**Kami, please tell me the full word is **_**da**_**ttebayo, Kushina would hate that! **_

"**You know about the incident in the Forest of Death?"**

"**Yeah, why was that your team?" Jiraiya said, eyebrows furrowing.**

"**Yeah, and Orochimaru did something to my seal. Some technique called Gogyo Fuin, and ever since my chakra control has been shot." Naruto informs the Toad Sage, leaving out the part about him not being able to talk with Kyuubi, as he did Hiruzen.**

**Jiraiya nodded, thoughtfully. "Okay, an easy fix. Do me a favor, lift up your shirt and channel some chakra.**

**Naruto nodded, and Katsu moved off to the side to give the two males some room. Lifting up his shirt, Naruto lifted up his jacket and shirt, closing his eyes as he concentrated to channel chakra. Without warning, Jiraiya's hand shot forward, fingertips sinking into his stomach. Naruto choked out a guttural grunt of pain, staggering back as he coughed.**

"Sorry, but it couldn't be helped." Jiraiya apologized, seeing Minato and Kushina wince.

"**Thanks, a lot, Jiraiya-sama -ttebayo." Naruto panted, bending forward to rest his hands on his knees. Katsu was by his side, sliding his arm over her shoulder and pulling him up to lean on her. Naruto closed his eyes, reaching out with his mind to brush against the Kyuubi's conscience, smiling happily when he felt Kyuubi respond with his own prodding. **

"Okay, you were right . . . it's kind of cute." Tsunade admits to Kushina, referring to her earlier statement that Naruto and Kyuubi's "friendship" was cute.

"**Anytime, kid, now if you'll excuse me, I've got things to do—"**

"Sensei." Minato's reproachful tone makes Jiraiya a little nervous.

"Give me some credit Minato— just checking the kid's resolve." He placates the younger man.

"**Hold on, Jiraiya-sama, that's not all I came here for." Naruto interrupted, having caught his breath and looking at the man determinedly. **

"**What else do you want?" Jiraiya asked with a light frown.**

"**Jiraiya-sama, please train me for the Chuunin Exam Finals." Naruto made his request in his most respectful tone, bowing to the Toad Sage.**

"**Train you? Brat, do you have any idea who I am?" Jiraiya balked. **

**Suddenly, he smirked. His fingers flew through a familiar set of hand seals— he was summoning a toad?! Naruto thought with excitement— and with a puff of smoke a large toad appeared. Large, as in, as big as the two impressed kids.**

"Here we go." Tsunade groans, head lolling back onto the couch.

**That feeling of being impressed didn't last for long.**

**Jiraiya jumped onto the toad, and started a rather ridiculous looking kabuki dance. "I am the man who tames the North! The hero to walk the South! Lover of women both East and West! I am the Toad Sage of Mount Myobokuzan, Jiraiya-sama!" he finishes with an exaggerated pose.**

"Sensei . . . why do you persist with that?" Minato sighs, shaking his head.

"I bet it's still as pathetic as it is now." Kushina mutters with a shake of her head.

**For a minute or two after, there was total silence. Naruto and Katsu stood, shell shocked, whilst Jiraiya regarded them smugly from atop the toad.**

**Naruto broke the silence, annoyance so great that he broke his careful control and let an annoyed grimace cross his face.**

"**I've seen one of the richest men in the world grovel at my feet. I've seen our Lord Hokage fall to a massive nosebleed from my Oroike no Jutsu. I've seen royalty simper in supplication to their damn **_**pet cat**_**. Yet, I can say with full honesty— that is the most **_**pathetic**_** thing I've ever seen, dattebayo!" **

Everyone in the room burst into laughter, even Jiraiya couldn't help himself at Naruto's mini rant.

"When he puts it like that . . . damn, my confidence has taken a blow." Jiraiya chuckles.

**Jiraiya face planted in shock from his toad, and the summons took that as a cue to leave this plane. Jiraiya got up from the ground, and with his face still turned down he let the smile finally pull his face nearly in two. **_**Heh, that kid is Kushina's after all, no doubt about it. **_

"**Brat!" Jiraiya scowled, finally facing the unimpressed blonde. "You just don't appreciate a fine performance but—" he stopped with a grin, pointing to something behind the two of them. "You're girlfriend over there has no such problem."**

**Naruto whirled around to see Katsu curled up in a ball on the ground, trembling. "Katsu?" Naruto called out, walking towards her. Crouching down at her side, he realized her face was pressed to her crossed arms, hiding it from sight. He assessed her more closely . . . he couldn't hear any sniffles, couldn't smell any tears. He growled in irritation when he realized that she was actually so far gone that she couldn't even make a sound as she laughed anymore— she was just wheezing.**

"She's such a good child." Jiraiya sighs happily.

"Right?" Minato agrees, loving her after she called his younger self 'super adorable.'

"**Damn it, Katsu! Don't laugh, you'll only encourage him!" Naruto scolded her, grabbing her arm and hauling her up, arms wrapped around her waist to keep her on her feet as she swayed unsteadily. Jiraiya watched them with a raised eyebrow. **_**The kid didn't even deny the girlfriend statement, and he's holding her much more closely than friends allow . . .**_

**A cross between a giggle and a guffaw escaped from her, and her hand shot up and slapped over her mouth. The only things they could see were her blazing cheeks and her dancing eyes.**

"**Jiraiya-sama," she gasped, Naruto having taken her hand from her mouth with a resigned expression. "That was **_**fantastic**_**. Oh, please, tell me you have another dance!"**

"I hope you realize she's laughing at you, not with you." Tsunade told the man.

Jiraiya, not to be deterred, said, "Sounds like somebody's being a hater."

"**Better not." Naruto grunted, and Jiraiya basked in the praise. "Unfortunately, nothing new has come into my mind. When it does though, you'll be the first to see it. Now, brat, since you've shown such iron-will by resisting my awesome persona, I'll let you have a chance to convince me to be your sensei." Jiraiya advises them. **

"**How about emotional blackmail?" Naruto offered.**

**Jiraiya looked at him strangely, and answered slowly. "I'm not sure I want to know what you mean . . . actually, I was referring to that Oroike no Jutsu of yours. It sounds very interesting." A lecherous grin spread across his face, stretching the red lines that ran from his eyes to his jaw even further.**

"I am this close to punching you in the face sensei." Minato notified the man with a serious expression on his face.

"Better yet, let me at him." Kushina snarls.

"You can't fault me for something I've yet to do!" Jiraiya complained.

**Naruto regards him with interest, releasing Katsu from his grasp and stepping forward. "You're really just a pervert, aren't you?"**

"**Correction!" Jiraiya shouts, wagging a finger at him. "I'm not a pervert— I'm a SUPER pervert!"**

"**Well, let's see how you stand up against this: Oroike no Jutsu!" Naruto was replaced with a naked, buxom young woman with smoke covering her most sensitive areas and her pigtails waving gently in the breeze.**

"**Is this what you wanted to see?" Naruko— Naruto couldn't bring himself to refer to this body as **_**him**_**— asked cutely, finger on her lower lip.**

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself? This is sexual harassment, you know." Obito asks Jiraiya seriously.

"Nothing is too much for the sake of research." Jiraiya claims.

"**Oh, you've improved it from the last time I saw." Katsu compliments.**

"I can't believe she's okay with this. Yeah, he's your best friend but you're supposed to set limits." Kushina sighs, rubbing her forehead.

**Naruko winks at her. "Well, I had to buy quite a few anatomy books and spent a lot of time with Anko-nee . . ." **

**He thought he'd gotten the old pervert— Jiraiya's eyes were bugged out to the max, and the man almost looked like he'd had a heart attack on the spot. But suddenly animation came back to him, and he shot Naruto two thumbs way up, hearts replacing his eyes.**

"**THAT'S VERY GOOD!" Jiraiya crows in praise. "Alright kid I'll train you!"**

"**Great!" Naruko cheers, getting ready to release the henge.**

"**On one condition though!" Jiraiya stops her.**

"**What?"**

"**You have to keep that henge on the entire time we're training."**

Kushina leaps at Jiraiya with a snarl. Jiraiya shouts and tries to dodge out of the way, but Minato had suddenly gotten behind him and pinned the man in place from behind. Kushina took advantage of Jiraiya's shock to plant her fist in the man's cheek, ripping him out of Minato's hold and sending him spiraling to the other side of the room.

"Oh, come on, it was a joke!" Jiraiya moans, rubbing his sore cheek as he got up.

"That is our son!" Kushina shrieks, looking ready to dish out some more to the man.

"That's enough for now, honey, save your strength for later. We both know there'll be a later." Minato advises her, gently guiding her back to the couch, looking over his shoulder to give Jiraiya a toothy, wicked grin.

**Naruko disappears in a burst of smoke, leaving the shorter and irritated form of Naruto to glare at Jiraiya. "Whatever respect I had for you is gone now, Ero-sennin."**

"Oh, how apt a nickname for you!" Tsunade laughs.

"**Brat, don't call me that!" Jiraiya snaps, bonking Naruto on the head. "Fine then, spoilsport, I'll train you just the way you are."**

"**Oh joy, oh bliss . . . oh happiness." Naruto sings sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the older man. Jiraiya chuckles, ruffling his hair despite Naruto's protests, and walking off.**

"**Meet me here tomorrow at the same time brat, and your friend over there can come along too." And with a two-fingered salute behind him, Jiraiya was gone.**

"Train my kid well, sensei." Minato said, smiling at his sensei.

"Of course, brat, I trained you after all didn't I?" Jiraiya assures him, smiling.

"**I better go, now, Naruto. Work will be starting soon, and Hanazuki-san said he'd show me a new recipe." Katsu murmurs. "Congrats on getting Jiraiya-sama to train you!"**

"**Later, hime!" Naruto replies, waving at her retreating figure. Sighing, he turned and started walking in a random direction. "Well . . . what now? Ah, I better check on him." **

**Naruto immediately set off, his feet taking him to the training ground of Team Seven. Like he thought, no one was there, which was perfect for him. Naruto chose a suitable tree and dropped down at the base of it, back easing onto the trunk. He closed his eyes and searched for Kyuubi.**

"He seems, more than just friendly with it . . . but protective." Rin murmurs.

**When he opened them again, he was in the cave. Kyuubi lay by the waterfront of the central lake, regarding him like one would look at a dancing dog— strangely, but with a certain interest.**

"That's . . . nice." Obito murmurs sarcastically.

**Naruto gave Kyuubi a dazzling smile, running up to the demon. He stopped just in front of the demon's head, which rested on the ground. Crouching down, Naruto asked, "Are you alright, Kyuubi?"**

**Kyuubi didn't answer, merely lifted his head so that Naruto now locked eyes, azure to scarlet, as they stared at each other.**

"**You seem relieved to see me." Kyuubi observed. Naruto blinked, wondering what the Kyuubi meant with such a question.**

"**Of course I'm relieved— I'm happy to see you. I thought that Gogyo Fuin would . . . do something to you." Naruto answered carefully, not sure if Kyuubi was mocking him or angry with him.**

**Kyuubi's stare was intense, and Naruto felt the strong urge to avert his gaze, but he ignored it. Kyuubi finally blinked, relieving Naruto of that unknown pressure he felt from the eyes. "Such a thing couldn't affect me, just the seal. We aren't mutually inclusive."**

"I think," Obito started, and the others looked at him. "I think that the Kyuubi is surprised that Naruto was concerned for him."

"Which one of his jailors before Naru ever really was? He's just inside us, but . . . there's no interaction." Kushina answers, feeling strange about her feelings on the matter.

"**Right, I'm sorry." Naruto laughed. "Kyuubi, thank you again for helping me in the Forest. You tempered down the chakra enough to not overwhelm me."**

"**Your logic was undeniable— I'd usually prefer to let you rampage, but such an opponent is not one to lose control in the face of such watered down demonic aura. The fight was interesting . . . the opponent was too strong for you, but you did reasonably well." Kyuubi answered uncaringly, but Naruto had to bite his lip to stop the smile that threatened to emerge. The Kyuubi, he realized, had just given him a compliment.**

"**Kyuubi, I made it to the Finals." Naruto told the fox.**

"**Yes, I saw. I never realized you were quite so bloodthirsty Naruto." Kyuubi said, the more familiar dark tone laced with malice back, as well as the demonic teeth-baring grimace Naruto knew was Kyuubi's 'evil smile.' **

"Or Kyuubi's pride." Kushina murmurs, and Minato gives her a wondering look.

"**Well, sometimes it happens." Naruto shrugged. **

"**What will you do now? That Hyuuga has no scruples using force against comrades, from what I saw. Unusual, if I remember the soft teachings of your village correctly." Kyuubi commented.**

"**Well, yeah, despite what I said about getting him, I know full well it's going to be a tough battle. I . . . well; I found Jiraiya and got him to train me. Let's see what he does." Naruto answered with a shrug.**

"What is that? That skepticism." Jiraiya snorts.

"**Very well. I'll be looking in on these; I remember that name vaguely . . ." Kyuubi replies, getting up and shaking to loosen his muscles.**

"**I'll leave you in peace then. I'm glad you're okay Kyuubi." Naruto said softly, and he was gone from the mindscape. Kyuubi glanced back at the spot where he was before, pausing. He considered that space for another moment before leaving and venturing further into the cave.**

**At dinner that night, provided by a cheerful Naruto, he told Katsu about speaking with Kyuubi again.**

"**That's a relief— you were on edge not knowing how he was right?" Katsu asked, plucking a shrimp up from her salad.**

"**Yeah, but he seemed kind of . . . quiet, in a thoughtful way— but it almost felt moody? He's fine though, I can feel it." Naruto said, soaking up the last of his sauce with his bread and taking bites.**

"**I wonder how he'll take your training. It might be a satirical commentary that'll totally ruin your training session, or it'll be a solemn critique." Katsu presents the options whimsically, smiling at his snort of amusement. **

"**Well, we'll see in the morning. Are you working in the afternoon again?" Naruto questioned.**

"**Yes, but this time I'll be working form nine in the morning." Katsu confirms.**

"**Have you gone to school at all?" Naruto asked skeptically.**

"**Yeah, but I don't really go nowadays . . . sensei said that he's impressed with my work ethic, both with the long hours in work and with keeping up my grades. So, as long as my assignments are perfect as always, and turned in on time, I don't have to go to school." Katsu said, smug little smile on her face.**

"Someone's an honor student." Tsunade whistles, impressed.

"Nerd!" Kakashi coughs, Obito snorting beside him.

"**Spare me some of that work ethic. I'm going to really have to impress Ero-sennin to get him to teach me something worthwhile." Naruto jokes.**

"If you acquire any more work ethic you'll keel over." Jiraiya said with a roll of his eyes.

**Katsu giggles. "You're really stuck on that name, huh?"**

**The next morning was a funny sense of déjà vu for Naruto. He met Jiraiya at the bathhouse again.**

"**Ohaiyou, Ero-sennin!" Naruto greets with a kind smile.**

"**You're really stuck on that name huh?" **

"**Only because it suits you so well, honorable Toad Sage." Naruto said mildly, moving to walk with Jiraiya.**

"**Alright, first I need to get a good measure of your skills, so we're going to a field I know about a little ways away and from there we'll begin. After that, I'll set you up for the things you need to work on, while I do my own work."**

"Ugh, _sensei_!" Minato snaps, looking exasperated.

"**Fine by me, Ero-sennin." Naruto agreed easily. They walked farther than he thought they'd have to. Past the genin training grounds, past the Forest of Death, far out into grassy fields and rivers. They stopped at a large flat field, with a large lake on the other side of the bushes. Jiraiya stopped in the middle of the field and turned around to grin at Naruto who stopped a few feet from him.**

"**Alright brat, show me what you got." Jiraiya invited Naruto, hands in front of him and waving them towards himself. **

"**I guess . . . I should show you everything I've got." Naruto whispered, amusement dancing in his eyes.**

"Time to be amazed." Kushina trills, arms crossed as her smirk widened to near-ridiculous proportions.

"**Yeah, you should if you don't want me getting annoyed and finishing you." Jiraiya agreed with a laugh.**

"**Ok . . . I haven't been able to let loose like this, it should prove entertaining." Naruto murmured, a secret smile on his face. He slid into the beginning stance for his Kung Fu Hustle, and Jiraiya frowned because it almost looked like the kid wasn't going to take it seriously. Then Jiraiya really looked at Naruto's posture, and his eyes narrowed as he took in the actual solidity of it.**

"**Ah, should I take off my weights?" Naruto suddenly asked, and Jiraiya considered it. **

"**Start off with them, then when I say so, take them off." He answered.**

"**You got it!" And then Naruto dug in his back heel and shot forward. He feinted to the right, and his left leg came up in a low kick. Jiraiya jumped over the leg, his own right leg shooting forward to try and clip the boy's head, but Naruto twisted around and ducked under the wooden sandal. Completing his rotation, Naruto moved forward again and engaged Jiraiya in an exchange of blows, never hitting the sannin, but never getting hit either. Naruto realized however, that Jiraiya was only just serious, or otherwise he'd be littered with welts right about now.**

"And don't you forget it." Jiraiya warns jokingly.

_**He's fast, and this taijutsu style is one I've only seen once before . . . and that guy totally destroyed my ass! **_**Jiraiya thought, taking into account Naruto's performance. **_**But he's just started with this style, couldn't be longer than a year, he hasn't even reached half mastery, but he's certainly proficient. His transitions to each move is good, but not perfect, and not as flowing as it could be . . . his flexibility makes up for it though.**_

**Jiraiya jumped back, hands moving through seals. "Ninja Art: Toad Oil Bullet!"**

"**That's pretty cool Ero-sennin!" Naruto exclaimed, pushing chakra to his legs and leaping out of the way, rolling when he hit the ground. Pushing himself back up, Naruto suddenly wasn't alone, seven other clones suddenly appearing with a wave of air like a mirage.**

"**Kage Bushin without seals? You might just be worth my time after all, brat." Jiraiya admits.**

"**Judging by your continued refusal to use my name, I haven't earned your respect just yet, Ero-sennin. That's okay though, I will soon enough!" Naruto promised, four clones running forward and the other three suddenly sinking into the ground.**

"He really understands the importance of hard work." Minato praises, proud smile filling his face.

_**He knows Doton? **_**Jiraiya gaped, before concentrating. He dispatched the four clones that came at him with ease, getting more serious, and then adding chakra into his leg, stomping down as hard as he could. The result was a crater that encompassed the area he stood on, and the puffs of smoke let him know the other shadow clones had been dealt with. Glancing up, he saw Naruto's attention on the crater, so he smirked and sprinted forward, fist coming up to sink into Naruto's stomach . . . except, Naruto crumbled? **

"Oh, Ninja Art: Crumble!" Rin exclaims, clapping her hands.

"Even the lowest ranked jutsu can be extremely useful. Jiraiya actually does the same thing, taking low rank jutsu and using them to impressive effect in his fights." Tsunade explains, only huffing in mild exasperation at Jiraiya's raised ego.

"**What the . . . ?" Jiraiya mumbled, turning to look around on the field. **_**So he knows crumble and headhunter, impressive. Not above, or below, and what about left and right— **_

**Shadow clones again— this time coming from the left. Jiraiya realized that wherever Naruto went, he put a couple shadow clones under henge as scattered kunai. He grinned, knocking out the shadow clones as he got a little more serious. He sensed something behind him, and instinct made his body jump to the side, just in the nick of time to avoid being drilled in the back by a suiton jutsu.**

"**He knows suiton?" Jiraiya gasps.**

"Hell yeah!" Obito and Kakashi yell, high-fiving with zeal.

"**Just that one— I was ordered to learn it: Suiton: Water Fang Projectile." Naruto's voice comes from the bushes, and they part to reveal Naruto sauntering toward him. **

"**Who ordered you?" Jiraiya asks.**

"**Momochi Zabuza." Naruto answers.**

"**Zabuza? No, I'll find out later from the old man . . . alright brat, last two minutes. Impress me— off with the weights." Jiraiya orders.**

**A pulse of chakra alerts Jiraiya to the fact that Naruto had been using sealing weights as he suspected, and he held back a smile of anticipation. **_**It'll be interesting to see how far he's come in the sealing arts, **_**is what he thought, but what he said was, "Before I keel over brat!"**

**Naruto suddenly darted off to the side in a blur. **_**Well, **_**Jiraiya supposed, **_**I did provoke it. **_**Still, after being taught by the Kami no Shinobi, and then being forced by his overeager student to help him increase his speed outside of shunshin, he was well able to see Naruto's pattern of attack.**

"**Your fast brat, very fast— but not fast enough to get one over on me!" Jiraiya grunted, having caught the fist behind him with a pinpoint turn, hauling the boy over his shoulder. Naruto hit the ground and rolled, immediately rising on the balls of his feet to land a mule kick on Jiraiya's side as he turned. Jiraiya grunted— **_**the kid had some serious power in those hits— **_**and grabbing his ankle before Naruto could react, twisted it. Naruto twisted his body so his ankle wouldn't break, but Jiraiya was counting on that— he jerked Naruto back and landed a kick of his own in the boy's ribs.**

"**Gah!" Naruto cried out, falling to his elbows and knees once Jiraiya released his ankle.**

"**Well, brat, I'm impressed." Jiraiya admits happily, watching as Naruto got back up slowly, rubbing the bruised rib. "So, I've got some things for you to work on with your taijutsu— it's good, but it could be a lot better. Now, I noticed you used weighted seals? How much?"**

"**On each arm it's about eighty pounds, and each leg is ninety." Naruto responds, stretching his arms from side to side.**

"**We'll be increasing those ten more pounds each in a week. So if you're using weighted seals, and I'm assuming you did them yourself—" he paused for Naruto's confirmation, grinning when he got it—"then I can offer you a couple lessons in sealing, see if maybe we can't make something to help you in the Finals. Also . . . how do you feel about summons?"**

"Ooh, I didn't expect you to offer him the summoning's right away?!" Minato exclaims, leaning forward in interest.

"Hold your horses it probably won't be today . . . or, er, this immediate part." Jiraiya amends.

"**They're **_**awesome**_**, what more is there to say?" Naruto retorts.**

"**Then, how'd you like to sign the Toad Summons?" Jiraiya asks him. Instead of immediately agreeing, as he thought the boy would, Naruto frowned thoughtfully, head titling to the side in consideration. Jiraiya was briefly concerned he wouldn't do it, but then he returned his full attention to Naruto when the boy looked at him.**

"You don't think he'll decline, do you?" Jiraiya asked Minato, who looked a little concerned.

"I certainly hope not . . . unless he has a backup plan that's waiting to be revealed?" Minato guessed with a shrug.

"**Will I . . . be able to use other summons, if I ever found another?" Naruto asks.**

"**Hmm . . . you'd have to get approval from the head toad, but they're usually pretty good about that. Well, from what I hear, the users of the Toad contract I knew never used another. Got one in mind?" Jiraiya wanted to know.**

"**Hmm . . . that's a good question." Naruto grinned, eyes alight with humor.**

"**You're a strange kid . . . alright; I've got the scroll, so just prick your finger and sign it." Jiraiya unrolled the scroll that suddenly appeared with a summon of a medium-sized toad, offering it to Naruto. Naruto perused the list of names, eyes crinkling slightly in amusement when he saw his father's name. **_**Ah, so you're keeping it in the family, Jiraiya? **_**Naruto guessed, biting his index finger with a sharp incisor and writing his name cleanly. Stepping back, Jiraiya rolled the scroll up, gave it back to the toad, and both toad and scroll returned to the Summoning World.**

Jiraiya snorted. "The exact same thing you did. Everyone I know just sign with their thumb, but no— you two want to be neat and proper and _different_." Jiraiya mocks, voice getting higher with each adjective.

"**So . . . I think I want to wait a little until we start with summoning. What can you teach me now?" Naruto asked.**

**Jiraiya considered the question, crossing his arms. "Well . . . who's your opponent in the Finals?"**

"**Hyuuga Neji." Naruto responded, a bit of a sneer forming on his face.**

**Jiraiya winced. "Wow, what a first match— as you are now . . . it'd be a tough match. Those Hyuuga don't play around— so we want to get you to a level where the call won't be so close and you'll definitely be made for Chuunin."**

"The boy is that good then? It's strange that a main branch member would be so . . . well, with the exception of Hizashi . . ." Minato mumbles, before realization strikes, ". . . Who I bet is his father."

"**What was that about my taijutsu?" Naruto asked Jiraiya.**

"**Well, I've seen that taijutsu only once. The guy— I mean, he just totally trashed me. Like, obliterated, fatality, K.O— whatever you want, that's what happened. We want to get you at that level sometime before I die. So I'm thinking in the next two years or so? Well, what we can do know is work on making the transition between moves more flowing. Right now, there's this hesitation, which I'm betting has more to do with your green status to the style than any lacking on your part."**

**Naruto nodded. "Okay, and . . . you said you'd help me with fuuinjutsu. So far, I had the idea to use flash tags, but those eyes of his only respond to chakra . . . is there a way to make a tag that lets out bursts of chakra, like, you know, a beacon or something?"**

"That's an excellent idea, actually, but is it possible sensei?" Kakashi inquires, dark eyes stuck on his sensei.

"Well, it certainly isn't impossible . . . but I'm wondering if perhaps that might be too advanced for his level, whatever that might be . . . the book doesn't offer specific details." Minato answers.

"**Certainly a worthy goal for this month. Well, Naruto . . . I think we're going to have a lot of fun." Jiraiya assumed with a large smirk. **

**The next day Jiraiya discovered there would be a little hiccup in his plans.**

"What did you do?" Tsunade asks dully, sighing.

"Why? Why— always— me?" Jiraiya complains.

"**What do you mean 'no'? You won't use the Kyuubi's chakra?" Jiraiya asked the boy, confused.**

"Is it such a problem?" Kushina asks, as if daring Jiraiya.

"For him? It just might be." Jiraiya answers, unsure of his future self's reasoning but trusting in it all the same.

"**I never said that." Naruto answered serenely. "I said I won't force the chakra. When I need it, I can bring up the amount I need, no more and no less."**

"**But that's only your assumption of the correct amount of chakra. Do you know what the seal is designed to do, besides keep the Kyuubi inside of you? It's meant to funnel it's chakra from it to you. It's doing that as we speak, adding chakra bit by bit, and it will continue to do so until there's no more left." Jiraiya explained.**

"Kami, Minato, what sort of masterpiece did you make?" Jiraiya gawks.

"**I'm well aware of the function of the Eight Trigrams Seal." Naruto said grimly, and Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the tone. **

"Holy . . . shit, Minato— eight trigrams?!" Kushina gasped. Her own heritage being so deeply infused with sealing, she wasn't a Master but she was damn good. Good enough to realize that what Minato did was pure sealing _art_.

"Impressive, huh?" Minato gulped. Oh, sure, he'd been thinking about ways to control a biju should it ever need to be done— specifically the Kyuubi, but . . . to know he succeeded?

"But to use that . . . I'm sure it had grave consequences." Kushina continues, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah, probably that's how I died." Minato agrees.

"I'm thinking something even more serious, but . . . I need confirmation." Kushina murmurs, and it disturbs Minato a little, the implications of her words.

**Did Naruto not want that chakra in his system, or was it something else? He almost looked regretful, but before he could examine the expression anymore Naruto spoke again. "Okay, two things: One, I'm not going to just force Kyuubi to give me all that chakra whenever I say so, if I ever do. Why? Oh, maybe I don't want to get dependent on the chakra, or maybe— just **_**maybe**_**, I consider the Kyuubi a living being that shouldn't be milked like a fucking cow. Second? Are you a biju?" **

"Whoa, someone's feeling a humanitarian vibe today." Kakashi says in mild shock.

"Yeah, he's definitely protective of Kyuubi." Rin murmured.

"Well, looking at it from Naruto's perspective . . . and keeping in mind the realization we've come to that the Kyuubi is not, in fact, an evil bastard of sentient chakra . . . then what he's saying actually makes sense. Consequently, I'm not sure how to feel about all of that." Tsunade mused, and basically wrapping up everyone's thought process in a concise manner.

**Jiraiya was already startled by Naruto's answers as the startling realization came to him— Naruto and the Kyuubi had some sort of **_**relationship**_**, and it was **_**positive**_**— so the question Naruto threw at him made him blink a couple times before answering slowly, unsurely, "No?"**

"**Right. So if you're not a biju, you're not even any sort of demon, then what makes you such an expert on biju chakra?" Naruto drills him with questions, and Jiraiya scowls as he realizes where Naruto is going.**

"Touché, and a point I hadn't even considered." Jiraiya acknowledges.

"**Look, Naruto, I may not be a biju but I have experience with jinchuurikis and the methods they use to control their biju—"**

"**I'm not looking to **_**control**_** my biju, you know why? Because I trust him— yes, Jiraiya, your suspicions are true, I actually trust Kyuubi. You know why? Those other jinchuuriki might have their ways, but that's for their biju. I have a completely different, completely unique one. So, if anyone's going to help me learn how to handle his chakra, how to work with it— it's going to be him."**

"**The Kyuubi is not going to teach you how to use its chakra. It doesn't even like you because it's locked up inside you." Jiraiya argues.**

"**That may be so, but you know what he hates even more? A weak host. So, even if it's just for his own pride and protection, he'll teach me properly because any other way is liable to get us both killed." Naruto said firmly. Jiraiya and Naruto glared at each other, both keeping their defenses up and both looking for any chinks in armor. Finally, it was Jiraiya who conceded with a sigh.**

"**Alright, brat, you and Kyuubi figure that out. But I'm not asking you to wield control over it now. All I'm asking is that you train to be able to use a large portion of it when needed— you can't just assume you'll know what you need exactly. Such concrete facts are a luxury in the ninja way of life."**

**Naruto stared at Jiraiya strangely, when the Kyuubi spoke to him.**

_**This is acceptable. Kit, do as he says.**_

"There it goes again." Obito points out.

"What?" Minato asks.

"That's the second time Kyuubi's called Naruto 'kit'— those are baby foxes. For him, wouldn't that be like a term of endearment?" Obito asked.

"Well, maybe not that far— not yet— but you've got a point." Kushina allows.

_**Kyuubi, are you sure? **_**Naruto wanted to make sure.**

_**Yes, he is right. With Orochimaru, you were weak after that initial rush of my chakra. If you train with it, grow accustomed to it, then that . . . drain won't happen anymore. **_**Kyuubi rationalizes.**

**Naruto snaps back to reality, leveling a cool gaze on Jiraiya. "We agree to this. Please help us however you can, Jiraiya-sama."**

"**Heh, so you've finally gotten over that nickname?" Jiraiya assumes, smiling.**

"**Nah, I just thought it wasn't appropriate in such a serious conversation, **_**Ero-sennin**_**." Naruto denies with a teasing grin.**

**Two days later, Jiraiya and Naruto had established a sort of schedule. First thing was taijutsu practice, then fuuinjutsu with Jiraiya making Naruto come up with seals for his scenarios. Afterwards, they would work on chakra control and then Summoning jutsu. This particular day, Katsu was here as well, having taken an early shift and finishing up at lunch rush. She sat off to the side, on a large rock with a lunch basket by the side of the rock and two small toads in her lap. One, named Gamakichi, is orange with purple markings and wearing a blue jacket. The other toad is his brother Gamatatsu, a fat little toad yellow in color with orange markings— he was munching happily on cupcakes Katsu had brought from work.**

"Oh, they must be kids, since they're so small." Minato realizes.

"**Okay, we've got Gamakichi and Gamatatsu . . . summon another one, this time with Kyuubi's chakra." Jiraiya ordered. **

**Naruto rolled his eyes. "You want the whole damn family or something?" he muttered, but did as he was told. He bit his thumb, performed the hand seals— and now the once-potent rush of chakra that nearly overwhelmed him before was now merely an added warmth in his chest and in the pit of his stomach— and slammed his hands to the ground— with a pop of smoke, a new toad came out. He was even bigger than Jiraiya, dark blue with green markings, wearing a dark grey haori and carrying a Bo staff on his back.**

"After only two weeks? That's impressive." Tsunade remarks, Minato nodding in agreement with a proud smile.

"**It is an honor to make your acquaintance . . . I am Uzumaki Naruto. You are?" Naruto greeted the toad, bowing. The toad responded with an equally deep bow of his head, taking stock of the new ninja before him. **

"**I am Gamahiko, younger brother of Gamahiro, young master Uzumaki. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, my brother spoke well of you when you summoned him yesterday. He also spoke of another . . ."**

"**Perhaps you mean me, Gamahiko-san? I am Kuroshio Katsu, it is an honor to meet an honorable Toad summon such as you." Katsu introduces herself, bowing.**

"**It is also a pleasure to meet you, honorable young lady. Ah, Jiraiya-sama, I didn't see you, forgive me. You are well?" Gamahiko asks the Sage, bowing to him. Jiraiya waves off the formalities with a small grin.**

"**Yeah, everything's cool. Sorry for troubling you Hiko-san." Jiraiya said.**

**Gamahiko nods understandingly. "Then, if there is nothing more for me to do, I shall be on my way." He disappears with a pop of smoke, and Jiraiya turns to look at Naruto, sighing heavily.**

**Naruto frowns. "What?"**

"**I had expected a bit more from the Kyuubi's chakra." Jiraiya disclosed. **

"**I was only using a little. Using too much at one time seriously affects me, so I thought it best to work my way up." Naruto explains, and Jiraiya takes the explanation with a nod of his head. **

"**Then, we'll just have to keep increasing it . . . maybe it's because your own reserves are so topped. Brat, from now on, I want you to work yourself as close to empty as possible before you try using the Kyuubi's chakra, let's see if that doesn't have an effect." Jiraiya told Naruto, who agreed. **

**The next two weeks passed by in a similar fashion, with Katsu hanging out wither after work or when Jiraiya ordered something from the café— taijutsu practice, where Naruto had to admit to a serious improvement from what he was doing before and where his movements now flowed without hesitation or thought; fuuinjutsu practice, where Naruto was now oh-so-close to making that chakra flare tag, though there were still a few kinks Jiraiya was helping him iron out, as well as offering him new and harder seals to both break down and reconstruct; Jiraiya also offered himself up as a training dummy to help Naruto get better with his weapons . . . all of them— the Bo staff (which he would occasionally summon Gamahiko for, as he knew the Bo staff on the summons's back wasn't for show), the daggers, and the double axes. Jiraiya actually took a moment out of his research time to awe over the fine pieces of work, asking him question after question which Naruto was all too happy to answer. The Summon training proved results, but it plateaued after a while— Naruto figured he had just reached his limit of chakra that could be allowed, but Jiraiya wouldn't take such an excuse. Now, all this might sound good and well on Jiraiya's part . . . if the guy didn't just make a shadow clone to do the work for him, preferring to gaze at the nubile young beauties that played in the lake most of the time.**

"I guess I shouldn't have expected anything more." Minato sighs regretfully. Jiraiya just giggles perversely at the thought of young women playing in the water, not at all ashamed or scared of the glares being sent his way.

"**I can understand, Ero-sennin . . . your need for research. As long as you rake in the cash you do from writing that crap, I can't argue with results," Naruto confessed, panting after a brutal spar with the shadow clone. "However," he glared, "You could at least, **_**once or twice**_**, look over here and help out instead of using a **_**fucking**_** shadow clone!" **

"Language, especially in regards to your elders!" Kushina snaps, glaring at the book.

"**Pfft, brat, you're doing fine." Jiraiya dismissed.**

"**Aw, come on, Jiraiya-sama, he's near depleted now." Katsu cajoles the older man, looking at him upside down from her position on the rock.**

"**Hmm . . ." Jiraiya considered this, ignoring Naruto's mutinous grumbles ("oh, sure, listen to her. If I had a cute face like that I bet you'd listen to **_**me**_** too."), and decided, "Brat, summon as many clones as you can until you feel like you can't anymore. And don't be stubborn and think you can, when your body's screaming at you that you cannot." He glared at Naruto to show he was serious.**

"Well, at least your serious about his health . . . somewhat." Minato relents, not realizing how those words would quickly come back to bite him in the ass later on.

**Naruto sighed, straightening up from his tired slump and saluting Jiraiya. "Aye, aye, Ero-bunta!" **

**POP— Gamakichi— POP— Gamatatsu— POP— and their even tinier mint green and black cousin Geroro, before Naruto dropped to his knees and managed out between pants, "I've hit my limit I think, Ero-sennin!" **

**Jiraiya gets up from his peeping area, patting his clothes of dirt as he walked over. "I have to say brat, I'm very impressed. Say, do me a favor and channel some chakra, just try and reach for any dregs I have a theory to confirm." **

Tsunade threw Jiraiya a strange look. "What are you trying Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya thought about it, realized it, and then the blood drained out of his face. "Well, damn, here comes the part I was worried about."

**Naruto nods, hands coming up in a seal to help him concentrate and try to gather some chakra. As soon as his eyes close, Jiraiya makes his move, jabbing his fist deep into Naruto's stomach. Naruto's eyes shoot open, and for a moment he just gapes at Jiraiya, before he slumps over and embraces unconsciousness. Jiraiya catches him before he falls, hoisting him over one shoulder. **_**There are quite a few people I'll have to answer to in complete atonement if this gets out. **_**Jiraiya thinks with grim amusement. **

"Jiraiya!" Kushina cries, wide eyes swinging to the grimacing Jiraiya.

"Sensei, so help me if you're trying anything stupid, I _will hurt_ you." Minato swears, and the suddenly cold feeling that touches the others lightly makes them shiver. He isn't letting out K.I, they realize, he's pulling it in and making them all feel the effects!

Jiraiya, realizing how serious Minato is, feels a trace of fear— they were only in the one room, and he couldn't outrun his student.

**A noise from his right reminds him that Katsu is here, so he turns around sheepishly with his hand held up in surrender. Katsu had scrabbled to the ground, feet planted firmly apart as she trembled, looking at Jiraiya with a promise of pain in her eyes.**

"Look how you've worried that poor child!" Tsunade hisses, eyes nearly glowing with fury as she coils by his side, ready to pounce on him.

"**I think you'd better let me in on your plan, Jiraiya-sama." It's more a demand than a request in that quit, controlled voice, so Jiraiya takes pity on the girl who must think that he's going to kill her best friend. **

"**Ugh . . . what?" Naruto groans faintly, eyes slowly opening as he ascended back into consciousness. He was on the ground, and Jiraiya was standing with his back to him in front of some bushes. Naruto growls, getting up and stomping over to Jiraiya.**

"**What exactly did you confirm, Ero-sennin? That you can pull one over on an Uzumaki? Congratulations, would you like a fucking cookie?!" Naruto snarls at the man, moving to stand in front of him and poke the man's chest with his finger, glaring up at him with an inferno blazing in his eyes. Jiraiya just looked down at the boy and smirked. Enhancing his finger with chakra, he flicked the boy in the forehead and sent him flying. **

"**OW, Kami dammit, Ero- . . . sennin?" Naruto started off angry, but when he looked down and realized he wasn't flying over ground as he'd thought, but over a very large chasm, he trailed off in confusion, slight panic, and just a trace of betrayal. It was like him realizing he was thrown off the cliff was a weight, because he dropped straight down, wide blue eyes looking up to see Jiraiya step away from the cliff edge. **

Amid the shrieks of Kakashi, Rin, and Obito, Kushina and Tsunade howl in fury, shooting up to pounce— but in the time it takes them to rise, Minato has already snarled and hurled himself at Jiraiya, knocking both him and the man over and sending them over the edge of the couch. Minato growls and lifts himself up over Jiraiya, fingers wrapping around Jiraiya's neck and throttling the bastard.

"YOU FOOL!" Minato hissed, Jiraiya struggling to pry his hands off the man's neck. "You threw my son off a _cliff_, Jiraiya! _You threw him!_ _I_— _will_— _kill_— _you!_" he roared, arms moving back and forth in jerking motions as he bashes Jiraiya's head into the floor. Jiraiya chokes, trying to answer, but Minato squeezed harder, seriously intending to at the very least knock the man out.

"Wait, Minato, you're going to kill him!" Kushina screams, running over and wrapping her arm around Minato's middle, trying to get him off of Jiraiya. Obito and Rin grabbed Minato's hands, trying to prey them away from Jiraiya's neck. In the end, it took the combined effort of both her and Tsunade to get him off, and he still tried to fight them off.

Jiraiya, catching his breath, muttered, "I don't know why I will do that, but I'm sure I was absolutely sure he could do it."

"That's not your gamble to make, sensei!" Minato growled, Tsunade and Kushina pushing him to the seat. "If Naruto forgives you, then I'll forgive you. If he doesn't," Minato wanted to clarify, seeing the man's smug expression, "then I am breaking your limbs!"

_**Oh Kami, he wants to kill me?! I should have known— of course he'd be angry I killed is prize student, I'm so stupid! **_**Naruto thinks, scrambling for anything that could save him. **

"Jeez, all this mistrust!" Jiraiya mutters, rubbing a bruised throat as he gets back into his seat, wary of Minato's dagger gaze on him— Kami, did the guy blink, he was like a tiger!

**But there was nothing! The walls of the cliff were too far away for him to try and stick to, his daggers and axes would do no good with the thick rock, he knew nothing to help him! Naruto realized he'd have to come to terms with his death.**

_**I have no chakra . . . I can't summon anything . . . I'm going to die, I'm going to die, die, die, **_**Naruto shut his eyes tight, waiting for the ground to hit him— rather, for him to hit the ground and become a red smear on the rocky floor.**

_**AS IF I'D ALLOW THAT! **_**Kyuubi's unholy snarl echoes through his entire being, nearly deafening him it seemed. Before he could open his mouth to wonder out loud, a sudden rush of chakra exploded through his body, making him see stars from its intensity— **_**it was warm, it was heady, it was SO. MUCH— **_**and he felt like he might die from such sensory overload, when suddenly he knew what to do. **

"Oh, thank goodness, Kyuubi comes through!" Kushina sighed in relief, hand moving to Minato's and threading their fingers together, squeezing in hopes to calm him. His return squeeze made her hopeful.

**He flipped to face the oncoming ground, hands nearly blurring through the seals, and he roared,**

"**SUMMONING JUTSU!" **

**There was a big cloud of smoke— then the feeling of hitting something solid (yet slightly sticky?) and he thought it must have been the ground and he'd died after all. After ten seconds, he realized he still felt . . . alive . . . so he managed to pry his eyes open and squint at his surroundings. He saw a big wall of orange, and he decided that he wasn't dead, but he had to be hallucinating. He slowly gathered his legs and arms under him, pushing up slowly to raise himself to all fours, head moving from side to side as he tried to gain his bearings.**

"**Jiraiya! Why have you summoned me?!" A booming, rough voice— like something you'd hear from Yakuza— filled his ears and made him wince from the volume. Then he blinked. Blinked twice. It occurred to him then, that he had managed to summon a giant toad, likely the Toad Boss Summon.**

"He summoned Gamabunta?" Minato murmured to himself, eyes widening fractionally as he considered this.

"**Jiraiya didn't summon you, Honorable boss summon. It was I, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto called, and then he wondered why he added his father's name . . . **

"Nice ring to it right?" Tsunade chimes in, looking at Kushina and Minato.

"**Namikaze-Uzumaki? Ah, Minato's boy, eh? Regardless of your birth, boy, as I recall you can't be older than thirteen! No way you summoned me. Why are you down here anyway, boy?" The toad asked, and when it raised its arm, Naruto saw that it had a pipe held between it' webbed fingers. **

"**Jiraiya threw me down here!" Naruto answered, anger lacing his words.**

"**Did he now? Well, in honor to Minato, it's only fair I punish Jiraiya . . . by the way, my name is Gamabunta. Perhaps, if you impress me, I can make you my underling."**

"No need, I've already been punished." Jiraiya snorted, grinning at the ever so slightly mollified and sheepish expression on Minato's face. He never could stay mad at anyone for long, Jiraiya recalled with a wry grin, turning back to the book.

"**Underling?" Naruto snorted. "Sorry, but I can barely stand being the Hokage's underling, I'm more of a leader type myself." But Gamabunta either wasn't paying attention or just didn't hear what he said, because he just jumped up, and then they were back on solid ground, with a shocked and smiling Jiraiya looking up at them and a relieved and excited Katsu bouncing next to him.**

"**Well, brat, looks like you didn't hesitate this time!" Jiraiya shouts, arms crossed over his chest.**

"**Hesitation?! Hesitat— listen, you old bastard when I get down there I'm not going to hesitate to shove my hand through your chest!" Naruto yelled, shaking his fist.**

"**Aw, come on brat, what I did might have been extreme, but look at the results, huh?!" Jiraiya gestured to Gamabunta, grinning widely. "Besides, I did your and Kyuubi's bond a favor . . . now you guys aren't hesitating to work together, to help each other right?"**

"Was that really your reasoning when you did it?" Minato asked, looking suspiciously at Jiraiya.

"Hm, but it's convenient right?" Jiraiya retorted, and Minato couldn't help but feel his ire at the man soften in the face of that 'you-can't-really-hate-me' grin that Jiraiya had down pat. The others around the room stifled their snickers at the realization that as quickly as Minato condemned Jiraiya he had forgiven him . . . Minato was, after all, just too damn noble.

"**Our bond?" Naruto murmured. He thought about it . . . why he couldn't really draw a lot of Kyuubi's chakra. He had chalked it up to his own reluctance, but, had that also been reciprocated? Was Kyuubi worried he'd abuse that power?**

_**No. **_**Kyuubi answered, and it sounded like he wanted to be very clear on the matter. **_**I . . . wanted to honor our agreement. I had, at one point, considered making you dependent on my chakra to control you, but I . . . no longer wish for control. It is better to be in symbiosis than to be dominant. Things work out better, I've learned.**_

_**Kyuubi . . . **_**Naruto couldn't even find the words to convey his emotions to the chakra entity, so he merely settled on making sure the warmth in his chest translated to the Kyuubi. **

"Aw," Rin said softly under her breath, finding Naruto's attachment to Kyuubi adorable.

**Returning his attention to Jiraiya and Katsu, who looked vaguely worried over his silence, he spoke again. "Look, I'm not going to forget this Ero-sennin! But . . . you were right. So, I forgive you." Naruto said with a sigh, half hoping Jiraiya hadn't heard the words. Judging by the manic grin on the guy's face, no such luck, he thought to himself. **

"Welp, looks like I'm cleared and free!" Jiraiya laughed, relaxing into his seat and putting his arms behind his head.

"We never said we'd forget, Jiraiya." Kushina, Minato, and Tsunade warn the man, dangerous glints in their eyes.

"**Wait, Jiraiya, this shrimp—"**

"**That's kit to you, Gamabunta-sama!" Naruto interrupted with a grin, amusement mounting when he caught the snort from Kyuubi in the back of his mind. **

"**Fine, whatever, this kid here summoned me?" Gamabunta asked, glaring at the white-haired man.**

"**Yup, that's the new summon guy alright!" Jiraiya promoted, grinning largely.**

"**You there, little girl, you might want to go far off for a bit, I need to have a . . . talk with Jiraiya." Gamabunta advised Katsu, who immediately scurried off, moving to the tress on the far side. Jiraiya gulped, getting a bad feeling.**

"**Come on now, Gamabunta . . . why don't we discuss—" he couldn't finish his sentence, because Gamabunta's long pierced tongue shout out and hit the man with incredible force and sent him to the ground so hard he made an indent in it. Without pausing, Gamabunta wrapped his tongue around Jiraiya, flipped the man over, and started bashing his head into the ground. For a time, the only sounds were the yelps and grunts of Jiraiya, and the raucous laughter of Naruto and Katsu. **

"Way to go Gamabunta!" Obito cries, laughing.

"**W-wh-what a-a-re y-y-you-u do-in-g-g G-g-g-am-m-ma?" Jiraiya struggled to get out, despite his cranium being used as an impromptu hammer. Gamabunta suddenly dropped him on his back, knocking the wind out of Jiraiya, and he tapped his pipe on his knee as he explained.**

"**You threw Minato's kid off a cliff, Jiraiya! If I didn't do it I wasn't sure if perhaps those two wouldn't come back from the grave just for the chance to beat you silly." Gamabunta explained. **

"**Good point." Jiraiya groaned, working to ignore the pain riddling his body.**

**Gamabunta returned his attention to Naruto. "Alright kid, you're going to have to pass a test if you want to summon me or any other toad." He informed Naruto.**

"Oh boy." Minato groaned, feeling worry well up in his chest again for his most adventurous and troublesome son.

"**And this test would be?" Nrauto asked.**

"**If you can stay on my back until sundown, I'll acknowledge you as a summoner." Gamabunta promised.**

**Naruto glanced at the sky, sky already acquiring a golden tone as the sun started to sink. It would only be a few hours at most, he could do it. "I accept. Let's being immediately Gamabunta-sama." Naruto said, using the last bits of chakra he had left to stick to the skin of the toad, and just in time too— without warning, Gamabunta leapt into the air, and started the test.**

**Katsu observed this all from a branch in the tree she sat in. Gamabunta leapt, hopped, zig-zagged, and performed many other maneuvers, just to get Naruto off of him. Naruto held on, and Katsu was sure after two hours Naruto had run out of chakra, so he MUST have been holding on with sheer will and tenacity. After a total of five hours, the sun had finally reached the halfway sinking point, and Gamabunta stopped, seeing the test was done.**

"**The test is over brat. It's sundown, and you've proved yourself, congratulations." Gamabunta said quietly, approval coloring his tone.**

"Congratulations Naru-chan!" The entire group cheered, clapping and whistling.

"**Ah . . . how . . . wonderful, Gamabunta-sama." Naruto breathed, holding onto consciousness by a thread. He staggered to the side, hoping he'd have enough chakra to jump down and land safely. He made to jump, but to his surprise, his knees buckled and he fell off of Gamabunta. He was unconscious before being caught by Jiraiya. Jiraiya nodded to Gamabunta in thanks, who grunted and then returned to his world with a pop of smoke.**

"**Geez, Jiraiya-sama, you seriously wrecked him." Katsu grumbled, moving up besides Jiraiya to examine Naruto, gold gaze roving over the peacefully sleeping face and the even breathing shown by his moving chest. She glared at the man when she heard him laugh.**

"**Yeah . . . well, let's get him to a hospital, he's totally under the effects of chakra exhaustion." Jiraiya said, walking. **

**When Naruto woke up again, this time it wasn't on the ground, but in a soft bed, just not the bed he wanted to be in. White walls, one window, white sheets . . . ah, he was in the hospital, he realized. And what was that noise?**

**Clack. "You're awake and we know it Naruto." Shikamaru's drawl made him snort.**

**Clack. "Naru, you're all better now, right?" Katsu's voice made him smile.**

"it's always better to wake up in the hospital with friends to greet you!" Obito chirped.

"**Yeah, feeling pretty good. How long was I out for?" Naruto grunted, heaving himself up. He turned to the side and saw Shikamaru and Katsu engaged in a game of shougi. Katsu was still wearing her work uniform so she either just got off or was here during a break.**

"**You've been asleep for three days Naruto." Katsu answered, turning big, blinking gold eyes up to him. "That was certainly a surprise, but Jiraiya-sama totally vanished so I couldn't find him to scold him properly."**

"Scold me . . . okay." Jiraiya laughs.

"Three days, huh . . . well Kami knows I'd be out for two weeks after that." Minato mutters, deciding not to hound Jiraiya about this anymore.

**Shikamaru snorts at the thought of the tiny Katsu in all her four feet seven inches scolding a sannin. "You sure don't know how to limit yourself huh, Naruto?"**

"**Well I got what I wanted from it, so it's fine. Come on, let's get out of here." Naruto invites them, sliding out the bed. He tracks down his clothes in an old wood armoire and slips them on. He knew they wouldn't say anything if he snuck out of the hospital, so he was good.**

**Once he'd gotten his clothes on, they walked down the hall intending to use the elevator . . . when a noise from a room they were just passing made them pause.**

"**That's Lee's room." Katsu whispered, and Naruto wondered briefly how she knew that before banishing the thought— it didn't matter.**

"Rock Lee? That poor boy from the semi-finals?" Rin recalled.

"**Stay here." He told her, and she nodded, backing up to stand beside the door frame. He and Shikamaru looked at each other, before opening the door and stepping through. Shikamaru gasped at what they saw.**

**Gaara stood at the foot of Lee's bed, his sand moving through the air and coming closer and closer to Lee.**

"Jeez he ruined the kid's life isn't that enough?" Obito snarled.

"**Stop, Gaara-san, you won your fight with him remember?" Naruto's voice made the red-haired boy look over at them, but he didn't retract his sand.**

"**This has nothing to do with you. If you interfere I'll kill you too." Gaara told them, and Naruto repressed a shiver because he knew that the boy would more than deliver on his word. Then he suddenly stiffened, and it looked like it took him a lot of effort to rasp out, "Can't . . . move . . . my body."**

"**You've already crushed him, what more do you want?" Shikamaru barked. Ah, Naruto realized, Shikamaru's shadow bind, of course!**

"Good thinking Shikamaru!" Kushina cheered.

**They waited for Gaara's answer, and nearly rocked back in shock when they got it. "I merely wanted to kill him."**

"**You sicko, like we'd let you do that." Shikamaru huffed.**

**Gaara suddenly turned his attention to the door. "Someone is out there. Tell them to come in or I kill you all."**

**Naruto stiffened, teeth bared in a growl as Shikamaru glared at Gaara by his side. "No, be content with us." Naruto snarled.**

**Gaara's sand suddenly started to move toward them. "Bring them in . . . they feel familiar." He ordered. The sand came toward them in a rush, and Naruto was tensing to spring him and Shikamaru out of there, when the door opened quickly and Katsu ran in.**

"Ack! No, stupid girl!" Kakashi yelped, gripping the arm rest of the couch.

"Oh man, he's going to squish her!" Rin whispred in a trembling voice, wringing her fingers together.

_**NO! **_**Naruto screamed in his mind. He grabbed Katsu by her arm and dragged her behind him. "I told you to wait outside." He growled angrily, but Katsu wasn't even focused on him, he realized, she was looking at Gaara . . . and smiling?**

"**Gaara-chan!" she chirped. "Hey, why aren't you at the café yet? I told you the cookies are warm and fresh at this time!"**

"OH Kami she knows him?" Tsunade gaped, heart pounding in her chest.

"**Ah, the waitress from the café . . ." Gaara greeted her. "Kuroshio-san I won't kill you. If you know these two, tell them not to interfere or I will kill them."**

"**Gaara-chan, there's no need to kill anybody today!" she insisted, voice still perky. "Hey, why do you want to kill so badly, huh? Blood will ruin your taste of the cookies, and I made them!"**

"It's like she's talking to a child. An insane . . . bloodthirsty child." Obito said faintly.

**Gaara didn't say anything for a while, merely staring at her. Naruto and Shikamaru glared right back at him, more than ready to pounce on him if he so much as twitched in her direction. "My life story up until now from birth isn't what you'd consider a happy story. To ensure I became the strongest shinobi, my father fused my spirit with a sand demon's. Doing so killed the woman who gave birth to me. I was born a monster."**

"And he really believes that too, the poor boy." Kushina said softly, heart softening a little towards the troubled young man.

**Naruto, despite the anger and suspicion he felt towards his fellow jinchuuriki, couldn't help but soften. His story, as he suspected, was a sad one. Especially if he believed he killed his own mother. **

"As big a softy as his kaa-chan." Minato mumbled.

"**Sand spirit?" He repeated. He'd never heard of a biju referred to as a spirit before.**

"**Its name is Shukaku and it is the reincarnation of a monk who was sealed up in a pot of tea."**

**In the back of Naruto's mind, Kyuubi snorted. **_**He's still using that tired old story? **_

**He wanted to ask what the Kyuubi meant, but now was not the time. Shikamaru gulped and said, "To use a jutsu to put a demon in your baby . . . your tou-san's a really messed up guy. I guess there's no love there huh?"**

"**You speak of love?" Gaara scoffed. "Don't put me with those standards. The only bonds or ties I have are the ones I can wrap around people's necks . . . bonds of hatred."**

"He's seven kinds of messed up." Jiraiya mutters, feeling a little pity.

"**Swell, Gaara-chan." Katsu muttered, but a glare from Naruto kept her quiet. **

"**I was protected and pampered by my father, and taught all the ninjutsu I could know. It was then, when he realized that my seal was insufficient to keep me from the insanity of the spirit inside me, that he decided I would be killed for the safety of the village."**

"I can _feel_ the love, there." Rin said sarcastically and angry at the man.

"To kill your child for your screw up . . . that's wrong, so wrong." Minato said, shaking his head.

"**Your tou-san sent assassins after you." Naruto guessed, some of his anger now moving to the Kazekage for doing such a thing to his own son. At least his father made sure the seal was secure and strong.**

**Gaara nodded. "I suddenly was bereft of all ties, of a purpose. I had no idea what to do. Then it occurred to me . . . my purpose was to kill. I killed the assassins, and in doing so realized my truth. I was to live for myself only, ties to anyone else made you weak. Weak, like you Konoha nins who protect your fellow man." **

"It was the only way he could defend his heart." Kakashi realizes, having used a logic similar to that for so long in his life.

"**Oh, Gaara, if only you knew." Naruto said softly. "From one demon to another, take it from me: there is so much more to live for, so much more to keep you sane. But nobody showed that to you."**

"naruto the Bleeding Heart." Rin giggles quietly.

"**Naruto . . . ?" Shikamaru trailed off, wondering what Naruto meant by calling himself a demon.**

"You think none of the kids know he's a jinchuuriki?" Kushina asks Minato.

"It might have been a way to protect Naruto . . . not that it helped much." Minato theorizes.

"**Kuroshio-san, move. I will kill them now." Gaara ordered, and his sand suddenly moved towards them. Naruto growled and coiled, ready to get them all out of there, when a voice came from behind them.**

"He seems to have a bit of respect for Katsu, if he doesn't want to kill her." Tsunade observes.

"Actually, I think it has something to do with her fabulous cookies, if I'm interpreting that right from before." Minato interjects.

"**Save it for tomorrow." Gai faced them all with an impassive face. Something about Gai must have unsettled Gaara, for he clutched his head and soon left. Before he exited the room, he paused and turned to Katsu.**

"**I look forward to your hosting, Kuroshio-san." And then he left.**

"And, apparently, her wonderful serving manner." Rin adds.

"**Katsu, I don't know how you know him, but didn't Naruto tell you to stay away from psychos?" Shikamaru demanded, ushering her out the door as all three of them quickly left with a terse goodbye to Gai-sensei.**

"**He comes to the café, and I always end up serving him now because the others are too afraid!" she defended. "I didn't want him to feel . . . unwelcome!"**

"Oh, yeah, we don't want him feeling uncomfortable." Obito snorts.

"It's only what a good hostess would do." Kushina reminds him with a smile.

"**Kurohime, they are afraid for a good reason!" Naruto snapped, still angry with her for rushing in to the room. Katsu wilted a little under his stare— she knew he was still made too.**

"**Well, it doesn't matter. He hasn't tried to hurt me, and he answers me sometimes when I talk to him. His siblings aren't all bad either, despite being afraid of him, and despite all I heard from you on Temari-san in the semi-finals." Katsu said, ending the conversation.**

"**Whatever, I'm out of here." Shikamaru grumbled, and once they cleared he hospital doors he left. **

"**Well, I have to go back to work now, lunch break is over. See you at home, Naruto!" Katsu waved goodbye and ran off to work.**

**Naruto sighed, trudging to the bathhouse. He had a pervert Sannin to find. "He better have some good stuff for me for landing me in the hospital like that." Naruto muttered. There were only two weeks left until the Chuunin Exams after all, and he wanted to dominate them. **

"Aw, that's the end? I want to know what more I teach him!" Jiraiya whines.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that next chapter is the Chuunin Exam Finals, finally!" Kushina squeals happily. Minato chuckles and hugs her close as they get up and move to the kitchen.

"Hey, wait, I don't want to quit just yet! Let's read another chapter before bed!" Obito pleads, looking around at the rest of the group.

"What do you think we're doing?! Of course we're going to read it next, I'm just getting snacks for us all!" Kushina hollers from the kitchen.

"Woohoo!" Rin and Obito yell, diving back onto the couch.

"My turn this time!" Rin calls out first, getting hisses and boos from Obito and Jiraiya.

* * *

**As always, your reviews are most appreciated!**

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad**


	18. Chapter 18

**So, it's been some time, yes? It's only because i got stuck on the neji vs naruto, and then i pulled some bullshit so spectacular that you'll go "WHAT THE F*&(&) is the THIS!" but i'm sure you'll like it just the same. But see? You've been warned now, right? **

**Also . . . i revised chapters one through five. It's nothing too serious- just, you know, when i went back to read over them i nearly puked over my keyboard so i said to myself, "MUST! REDO!" So that's that. However, even with those blegh beginning chapters, i'm so glad i have new readers who favorited and reviewed! Now if you're saying, "Well why don't you edit chapter sixteen since you forgot to do Lee vs Gaara?**

**I did that for a reason: I am so tired of Lee vs Gaara it's the same thing over and over . . . my favorite rendition however, was in Naruto Abridged. You know, with the DDR challenge? So i just KNOW that if i try to write it, DDR or "Funk!" is going to make it in there somewhere. Deliver me NOT into temptation people!**

** The next chapter . . . criminey, people this thing was 45 pages and it took me this long. My answer: I.D.K. It'll come out as fast as i can, i really want to get the next one in before christmas, because i am not doing ANYTHING strenuous, or for other people, on my birthday. HOORAY ME!**

**One more thing! I added a section in the chapter where they get to watch a fight, with sound and everything. Here's the way it goes:**

**TV-** _anything on the tv will be written like_ _this._  
_**Thoughts on the TV will be written like this.**  
_Otherwise it's standard procedure with the group from the past! **It might be confusing, but you'll get it when you read that part, i'm sure.**

**This chapter was inspired by some of the most beast OST remixes i've ever heard, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (especially the soundtrack), hour long youtube mixes, and Google cuz that shit is great when you realize you've forgotten half the Chuunin Exam.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Eighteen_

_The Battle Royale of Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

"**Well, this is it." Naruto broke the silence of the early morning cheerily. He and Katsu sat on the porch railings in front of the house, watching the sunrise dying down to the bright blues of the day. A perfect day indeed, Naruto thinks, for his big match.**

"**The big day." Katsu agrees. "You nervous?" **

"**If it were anyone else it could be considered fear." Naruto answered, and Katsu understood the convoluted meaning. **

"Aw, it's perfectly normal to feel nervous before such a big event." Kushina said in a comforting tone.

"**Will you ever tell me what it was you dragged Uchiha-kun to jiji's for?" Katsu asked him in a light tone. The . . . meeting sprung up immediately in Naruto's mind— that day he had tracked down Kakashi and Sasuke with Katsu's help, and forced Sasuke to meet the Hokage with him for a brilliant— and decidedly insane— idea he had suddenly thought up.**

"And we're not going to find out until the plan has either succeeded or failed, most likely succeeded . . ." Kushina droned, Obito finishing.

"Because that's exactly what his tou-chan does." Obito laughed at Minato's guilty smile.

"**Later . . . when the winds die down." Naruto teased her, a secret smile on his lips. "And will you ever tell me how you found Kakashi, when not even Gai-sensei could?"**

"**I didn't find Kakashi, I found Sasuke. His body's cries for tasty, edible food called to my inner chef." Katsu huffed; a little rankled at Kakashi's foolishness, in her mind. As if a growing boy could function properly on just the things he caught himself, and on such a training schedule . . . !**

"So I guess she hasn't accepted you yet." Rin said in mock sympathy, patting Kakashi lightly on the shoulder. Kakashi glared at her and shrugged the hand off.

**Naruto laughed. "Won't you ever accept sensei?" Katsu's cluck of her tongue was answer enough for him, so he let it go.**

"**The match is going to begin in another two hours . . . what do you want to do now?" Katsu questions. **

**Naruto considers this, head tilting back to see cirrus clouds thick and fluffy float on by. "I . . . will stay here for a little while longer. Hang out with Kyuubi, maybe." **

"**Alright then . . . I'm off. Naruto, you're going to do great!" Katsu cheers him, arms wrapping around his slim waist to give him the tightest hug she could. Naruto reciprocated the hug, needing her affirmation more than she knew. **

**When her silhouette had been swallowed up by distance and forest, Naruto hopped down from the porch railing to the porch itself, moving over to drop down on the wicker chair that was part of the patchwork porch set they'd added to over the years. Snuggling deep into the soft padding, Naruto curled up in the seat and closed his eyes, willing to appear in his mindscape. **

"**You have a decent opponent, and an important battle before you." Kyuubi's deep timbre was the first thing he heard, the growling tones overshadowing the quiet sounds of the rushing rivers echoing throughout the caverns. Naruto opened his eyes, and noticed with interest that the cave seemed lighter . . . as if floodlights had been placed in certain areas. **

"**Are you complementing a human Kyuubi?" Naruto asked, turning around to see Kyuubi curled up by a large cluster of crystals, like skyscrapers jutting upwards to the sky as whatever light there was in the cave caught their colors and threw them around. Kyuubi was no longer just red— he was tinged in pinks, blues, purples and gold, and yet his scarlet eyes burned the brightest as they pined Naruto to the spot with its reproachful look. **

"**I am merely cautioning you against hubris— a common failing of humans." Kyuubi retorted calmly, tails slowly undulating around him and the crystals, swaying to their own breeze.**

"Can't argue with that." Kakashi muttered.

"**Duly noted— yes, I'm sure he's strong. If he was known as the Rookie of his Year, and basing his power off of my own year's Rookie . . . it will indeed be tough. Before Sasuke got his Sharingan, I could beat him solely on my unpredictable taijutsu style and stamina," Naruto murmured, but then the Kyuubi interrupted with an irritated look.**

"**Focus, boy! Your opponent is not an Uchiha, and his doujutsu differs. Do you think you'll be able to solely rely on your kage bushin? You must show that you can do something for yourself, shadow clone is an old trick anyway." Kyuubi barked.**

"True, he used shadow clone decoys in the semi-finals. If he shows that it's the only way he knows how to defat his opponents, by only wearing them down with clones, he might show himself as not being ready to handle chuunin. He needs to show that he has other plans, more than just one trick." Minato added on to the Kyuubi's words.

**Naruto smiled, waving his hands in a placating manner. "Hey, Kyuubi, I've got a plan in order, with room for improvisation should the need arise." **

**Kyuubi growled. "You sure are confidant in yourself, eh brat?"**

"**Not in myself . . . in my friends. I believe in them, who believe in me. Besides, you ought to have seen the plan in my thoughts, nosy fox." Naruto corrected (1).**

**Kyuubi snorted. "You can't really fool yourself, much less me . . . you are nervous. Afraid of unfavorable outcomes— don't sully your honor with such a pitiable expression."**

"That's nice." Rin snorted, more amused than annoyed with the Kyuubi's words— more blunt-force trauma than sharp tones.

"**I know that's your socially awkward way of giving a pep talk, but let me just tell you: you suck at giving pep talks." Naruto deadpanned, loping over to Kyuubi's side and jumping up, perching on a flat piece of crystal. Kyuubi glared at the cheeky, grinning blonde boy so close to him— he was tempted to snap at him, if he was sure he wouldn't accidentally swallow him whole— but he subsided with a warning growl, returning to his original position. Naruto wasn't sure how long they sat there, him relaxing back onto a taller piece of crystal, Kyuubi beside him— if he just kicked his foot up, his toes would brush against the orange fur— and resting, head on paws. He found himself almost entranced by the slow motions of Kyuubi's breathing, and it smoothed away the boy's thoughts.**

"Eh he . . . the Kyuubi is totally getting used to my sochi." Kushina giggled.

**Suddenly Kyuubi started up, rising to his forepaws and turning to look at Naruto over his shoulder. "It's time you left, Naruto."**

**Naruto smiled, distracted by the Kyuubi's use of his name. "Time . . . ? Oh," he realized, "the match will start soon? You're right, I better go." He jumped off the crystal, eyes starting to close, when Kyuubi chuckled. The sound of the demon's amusement startled Naruto, eyes flying open, and they nearly popped out of his head when a tail wrapped around his waist.**

"**That's the slow way . . . allow me to show you a shortcut." Kyuubi purred, and suddenly Naruto was tossed forward, and then he was flying through the air. In his surprise, a shout of alarm ripped itself from his mouth, and then he hit the water's surface of the lake with Kyuubi's dark chuckles dissolving in his ears. The moment he hit the water's surface and the shock of cold made itself known, his eyes tore open, and he wasn't in the mindscape anymore. **

"I think we just got a glimpse of . . . playful Kyuubi?" Kakashi hesitated, looking mildly wary and somehow amused at the same time.

**He was in the wicker chair, on the porch of his house. Shaking his head like a wet dog, Naruto got up slowly as if testing his own body for its cooperation. Naruto huffed, not understanding Kyuubi's sudden change of mood, before banishing it from his mind and deciding to start off to the Finals match. He started off at a run, leaping up into the trees the moment he got within range of the forest. Naruto flew through the trees, a blur of shadow amongst bright and airy trees, and then he was a streak of contrasting color against the air and roofs of the village marketplace. His eyes unintentionally flickered to the ground below, observing the civilian who were either working at the stalls, or moving to the arena like he was.**

**The strangest thing was happening though, as he moved further from the market and central Konoha, to the arena further north . . . Naruto narrowed his eyes— his eyesight was perfect, better than an average human's . . . but he could swear a couple of civilians had just waved to him, sending him thumbs up. Surely he had imagined it, as pathetic as that made him?**

"It doesn't make you pathetic to want a little positive feedback from the people you're working to protect." Minato denied softly.

**No . . . there was another. And another. And a gaggle of giggling girls— Naruto's eyes widened as he speculated to himself, **_**Are those . . . I don't believe it, are those fan girls? Ew. **_

Kakashi and Rin snorted at his words, and then looked at each other in surprise before laughing. "That's the right response!" Rin chortled.

"**Weird." He muttered, making a conscious effort to not look down below, to meet the eyes of albeit the few supporters of his. Few though they were, they were a heck of a lot more than he had ever had **_**before**_**. And somehow . . . he was suspicious, like waiting for the other shoe to drop.**

"That's no good, you _earned_ that praise!" Obito whined, pouting at Naruto's pessimism.

**The daze that fell over him in consequence of that rather startling find, made the journey to the arena much shorter, and he nearly jumped when he suddenly found himself in front of the white stone walls of the large arena, almost like the coliseums he'd seen in the old history and architecture books in the far, dust coated corners of the public library. He shook himself out of his daze, sternly reminding himself that he was here for important matters. He walked into the arena, moving through the halls and break rooms to find the entrance to the arena grounds themselves. He spotted Shikamaru leaning against the walls of one hallway, and noticing that the hall wasn't lit by overhead lights but a natural light. He walked into the hall, and spoke to Shikamaru.**

"**Shikamaru!" the lazy pineapple-haired boy turned around slowly, half-lidded coffee brown eyes locking onto alert and cheerfully intense blue ones. "So, am I late for anything?"**

"**Actually, you're just in time." Shikamaru assured him with a yawn. "They're just about to call us to the field."**

**Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by a loud voice coming from the field they were to soon fight on. "And now, let's welcome the Finalists, the ones who proved themselves worthy to fight and be judged by you all!" Thunderous applause and loud incomprehensible cheers followed the announcement, and Shikamaru turned to Naruto with an annoyed grimace.**

"All too troublesome?" Obito guessed with a smile.

"**That's our cue." Naruto guessed, and Shikamaru nodded reluctantly. The both of them walked side by side, into nearly blinding sunshine after having stood in the dimness after so long, and the curious eyes of every spectator in the stands. To the right a little sat the Hokage's box, and he could see jiji sitting next to, who he guessed was, the Kazekage. From various other entrances, the other finalists walked in . . . all except, he noticed with interest, Sasuke. While he searched for a shock of tangerine amongst the crowd and as they all lined up in the middle of the field, Naruto nudged Shikamaru unobtrusively and murmured, "Notice anyone missing?"**

"**Your teammate better hope that Uchiha fever works for him today . . . I wonder if being late to your own match throws into doubt your duties as Chuunin." Shikamaru replied, and the proctor of the exam turned to them and said, "Quit fidgeting you two, stand proudly and represent Konoha well." Eyeing the stranger, the two genin shared a look before Naruto spoke up.**

"**I thought the proctor was Gekko-san from before . . . might I ask where he's gone, and who you are, proctor-san?" Naruto inquired, brow furrowing the tiniest bit as he took stalk of the new shinobi before him. The man wore a bandana hitai-ate like Hayate, brown hair sticking out, though smoother and lighter than Hayate's. A single senbon stuck out of his mouth as if it were a regular toothpick. **

"**Hayate had some complications. I'm the new proctor, Shirui Genma." **

"Ah! Genma-kun is a jounin, good for him!" Rin expressed, impressed at the former classmate's accomplishment.

**Genma introduced himself in a careless manner, the reminder of Hayate's "complications" a bitter sting so soon after the event. There was no way, of course, that these kids could know that Hayate had been killed one night after happening upon something serious, though whatever it was they'd never know considering the only one who witnessed it was dead. **

"Hayate?!" Kakashi and Obito gasped.

"I don't believe it . . . poor Hayate, who could have killed him?" Rin cried sorrowfully, bottom lip trembling.

**The most obvious suspects, however . . . were the Oto nins. Banishing the thought from his mind now— he had his orders should plans A or B hit the fan— he addressed the contenders in a loud, clear voice so that the viewers in the stand could hear. **

"I've never heard of Oto, and it seems to be a fairly recent addition to the Hidden Villages." Tsunade muttered.

"Which begs the question why they would risk serious backlash killing a jounin of the Host village, especially one as strong and established as the Hidden Leaf?" Jiraiya adds it all up, but there still is a few things missing, he's sure of it.

"**The same rules apply as last time— there are no rules. Opponents continue to fight until one is either knocked out or dead. With that being said, I also reserve the right to stop the match when I see fit. So hopefully before any of you can croak on the field— looks bad to just let you all die in front of the audience." Genma explained with a smirk, senbon bobbing between his teeth. "Let's have the first match's contestant's stay here, while the rest of you move on up to your places in the stands." **

"Good luck, Naruto!" Kushina and Minato cheered, grinning broadly.

"Ugh, if only we could see it on the T.V. but it doesn't play sound!" Rin bemoaned, until a tinkle-like chime came from the screen in question. Eagerly, the others turned to it. On the screen, the words appeared in glowing script: _Who says it can't? You're going to want to see this fight . . . and his next one later on, right?_

Kushina squeals joyously, lunging for the remote. "I'm never one to look a gift horse in the mouth!"

The T.V. turned on with a rush of rainbow pixels, swirling together then forming up into a solid picture.

_(On the TV!)_

_Shikamaru patted Naruto on the shoulder, and walked off to sit with the rest of the Rookies and their sensei higher up in the second tier of the stands. When the field cleared, it was just Neji, Naruto, and Genma, who stood between the two fighters as they sized each other up. _

"Oh man this is so exciting!" Obito muttered fervently, on the edge of his seat as he leaned in closer.

"His hair has gotten just a little longer, but he looks so much more like Minato now!" Kushina pointed out with glee, eyes drinking in the sight of her precious son as he stood proudly in the arena.

"_You should give up now, Uzumaki-san. Fate has decreed that I will be the winner today." Neji broke the silence, informing Naruto as if what he said was fact, and nothing more. _

_Naruto tilted his head to the side the tiniest bit— ignoring the squeals from various female audience members as he did so— and smiled politely. "Hyuuga-san, such nebulous sciences like fortune telling have no place in this match. Now, if we can begin?"_

"Boss comment." Kakashi sang under his breath, high-fiving a snickering Obito.

_Neji's face hardened, but there was no discernible twitch to be seen, something Naruto had to respect. "If you insist on defying your fate, then I will have to show you how very precise these things can be." _

_Genma, knowing an opportunity when he saw it, swung his hand down, a slicing motion through the air and shouted, "Let the match begin!" No sooner had the last syllable left his lips than he had jumped far back, to the wall of the fighting arena to observe the match._

_Naruto, surprisingly, made the first move. He threw four kunai at Neji, the boy dodging them with ease— he was hard pressed to dodge the sudden fist that threatened to blow out his face however. Neji did though, and jumped away. He appeared unruffled, unconcerned with Naruto's skill, because no matter what he would win today. Fate, after all, decreed it._

"_That was shunshin, was it not Kurenai-sensei?" Shino inquired, though no interest colored his tone._

_Kurenai nodded in response. "Done quite well too, if Neji didn't notice it."_

"I'm sick and tired of hearing about Fate!" Kushina grumbled under her breath.

_Neji shot forward, and endeavored to engage Naruto in a taijutsu battle. Naruto would dodge attacks skillfully, blocking and reciprocating only when absolutely necessary. Neji recognized that Naruto was much like his teammate Lee, someone who fought hard against the constraints of fate and inevitability. With this in mind, he thought making Naruto lose focus over his emotions would be the way to go._

"A good thought, but it would work on someone of a lesser caliber than Naruto. Thus, you fail." Obito critiqued smoothly, impish grin on his face.

"_You are right to avoid my attacks, Uzumaki-san. You cannot win, I am superior to you. Fate has spelled out your defeat and my rise to Chuunin, thus bringing a black mark against the main branch family." Neji assured him; starting to feel a little impatient himself as Naruto guarded his tenketsu points well._

"_Are you saying that your reason for ascending the ranks of ninja is solely for the purpose of rebelling against your family?" Naruto asked curiously, dodging Neji's glowing palms. He jumped back and threw shuriken at Neji, who got cut by two of them and blocking the rest. "If so, then I ought to beat you senseless for such idiocy and weakness." _

"_You speak of them as family to me? Don't be ridiculous, the main family and branch family are not a typical family. The branch family is merely servants to the main family, slaves with no choice and no freedoms. _

"So the feud between the branches is stronger than ever in the future, then?" Minato surmised glumly. Didn't Hazashi and Hiashi swear that they would change things?

"That's still no excuse for what he did to Hinata though! She isn't like other Hyuuga, and more than that she's his family!" Kushina cried hotly, sparks in her eyes.

_However, Fate has given the branch Hyuuga an out— me, who has trained endlessly to one day overtake the main family. As you saw with my match against Hinata, the one who is supposed to be the Hyuuga Clan heir, my goal of pushing them to the shadows won't be difficult to achieve, thanks to Fate's fortune—"_

_Naruto suddenly cut him off as he lunged at him with a derisive snort, axes flashing silver streaks in their speed as he attempted to maim Neji. The crowd murmured in surprise as Neji was suddenly pressed back, dodging and weaving, using every bit of grace and speed the Jyuuken granted him to keep from being sliced to ribbons by Naruto's axes. Most of the civilians were uncomfortable with Naruto showing such prowess, but the foreigners and royalty were begging for more._

"_Fate this, fate that!" Naruto mocked Neji, speaking loud enough for the quiet crowd above them to hear every word he said, voice almost an amused purr. "Hyuuga-san, you know . . . I must wonder if you aren't a slave to your own overzealous obsession . . ."_

"Someone translate." Obito ordered, brows furrowed.

"It seems to me he's calling Neji Fate's bitch, if you will." Minato explained succinctly, chuckling.

"_Your meaning is rather unclear Uzumaki-san." Neji grunted, having now brought out kunai to try and bat away Naruto's axes, but the slim weapons were proving unsuccessful against Naruto's double-edged beauties. _

"_Oh, it is simply meant to say that you're rather . . . devoted to your pursuit of mediocrity. What does that mean then, for the ones who break convention? The ones who defy odds daily? They, in a sense defied Fate did they not? So what makes them different— the fact that they defied Fate . . . are they extraordinary? Are they more than people like you, who keep to the smooth course, like fish in the river? Doesn't that make you . . . an ordinary, dull ninja, no better than any other dull face?" Naruto pressed, smiling at the tense lines of Neji's face, the anger in the cold pale eyes._

"Well someone has just been schooled!" Obito hollered.

"Just look at our brat, Minato . . . he is having way too much fun." Kushina snickered, pointing out Naruto's entertained grin, and the wide, glowing blue eyes as their son really enjoyed himself.

_Up in the stands, the Hyuuga clan head, Hyuuga Hiashi and his youngest daughter Hyuuga Hanabi observed the fight with impassive expressions. _

Kushina gasped. "Hanabi looks even more like her mother than Hinata does! They could be clones!"

"Unfortunately, it seems their sibling relation is the only relation they have. Hanabi seems to have fully inherited the Hyuuga traits." Tsunade muttered.

"_Otou-sama," Hanabi started, "Why is that boy doing so well against Neji-san?"_

"_Do not be mistaken Hanabi, that boy is skilled. You must never underestimate your opponents . . . but he will not win. Neji is skilled in our clan style— this is assurance enough of his victory, even if it appears to be a struggle now." Hiashi explained to his daughter calmly. _

"Keep dreaming, snob!" Kushina and Obito snorted, tossing their heads in unison, and the others laughed at their twin moment.

_Another Hyuuga, however, was of a different mind than her father's. Hinata sat next to Katsu, forgoing the tradition of sitting with your ninja contemporaries to stay with her best friend. They sat in the third row, closest to the arena, in between the locals and the wealthier set._

"_Naruto's got this, I know it!" Katsu whispered fiercely, grin almost evil as she observed the fight with eyes that didn't miss a step. Hinata giggled, lying back in the seat unlike her eager best friend as her injuries were still healing. "I know it— he made a promise after all." Hinata agreed with a light smile._

_Similarly, Lee— aided by his sensei and crutches— sitting with the rest of the Rookies, watched the fight with wide eyes. "This is . . . incredible . . ."_

"Oh, I'm glad he's okay." Rin chirped, smile sincere and bright.

_Gai, sensing a need to tone down his youthful vigor, placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "The genius of hard work is truly being shown, isn't it Lee?" _

_Lee nodded, a fire burning in his eyes. "Yes, Gai-sensei!" Tenten was also nearly beside herself, watching with starry eyes and a dreamy expression as Naruto handled the blades with a grace and sincerity that touched the heart of the weapons' loving girl._

_Sakura and Ino were more vocal in encouraging the blonde, though Chouji and Shikamaru were no less earnest even in silence._

_Neji suddenly burst into a flurry of activity, hits coming stronger and faster. Naruto kept up with a curse, finding out that their speed matched pretty much to the letter, even when he took ten pounds off his weights. He really didn't want to completely take them off, but he wasn't going to lose either! He hissed when one of Neji's jabs hit home, his arm suddenly dropping and leaving him only able to fend Neji off with his other arm._

"_You know nothing! You're just like my foolish teammate Lee— he tried to defy his fate, and now look at him! But I have Fate on my side— I will be the one to defy the restrictions placed upon me by my birth!" Neji suddenly jumped back, and Naruto subsided with a sigh, sensing a monologue coming on. With a testy expression on his face, Naruto put his weight on his left leg and waited for whatever sob story Neji had, while trying to open the tenketsu point Neji had shut off._

"Please do be aware that you would take advantage of such a moment in real life." Jiraiya pointed out to everyone, though he really wanted to tell that to his thickheaded godson.

_Neji pulled up his hitai-ate, and everyone in the stadium had a view of a seal on his forehead. "Ah, I've heard of that . . . the seal to bind the branch family members." Naruto murmured, and Neji nodded._

"Sick." Obito muttered, mouth twisting in distaste.

"_Yes, placed on me when I was a toddler . . . this is the Caged Bird Seal— a sign of my inevitable fate to kowtow to the Hyuuga main family. That is why . . . even with this small rebellion, I still can't escape my Fate—" Neji suddenly had to dodge a hail of kunai. He growled at Naruto's audacity, and turned to yell at him, when he stopped dead at the expression on his face._

_Naruto was no longer amused. Both arms now working, he swung his axes around in deadly quick circles, the flashing steel intimidating Neji a little "Fate again. I've grown tired of your __blithering__ about fate! Just shut up and face your problems like a man, not some damn androgynous eunuch!" He created five clones, but he stood back as the clones charged forward, axes flashing with every movement in the high sun as they closed in around Neji. _

"Ooh!" Minato hissed, Obito playing along and shaking his head in pity for the poor Hyuuga. "I felt that burn from way over here."

"A eunuch . . . kami—" Jiraiya hiccupped, wheezing with laughter he struggled to contain.

_That's when Naruto got a surprise. _

_Neji sneered at the oncoming clones, and suddenly he— he just spun, but it was so fast that he wasn't even visible anymore, and he was just suddenly covered in a sphere of his own chakra! "Eight Triagrams Palm Heavenly Rotation!"_

"Whoa," Jiraiya murmured, knowing full well the significance of that.

"Minato?" Kushina asked her lover; he was friends with the Hyuuga twins after all . . . more so Hizashi than Hiashi though.

"That . . . is a defense jutsu, and an excellent one. Not only is it very advanced, something most Hyuuga don't fully learn well until chuunin level . . . but it is also a main house technique and a main house technique only. How Neji learned it is a mystery." Minato answered carefully, eyes thoughtful and wide in consideration.

_In the stands Hiashi balked, showing more emotion on his face than was characteristic for the Hyuuga clan head. _

_Hanabi turned to her father with confusion evident. "Otou-sama, is that not the—"_

"_Yes." Hiashi cut her off sharply, bafflement making him even more terse than usual. __**'How? How does he know it, if it's only meant to be for the main family?' **_

"Whoa, whoa— we can hear their thoughts too?!" Obito balked, looking shocked.

"I think maybe the deities are having too much fun with this . . . it's almost like an anime show, isn't it?" Rin giggled nervously, shrugging her shoulders.

_Neji's ultimate defense decimated his clones, and once Neji had slowed down enough to release the chakra cloak he shot forward to attack a dazed looking Naruto. Neji's palms reared back, and then shot forward in a fury of hits aimed at Naruto's tenketsu points. _

_In the stands, three sets of eyes widened simultaneously. "But, that's—!" Gai and Lee startled._

_Katsu grinned wickedly. "Call me crazy, but I don't think that's the right one . . ." _

"_Eight Triagrams: Thirty two palms!" Naruto grunted, body jerking with the force of the hits._

"_Eight Triagrams: Sixty four palms!" Naruto coughed up a small amount of blood._

"_Eight Triagrams: One hundred Twenty Eight Palms!" Neji hissed out sharply, and with a final harsh hit, Naruto flew back and landed on the ground roughly, unmoving. Neji blew out a breath through his mouth, fighting to regain the composure lost as he nearly lost himself in the enjoyment of showing the blonde nuisance the meaningless nature of his defying Fate._

"_Damn . . . is this it?" Shikamaru grunted, not believing it to be so. Sakura tensed up, light green eyes wide and fearful as she looked at the unmoving body on the floor. While the Rookie teams looked on with intense interest, the rest of the crowds murmured in disappointment, wondering if this was it. Genma's brows furrowed— should he step in? But something didn't feel right; maybe he should wait this out . . . _

_Turns out he made a good call, because as Neji walked up to stand over the unmoving body, Naruto suddenly . . . burst into smoke. _

"He successfully reinforced his clones!" Kushina rejoiced, bouncing in her seat.

"_A clone?!" Neji gasped, spinning around to glare at his surroundings, Byakugan roving from left to right, around the arena. Suddenly, from a copse of trees off to the side a large amount of shuriken shot straight for Neji, and he was forced to use the Heavenly Rotation to bat them away._

"_Again!" Naruto's gleeful voice sounded out, but before Neji could start to slow down, another hail of weapons attacked him, and then another! Neji was forced to keep up the spinning in order not to get hurt, it seemed there was on end to the weapon barrage. Was it more of those damned clones, hiding? It couldn't be, he'd have seen them with his eyes!_

_On the outside, the crowd roared in approval when Naruto suddenly showed himself, rising up from the ground with a smirk on his face. "Again, Neji!" he shouted, laughing as he dusted himself off._

"_Headhunter no Jutsu, huh? Pretty clever, you don't think to look down until the last moment." Asuma complimented, Kurenai nodding in agreement next to him._

"_Explosive tags are such useful, versatile things . . . especially when you can get them to do something other than just explode themselves." Naruto informed Neji happily, taking out his Bo staff from the sealing scroll on his hip. Holding tightly to the staff he created five clones, and as he pointed to Neji with the end of the staff the clones ran to the spear, Bo staffs raised and ready._

_In the Hokage's box, the Kazekage scoffed. "Your genin seems smart enough, Hokage-sama, yet he's going for a frontal assault when the previous didn't work?"_

_The Sandaime just smiled enigmatically. "That boy has a plan . . . and I'm sure we shall find it most amusing Kazekage-sama."_

_Back in the arena, the clones had split up and had now surrounded the spinning Neji in a circular formation. The clone in front of Neji shot forward, and the crowd was waiting for the clone to be destroyed . . . but the clone pulled his arm back, and then swung the Bo staff like a baseball bat, and hit the spinning ball of chakra— and it moved?!_

_**NANI?! **__Was the general thought around the arena, even in the Hokage's box. Hiruzen however, was just resigned. __**Though Kushina never did this . . . I can't help but think this is strictly her influence . . . and yet, Naruto is the only one who'd through around the Heavenly Rotation like a baseball, **__he though with a heavy sigh of exasperation._

_The sphere glided over to the next clone, who hit it to the other, and it continued in this fashion, a strange game of catch. _

"Jeez, I wish I knew how he came up with that." Obito grumbled, watching with rapt attention the fun the clones seemed to be having, cackling and passing Neji around like a spinning hot potato.

"Well, let's just read that part, add to the experience!" Rin insisted, picking up the book. She cleared her throat and read: **Naruto smirked— so his plan worked after all, he mentally congratulated himself. He thought it strange that such a defense wouldn't have any drawbacks, and he wondered just how it worked. It took three times of seeing Neji perform it for the fact that the chakra all went in the same direction to really catch his interest. Just directly hitting it knocked the opponent back because of the force, and because the opponent was trying to forcefully stop the flow of chakra— it was similar to trying to stop the course of the river. However, what if one merely wanted to catch the flow? Theoretically, if one were to add chakra in the same direction, it wouldn't adversely affect either one of them . . . but there would be an effect.**

Placing the book back down on the coffee table she smiled cheerfully at her sensei and Kushina. "You two combined into a super soldier kid, you know?"

"I've just . . . never been so proud!" Kushina sniffled, pretending to wipe away tears from her cheeks as Minato bent over her body, face buried in her hair to hide his face and disguise the amused chuckles straining out of his mouth.

"What can we say? It's an Uzumaki thing." Tsunade observes flippantly, laughing.

_Naruto turned to shout over to Genma, whose senbon was in danger of falling out of his open mouth. "Excuse me, Genma-san, but would I be disqualified if I jumped on the edge of the wall?"_

"_If you're not in the arena, you're disqualified." Genma answered automatically, eyes still not leaving the strange game the clones were delighting in._

"Ooh, something fun is happening, I can feel it!" Kushina purred, eyes glowing a radiant violet as she grinned.

"_But if I have clones in here, technically I'm still in right?" Naruto pointed out. Genma thought about it, brows furrowing in consideration, before giving in. When Naruto received a nod in assent, he grinned and jumped up to stand on the top of the wall, on the boundary line between spectators and fighters. He crossed his fingers in a familiar seal he hadn't needed in a while, and around the stadium wall in the same position as he six other clones popped up, and addressed the audience. His voice reverberated and echoed throughout, the crowds amused murmurs and cheers quiet and subdued._

"_Ladies and gentleman!" Naruto's voice rebounded throughout the arena, catching the attention of all with its charisma and enthusiasm. "It's my belief that a good show provides a little audience interaction . . . who here wants to be part of the show?!" Naruto roared, and the responding roar from the crowd was almost deafening._

"Ah ha, what an interesting boy!" Tsunade laughed lightly, painted fingernails tapping lightly against the back of the couch.

"Certainly original." Minato muttered with a sigh, a huff of something like laughter escaping him.

"_Oh, boy . . . what's that loudmouth doing?" Shikamaru groaned, eyes closed in exasperation._

"_Oooh! What youthful spirit, what enthusiasm to spread that YOUTH around to his fellow man!" Gai nearly screamed, flowers seeming to interrupt from him in his crazed cries. Asuma clucked his tongue in annoyance of Gai's loud voice, but said nothing, interested in Naruto's next move._

"_This . . . is rather unorthodox." The Hokage had to admit under the questioning glance from the Kazekage . . . and he would pretend he hadn't just seen his ANBU guards twitch with suppressed amusement. Because his ANBU guards were professionals, dammit. _

Minato and Jiraiya snorted, knowing the full truth, while Kakashi's nose scrunched up momentarily— it would have been boring, he figures, if they were so straight-laced all the time with the kinds of missions they did.

_Naruto, now, was exaggerating his motions of observing the crowd, egging them on. "You lovely audience members have been fun, but I need only one for this next part . . . who'd like to volunteer?! I'm thinking a strong, brave young person shall do— someone who really wants to be here!"_

_Immediately cries of "Me, me!" and "Over here!" rang out, but Naruto took his time. He was a bit surprised however when he was unceremoniously yanked backwards— a clone did the Kamawiri, he realized— and he was assaulted with the memories of that clone. Immediately, his eyes flickered to the right, catching the amused and giggling forms of Katsu and Hinata— but then they went up to a beet red, yet earnest looking little girl, hand outstretched and raised, but her body nearly curled in on itself. He smiled— __**'Well who is this adorable little thing?'**_

"Naruto's good with kids, it's true, but I think it just hit me that he genuinely likes kids." Obito broke in with a thoughtful contemplation.

"Ah, yes," Kushina nodded sagely, looking very superior at the moment. "This, my dear Obito-kun, is a very good thing."

"Why's that?" Kakashi was the one who asked.

"It means I get lots of grandkids!" Kushina yelled, both hands flashing victory signs as she laughed. Minato rolled his eyes in amusement at the answer, but didn't stop her celebration.

"_Looks like we have our volunteer everyone!" his multiple voices quieted the crowd, though the usual groans of disappointment were the last to fade out. He held out a hand in the girl's direction. _

"_Would the young ojou-sama please come forward?" His voice softened in consideration for the girl's embarrassment, and he softened further at her look of happiness as she scurried forward, shy as a mouse yet her bold happiness was a complete contrast. When she was close enough he stooped down and hooked his hands around her waist, material of her baby pink cotton sundress slightly bunching, and lifting her up gently to stand next to his crouched form._

"Aw . . . ojou-sama!" Rin repeats warmly, a coo at the adorable scene.

"_A fair morning to you, ojou-sama," Naruto greeted quietly, his singular voice only for her to hear. "What is your name?"_

"_Ran!" she squeaked._

_Would you like to help me out today?"_

_She nodded quickly, shoulder length wheat blonde hair whipping back and forth. "Yes, I'd love to!" her sweet, high little voice answered softly._

_Naruto smiled, and then told her, "Then, please follow this lowly one's instructions, my Lady."_

_He raised up to address the crowd, his clones joining in to raise his voice to the highest level. "Everyone, please give a big round of applause to the lovely ojou-sama, Ran!" the crowd didn't disappoint, their applause so grand the little girl cowered behind his leg in nervousness. He reached down and patted her on the head reassuringly, but kept on._

"_Now, Ran," the girl jerked her head up to see Naruto smile warmly at her. "I'm going to count to three, and after that, I want you to tell me when I should stop Neji-san over there from spinning. Can you do that?"_

_Ran nodded, gulping audibly, but he knew she could do it from the determined expression. Naruto settled himself down next to her, legs swinging idly as he started the count. "Ichi . . . Nii . . . San! Okay, whenever you're ready, Ran!"_

_Naruto looked to the girl, and noticed with interest that she seemed to be mouthing something to herself, her face of childish concentration amusing to him. When he saw her clearly mouth the word, "Hachi," he realized she was making her own count. Sure enough, when he saw her lips form the word, "Jyu!" her voice came back and she shouted out, "Stop!"_

"_As you command it, my Lady." Naruto murmured with a wink to Ran, making her giggle._

_The clones on the wall vanished with a trace of smoke just as the clones on bat duty leapt back, all of them taking a kunai with an exploding tag attached to it and throwing it at the feet of the spinning chakra sphere just close enough not to rebound back. The tags detonated instantly, and for a moment all you could see was a large cloud of dust and debris— shortly after, the soaring body of Neji shot out of the cloud in a lazy, almost graceful arc, and he landed in a heap on the ground. _

"So much for that perfect defense Hiashi is always going on about." Minato chuckled, a little pang of sympathy hitting him for Neji. Nonetheless, it was completely what the boy deserved.

"_Thank you Ran!" Naruto said sincerely. He gently placed her back on the ground, watching her scamper back to her seat and immediately begin babbling to her amused parents. He spared a quick wink to Hinata and Katsu, and then jumped off to finish Neji off. Neji was currently staggering off the ground, veins around his eyes bulging almost violently. He swiveled around, barely catching himself as he snarled at Naruto. He charged forward, not thinking anything of it when Naruto didn't move from his spot and instead just snapped his fingers with a vindictive smirk on his face. _

_He definitely noticed when the clones that had used him for batting practice suddenly congregated around him._

_He sure as hell noticed when they erupted— not into smoke, but into bright flashes of chakra, nearly blinding him._

"Oh, the chakra tags Jiraiya-sama helped him make." Kakashi muttered absentmindedly, nodding in approval.

"He's really making Neji look like a fool here." Jiraiya noted, a sympathetic grin on his face.

"_AARGH!" Neji screamed horrifically, heels of is hands nearly pushing his eyes into his skull as he sought to rub out the burning pain of nearly being blinded._

"_Chakra flare tags, a little something I cooked up over the month break." Naruto simpered._

"Oh that has to hurt!" Tsunade hissed, wincing in sympathy.

_The frazzled Hyuuga stumbled around drunkenly, too afraid that his Byakugan was damaged— and in far too much pain— that it was little wonder when he suddenly found himself flat on his back, his normal eyes blinking rapidly up at the blue sky. Suddenly he was hauled up, and then viciously upper-cutted— then a right hook— a jab— kidney blows to both kidneys— finished off with a round house kick._

"Finish him!" Obito howled in a deeper, gravelly voice.

"Excellent." Kakashi growled, adopting a tone similar to Obito's.

_Neji flew back, and he was too tired and sore now to try and roll to lessen the damage. He hit the ground rough and hard, coughing up some blood as he skidded to a stop. He struggled to keep his eyes open, blinking in disorientation and then confusion when his sight was blocked by spiky yellow locks. He looked up to lock gazes with cold, glowing blue eyes._

"_I did tell you," Naruto stated softly. "I did warn you, did I not? That I wouldn't be content with just winning, that I would destroy you . . . look at you, Neji-san, is this what Fate dictated for you? Perhaps you read the stars wrong; perhaps your crystal ball wasn't receiving the message well— or maybe it's time you stopped clinging to Fate like a child's blanket and stepped up. Neji, look at you. Alone and beaten now, because you were too blinded by hate and resentment, to notice the true details. Hinata calls you neji nii-san, you know? When I spoke to her while she was in the hospital, she never once blamed you . . . just asked I go easy on you. Believe it or not, I did. One more thing, Neji . . . you aren't the only one whose been sealed."_

"Powerful words." Jiraiya remarked softly.

_Naruto left Neji with those words as he walked to Genma, the jounin ready to declare the winner. Neji blinked up at the sky as med-nins rushed forward and took him away. His pride crushed, dignity nearly nonexistent— he had no superior condescension's, Fate was a betrayal he wasn't ready to deal with yet . . . so he was left alone with Naruto's words, running over and over again in his mind._

_Outside, in the arena, Naruto graced the gallery with a graceful bow, expression much more controlled and calm than during his fight— the picture of modesty. "The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma declare loudly, and the stadium filled with tremendous applause. Somehow, the sight of seeing them all cheer for him, all of the civilians, it brought a lump to Naruto's throat— he never let it show, merely smiled graciously, ears tuned for the sound of the praises he really wanted to hear._

_Ah, there they were— the shrieks of Katsu and Hinata, the litany of Youth from Gai-sensei and Lee . . . with a small nod to himself, Naruto walked back into the arena stands and up to the ninja section, where he was immediately pounced on by the others._

_End of Transmission._

When the screen clicked off, the group responded with some reluctance and wistfulness, wishing the video feed wouldn't stop.

"That was such a great first match! Naruto's going to be chuunin for sure!" Rin squealed.

"I'm pretty sure he will, though that flashy show with the audience might lose him some points. It could be seen as him not taking his opponents, or his missions, seriously." Minato hedged, thinking about this as objectively as he could, proud as he was of his precious child.

"Bah, it's a show they wanted; the eagerness of the people to see what else Konoha has to offer will benefit the village!" Tsunade dismissed, confident in her assessment.

"Small moment of joking aside, they can't possibly ignore the planning and skill used in that fight!" Kushina added, face set in a scowl at the thought of anybody trying to take her baby's hard earned promotion from him.

"Well, we'll see when it happens. For now, let's continue reading— go on, Rin," Jiraiya motioned for the girl to pick up the book. Rin did eagerly, flipping a few pages on to get to the current place, reading a few paragraphs silently before reading aloud.

"**Dude, that was totally wicked!" Kiba howled, Akamaru yapping furiously in excitement. Naruto laughed and bumped fists with the excitable feral boy, also nodding along with the rapid fire playbacks done in rapid sequence by both Sakura and Ino.**

"Amazing how a beat down can really bring guys together." Minato commented.

**He finally managed to get away and slink to Shikamaru and Chouji's sides, breathing out in relief. Shikamaru slid sly brown eyes his direction.**

"**Cat's out of the bag now, Naruto." Shikamaru said casually.**

"**Had to happen sometime." Naruto replied with a breezy smile, looking totally unconcerned. When Genma's voice rose up again, all of people turned their attention to the man.**

"**Due to one of the contestants being absent, it's been decided that the Uchiha vs. Gaara match will be postponed! We will move on to the next match, Kankuro vs. Aburame Shino!"**

"Puppets vs. bugs? Can't the bugs just eat the wood up? Or just have all the chakra sucked out of Kankuro?" Obito pondered, thinking perhaps this would be a favorable match-up for Shino.

"It won't be that simple . . . what if Kankuro anticipated such a thing and put pesticides in his puppet? And what if the kikaichu try such a tactic as taking his chakra, but it isn't even Kankuro?" Minato reminded the boy, making Obito feel sheepish for not thinking of such obvious things.

**The crowd started to warm up again, the disappointment of not seeing the Uchiha fight tempered by the incredible first match they'd seen, as well as the quick continuation of the fights. That is, until Kankuro threw them all for a loop.**

"**Proctor, I forfeit the match!" Kankuro called out from his area in the stands, face tense and drawn. Shino's eyebrows furrowed, in irritation or some other emotion it couldn't be known, but that was his only reaction. The crowd was more expressive in their displeasure, catcalls and boos sounding throughout the stadium. Genma huffed in irritation, but a small voice in the back of his mind said, **_**They sure aren't trying hard to hide anything anymore . . . **_

"Hide _what_ exactly?" Minato wonders aloud.

"Is there some sort of plan Suna has? I would think they're still our allies if sensei and the Kazekage are in good speaking terms . . ." Tsunade contemplates, and all their faces turn grim, not liking how these things seemingly didn't add up.

**Looking nonchalant, Genma cut his hand up through the air in a sharp motion to bring composure back to the audience, and they eventually calmed again after realization of his demand for attention went around. "By default then, the winner of the match is Aburame Shino. Thus, we can get to the next match while waiting for the absentee fighter to reappear. The next match will be Temari of the Sand vs. Nara Shikamaru."**

"**What?!" the lazy genius griped, fixing himself firmly in his seat, like a toddler being told to nap. "No way man, it's so not fair . . . no way in hell, I don't care what my troublesome kaa-san does, I am not—" **

**What he would not do was never discovered because Naruto suddenly was attacked by a "vicious sneeze", one so powerful that he lost control of his limbs and shoved a hand into Shikamaru's back. Shikamaru grunted in pain as he was forcibly shoved out of his seat and sent flying into the arena, landing hard on his back. He groaned, eyes opening to glare bloody murder at the innocent faced blonde devil above.**

"Sometimes a Nara just needs a little encouragement." Kushina advocated, nodding in approval.

"You know, Shikaku still hasn't forgiven you for '_encouraging'_ him into dating Yoshino? Even if you were proven right?" Minato informed her with a small smile.

"**Sorry, Shikamaru— I just sneezed and . . . !" Naruto shrugged in a 'what-can-you-do?' way that set Shikamaru's teeth on edge.**

"**Sudden allergies Naruto?" Tenten asked with a giggle.**

"**I'm afraid so," Naruto answered solemnly. "I am positively allergic to bullshit."**

**So that's how our young, lazy Nara genius found himself facing off against his worst opponent— a girl with an attitude problem. Temari glared at the irritatingly lackluster boy who just kept sighing and looking around as if some miracle would pop up and get him out of there. He wouldn't even get up from where he was lying! **

"You could at least show your enemy some respect and attempt to face them." Tsunade lectures with a frown.

**Ino groans in anger and embarrassment, and Chouji just eats his chips because he knows Shikamaru and knows this is all going to work out (not the way Shika wants it) in the end.**

**She growled, fan whipping out, yet not fully open. She'd let him experience the full effect of each moon, just like that girl had before. **

"**If you won't make the first move, I guess I will!" She shouted, sprinting towards him, and all the men who can see her face in the stadium feel a shiver of foreboding— the true sign of an irritated woman within their vicinity, meaning blame was up for grabs. **

"**And the lazy ass still won't get up . . . he's never going to get a girlfriend." Naruto decides with a disgusted shake of his head, only the adults who heard him getting it and stifling their laughter. His rookie year mates just looked at him with confusion before he waved impatiently to the fight, reminding them to watch. **

"I don't get it." Rin speaks up.

"That's because you're still cute and innocent," Minato sighs happily, making Rin blush and her lips tremble with embarrassment, biting back a smile.

**Shikamaru pulls out two shuriken from his weapons pouch and merely waits for Temari's oncoming form with unconcern. "Someone's certainly excited about this."**

**Temari suddenly swings her fan around and thrusts it down into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust. When it finally clears away she doesn't see Shikamaru on the ground anymore, and thinks he got blown away by the impact— only to growl to herself when she sees him standing on the wall! The two shuriken he had pulled out before were stuck into the wall, propping him up and balancing him. **

"Nice." Jiraiya compliments.

**Shikamaru glances at Temari, seeming to weigh her worth. Temari grows even more irritated, not wanting to be judged by some lazy worthless ninja like this guy, but what he says next throws her into a rage. "I don't care about becoming a Chuunin . . . if I had my way, I most certainly wouldn't take up something so damn troublesome. Still, there's no way a man can lose to a woman, so I better get serious."**

Automatically the temperature drops in the room, the men freezing up as they feel the cold anger of their female seatmates.

"No way, huh . . . ?" they intone in dangerously low voices, and the sounds send shivers down each guy's back as they squirm in their seat, uncomfortable by the sight of feminine anger so close to them . . . when they were within reach.

**Naruto drops his head into his open hands with a groan at the same time Sakura, Ino, and Tenten shoot up from their seats with equal shrieks of rage melding into unintelligible slurs of nasty words against Shikamaru. Kurenai glares at Asuma— his genin, his hand in the thought process— while Asuma gulps nervously and backs away.**

**A wordless snarl of anger rips from Temari's throat as she opens her fan and whips it forward, a huge gust of wind practically visible to the naked eye heading straight for the offender of her feminine sensibilities. Once more a large cloud of dust kicks up from the gale, obscuring vision for a while. As the crowd murmurs in discontent, wishing to see every little happening, Temari strains to make anything out. The dust clears and she grumbles mutinously— he's gone again.**

_**You must take me for an idiot; I know damn well you're hiding in those shadows you can't fight without! **_**Temari knows, and she turns to the far right of the ring where a cluster of trees stand tall. As she suspected, Shikamaru is camping out in one of the trees, resting in the cool shade provided. He sat mulling over the words he had impulsively said, which he was still somewhat shocked over because he never did things on impulse . . . well, 98% of the time he didn't.**

"Still more than your old man." Minato murmured, head tilting to the side as hazy memories of his childhood Academy days drifted through.

_**I said a man couldn't lose to a woman, but I can't hit a girl either, **_**Shikamaru thought, annoyed with the situation.**

"That redeems you only a little, just because that's such a cute thought. He better lose that though when he gets to jounin." Kushina sniffed.

"Keep it forever; it's the moral code of a gentleman." Minato argued, though it felt a little ridiculous when the boy would never know he said it.

_**It's that entire stupid, troublesome blonde's fault! **_**He swore angrily, red tingeing his mental image of the smirking spiky-haired bastard he called friend, Naruto looking far too smug even in his thoughts. To rid his thought of the bastard he called a friend, he turned to his ever-faithful muse— the clouds. **_**So free . . . so nice . . . **_**he ruminated, entranced by the lethargically moving fluffy snow white clouds that ambled along, uncaring of anything happening on the ground. **

'So cloud watching is his hobby, apparently." Jiraiya chuckles.

"Is he really fit to be a chuunin?" Kakashi asks skeptically.

"Now, now, he's just getting into the right frame of mind." Minato reassures them, knowing that the son was very much like the father. Shikaku always had his ways of preparing for a mission.

"**Come on Shikamaru, beat that old dusty, dried up Suna girl!" Ino cheered loud enough to give all the surrounding spectators a ringing in their ears, but they knew also that to protest would result in a loss of hearing.**

**Down in the fight, Temari's hands tightened on the fan until the knuckles were white, showing her growing ire. She knew, though, that she had to be careful of his detachable shadow, lest it snare her. She kept her distance, but if the idiot didn't make a move, she wasn't sure how long she could restrain herself! Temari took a deep breath, determined to wait him out— though any Konoha nin could tell her that thinking a Nara would jumpstart the action was absolutely hi-fucking-larious— when a movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Her eyes flicked up to the source and she saw the Nara boy actually settling into the nook of the tree and the branch he sat on, **_**looking at the clouds?!**_

"Aw, she's got the good sense needed for Chuunin, but it's her bad luck to be a headstrong girl up against the laziest people in the world." Rin commiserated. Minato snorted at her words, eyes cutting to the blushing, snickering form in his arms.

Tsunade huffed. "No respect, honestly."

**Temari shrieked, swinging her fan with a vindictive power in her arms that produced her biggest gale force yet. "Sickling Winds!" She screams out the name of her attack, and it jerks Shikamaru back to the present. The trees around him are cut up and whisked away, and another dust cloud kicks up, so she's not sure how damaged he is, only knows that he was caught up in the attack. **

**A flicker of motion caught her attention at the bottom of her vision, and lucky it had, for it was Shikamaru's shadow coming after her own. Temari executed a quick series of back flips, always making sure to keep the shadow in view when she could, until she realized it had stopped. She wobbled on her feet for a moment before regaining balance, eyes wide as she realized— **_**He has a limit to the distance his shadow can extend! For that matter, it's most likely applied to the size of his shadow and the shape of it . . . **_**She smirked victoriously, and marked a line across the ground casually with her fan, marking the distance. Her fan starts to tap against her leg in a rhythm as she waits for the next opportunity.**

"That's a good plan, but you're up against a Nara so giving them time to formulate a plan is decidedly bad." Jiraiya commented softly, already seeing the outcome of this match.

"Don't be so sure, this one is a strong girl. She just might win!" Kushina argues.

**Shikamaru groans. This is twice the effort he had originally planned to put in, and damn it all if he could just quit. After lasting this long, quitting now would be even more of a headache than to just keep going. Ino would screech, his kaa-san would destroy him . . . oh so many reactions that wouldn't end well. He put his hands together in a familiar, comforting sign. It wasn't a hand seal, but his own little quirk he did when formulating a plan. **

**In the stands, Kurenai narrows her eyes in consideration, and turns to Asuma. "I've never seen that hand seal before . . . what is he trying to do?"**

"**It's not a hand seal for a jutsu, Kurenai . . . that's his thinking pose. It's what he does when he's coming up with a strategy. Shikamaru is the genius of our team . . . hell, maybe even of Konoha. Lazy as he is, that boy is something else really. I made him take an IQ test . . . and it was over 200." Asuma explains, eyes never leaving Shikamaru's still form.**

Minato whistles. "That's even more than Shikaku . . . I can't think of any Nara with an IQ that high."

"And it'll only get higher as he grows too." Kakashi adds.

**The only ones who didn't gasp were Shikamaru's teammates and Naruto. "That lazybones is really that smart . . . ?" Sakura wondered, remembering the mostly sleeping or daydreaming form of Shikamaru back in the Academy.**

**Shikamaru suddenly breaks his meditation and takes out a shuriken. Temari is ready and throws another gust of wind to him, which he dodges by ducking behind a tree. Shikamaru takes off his jacket and waits patiently. Temari doesn't disappoint and a gust of wind comes at him again. Shikamaru waits for it to fade, then throws the shuriken at her, which Temari dodges with ease, as well as the one that comes from her left. His shadow extends again, but she's safe— she's well behind the line. But when the shadow extends past the line, she curses. **_**The sun . . . **_**she looks up looks up in shock. **_**He was waiting for the sun to set, so the shadows would be longer! **_**The planning behind it impressed a small part of her, but she was more concerned with not losing to the lazy-ass genin in front her!**

"**Nearly over now, right Chouji?" Naruto commented, looking to Chouji to confirm it.**

**Chouji nods with a small chuckle, eating his bag of barbecue-flavored chips. "It won't be long now, he'll give up soon."**

"**Watch out!" Kankuro yells, and she looks up, breath hitching. A second shadow forms in front of her, and she jumps back quickly. **

"Ah! That's genius!" Minato cries out, smiling.

"Hey, you two geniuses want to share with the class?" Obito demands more than asks, looking at the knowing faces of Minato and Jiraiya.

"The reveal will be so much better when you wait for it." Jiraiya tells them, and doesn't say anymore despite their protest.

**Shikamaru smiles slightly at the sight. **_**No need to get too jumpy, it's just a balloon I made from my coat and shuriken. **_**A decoy and nothing more . . . but Temari wouldn't know that until the very end. **

"**Wow, Shika-kun is really cool, right Hinata-chan?!" Katsu enthused, wide eyes turned toward the fight.**

"**Yes, I never knew he was so good at forming plans. I just can't see what he's trying to do . . ." Hinata replied softly, look of concentration on her face.**

"**It's a decoy." Katsu said firmly. She was the best friend of Konoha's Prankster King, she knew a ditch when she saw it, but . . . "I just don't know what for, exactly. Is he stalling her until the sun sinks lower?"**

**Meanwhile, Temari is still dodging the shadow as it presses forward, feeling sweat start to dampen the hairs on the back of her neck as her nervous energy built up. She moves to the holes made by the exploding tags from the earlier fight. **

"I think I get it now." Tsunade admitted with a smile, very impressed with the tactical planning.

Kushina pouts, and thinks about it some more. Minato watches with amusement at the small wrinkle between her eyebrows and the way her nose scrunches up as she thinks. Her eyes pop open when it hits her, and she laughs delightedly. "Oh, I see!" she giggled.

"Gah! Rin keep reading or else I'm going to flip this table!" Obito howls, pointing to the book.

**She opens her fan and ducks down behind it. **_**If I don't hurry the sun will make sure his shadow can reach me damn near anywhere. I have to think of something! **_**She thought urgently. **_**If I . . . what if I make a clone? It'll confuse him, hopefully, and buy me time to finish him off myself. Gah, I can't waste too much energy either, or else I'll be no use later on when the plan takes effect! **_

**Her hands start to form the seals— and then she's frozen, and she can't believe it, how?! His shadow, how could it reach her this far . . . Temari didn't have time to wonder anymore because now she was preoccupied with the unnerving feeling of not being in control of her body as it stiffly rises up without her consent, and shuffles forward awkwardly. **

"Whoa, what?!" Obito yelps.

"Talk about a plot twist, huh?" Rin mutters.

**The crowd is amazed, not quite sure what exactly happened to change the tide of the match so dramatically. The high-ranking ninjas were all impressed. The level of planning, just how many steps ahead he had thought . . . this was truly a shining example of Chuunin material. The Chuunin Exams this year were showing some real talent, and it was good that such bright young stars would be the next in line to protect Konoha.**

"The next generation is really something, huh?" Jiraiya murmurs, and Tsunade shake her head in agreement.

Kushina explains for the still lost genin. "The hole cast its own shadow since the sun was setting, so he used that to catch her shadow along with his."

"OH!" Rin and Obito cried out, thoroughly impressed.

**There was silence as the two figures closed the distance between them. Temari strained against the hold on her, but was unsuccessful and still kept staggering forward. Shikamaru and Temari stopped within five feet of each other. They stare at each other— Shikamaru's gaze is level, leaving nothing for Temari to see. Temari's gaze was full of fiery defiance and anger, her jade eyes glaring into Shikamaru's so hard he wondered briefly if he would catch on fire. Shikamaru and Temari's hands rise up into the air. Temari quivers, trying as hard as she could to fight it because damn it all she wasn't going to admit defeat to this bastard!**

"**I lose. I've got almost no chakra left so I give up." Shikamaru's voice carries clearly, and whatever sounds were coming from the crowd stopped dead in their throats. **

"WHAT?!" The group all yells out.

"And yet _again_ another plot twist." Minato declares.

_**What. **_**Was the general consensus of the audience, so surprised were they by the second plot twist. **

**Shikamaru made no move to explain his actions, and released the hold on Temari, who in her surprise only just managed to catch herself. She stared at the retreating back of the genin, and managed to stutter out only, "W-why?" It was so low though, she doubted he heard her.**

**But he did, so he turned around and answered, "It makes no sense to succumb to chakra exhaustion just for this when I might need my energy later."**

"Face it— you can't bring yourself to beat a girl." Kushina shakes her head in amusement.

**Temari didn't quite believe that, but she inclined her head in acknowledgement anyway. Slowly, clapping was heard throughout the stadium, the people able to appreciate a good match— even if it wasn't as flashy or as big as they'd have liked.**

"**What a satisfying match, Shikamaru." Naruto's smooth and saccharine voice was grating in its amusement to Shikamaru's ears. He didn't bother wasting energy to glare, and merely sighed exasperatedly, dropping down in his seat between Naruto and Chouji. When Chouji passed over his bag of chips— a new one, probably his third, Shikamaru noticed— he smiled and took a few, the crunching sound they made in his mouth almost soothing to him.**

"**Now it's Sasuke's turn . . . and he's still not here. Ugh, smug bastards know they can get away with it." Naruto scoffed, but there was no real rancor in his voice. **

"**Yeah, this is probably all Kakashi-sensei's idea! But sensei is a jounin, Sasuke's only a genin, it won't work!" Sakura argued hotly, glaring at nothing since the subjects of her ire weren't here.**

Minato sighs. "Kakashi the point of being a sensei is to set a good example for your students. You don't give them your bad habits!"

Kakashi shrugs. "Whatever. It's cooler this way!" he argues.

**Genma cleared his throat, speaking loudly over the growing discontent of the crowd. "We will wait five more minutes before declaring Uchiha Sasuke's defeat by default. Will Subaku no Gaara please come down to the arena?"**

**As unrest continued to grow in the stands, Gaara made his way down to the middle of the field. He spared a brief glance to Genma— **_**not worthy; mother won't need his blood— **_**and waited for his opponent.**

Minato suddenly gets the mother reference, the boy having spoken about it in his match against Lee. "Mother . . . that's the bijuu?"

Kushina looked disturbed. "You mean the bijuu is influencing him to such a degree it made him believe that it was his mother?"

**He remembered the Uchiha well . . . he would be strong, and so his blood would please mother. Already he could hear the whispers from his mother, dark caresses to his fractured mind— telling him to kill, to paint the world with the sticky red color of her choice, to annihilate everything. He had to wait, though, had to wait for a good chance. More importantly, he wanted to kill that blonde boy, Uzuma—**

_**NO! **_

"I agree but who said that?" Tsunade wonders.

**The roar hurt his head, and he put a hand to his temple with a wince. Did mother not want the boy's blood . . . ? But it would be strong!**

_**That boy is dangerous! Do not go near him, you must stay out of his way or he'll kill you! **_**Mother hissed. He didn't understand, but he would listen to his mother. She knew best, after all. She was the only one who cared about him.**

"Ichibi knows who's got the stronger bijuu." Kushina said, grimly satisfied.

"**One more minute until Uchiha Sasuke is disqualified!" Genma called out, bringing Gaara from his trance. Gaara didn't react to the announcement, but inside he seethed. The Uchiha would die today, by his hand, no matter if it was in this match or whenever.**

**The audience murmured in discontent, and one was brave enough to catcall. The others, feeling suddenly animated by their braver spokesperson, were about to do the same thing until—**

"**Oh, sorry . . . are we late?"**

"Curse your hip and cool attitude!" Obito yells, making Kakashi jump.

"**Damn it all, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled, glaring at him with enough heat to melt flesh off of bone. Kakashi merely smiled up at his two students and waved. Oh, it'd be nice to get the play-by-play of how Naruto won later on. **

"**Actually, you're on time." Genma answers with a smirk. He gives Kakashi a significant look, to which Kakashi shrugs innocently. He turns to Sasuke and pats him on the shoulder, then turning and performing shunshin up to the Rookie section of the stands.**

"**It better be worth it." Naruto warns Kakashi playfully, crooked smile firmly in place. Kakashi smiles and ruffles the spiky blonde locks, making Naruto huff in a small bit of irritation as he fixes it back to the **_**coordinated**_** mess he had it before. **

"Is it nice, swimming in the Nile?" Obito innocently asks his sensei, who glares at him, a pout on his lips.

"**Don't worry, Sasuke will win." Kakashi comforts. He is a little surprised though when Naruto frowns at him.**

"**You really believe that too, don't you? I suppose Sasuke feels the same as well." Naruto sighs. **

"He doesn't think Sasuke can win?" Kakashi wonders.

"No— he just doesn't want to see what will happen if Sasuke does try . . . what Gaara might do." Kushina corrects, and the grim answer makes everyone frown.

"**Any reason you don't think he will?" Kakashi questions.**

"**Gaara's a jinchuuriki, and an unstable one at that. That's not something you can train someone for, no matter what you say." Naruto answers, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms behind his head, ignoring the sudden tensing of Kakashi's body and the wary looks Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei are giving him. "Well, I'll remain optimistic. Who knows? Whatever you taught him might win him something . . ."**

"None of them know, and the senseis are worried about him revealing the information." Rin observes, but she's confused. "Why, though? Do they think the other kids will get scared and shun Naruto?"

"Who knows?" Tsunade replied with a shrug. "We don't know what happened on that night . . . maybe the very sound of the word 'jinchuuriki' brings back bad memories."

_**Oh? No longer hiding anything now, are you? Perhaps you want some more time to think this over, before you just lay all the cards in the table. **_**Kyuubi's curious voice floats into his mind, and he sends a playful vibe back to the fox. The responding growl is answer enough for him, so he settles down.**

"**Jinchuuriki?" Ino repeats, having never heard the word before, like the rest of the Rookies. Judging by the tension in their senseis bodies, it must be something serious. "I don't—"**

"**Of course you don't, but that's later. Look! The match is starting!" Naruto interrupts, and successfully diverts their attention.**

**Genma had already called the start of the match, so now it was just Sasuke and Gaara in the middle of the field. **

**To the shock of his siblings, it is Gaara who makes the first move. His sound rushes out of the gourd and reaches for Sasuke. Sasuke flips back out of range and mutters, "So this is the sand Kakashi warned me about. Damn, my flames aren't hot enough to turn it into glass yet!"**

"An interesting thought." Obito mutters thoughtfully, imagining how that would look.

"**This is bad . . . Gaara's really excited about this fight." A sand jounin sitting with Temari and Kankuro mutters with a grimace. He is Baki, the three siblings' jounin sensei, as well as Gaara's handler for the upcoming invasion.**

"Invasion?!" Tsunade shouts, sitting straight up, honey eyes nearly glowing with anger.

"So that's what the plan the Suna kids have been talking about is . . . they're invading Konoha during the only time they'd get the chance. The Chuunin Exams!" Jiraiya mutters, his face set in his rare serious mood when such news hits him.

"And that boy, Hayate he probably sounded the alarm and was killed for it." Minato murmurs.

"But what's Orochimaru's part in all this?" Rin asks.

Minato thinks about it, and with a searching look to his sensei, explains his theory. "We've had an allegiance with Suna for a long time . . . there must have been a better deal on the table, one they were sure was worth it to risk this. Or perhaps they had an ally they were sure couldn't fail . . . someone like Orochimaru perhaps."

"It makes sense. If Orochimaru defected, and he's still bitter by what he views are slights made by Konoha . . . he definitely would want to bring Konoha down." Kushina adds in, and the others nod.

"Well it seems all the higher-ups know, so there shouldn't be much of a problem keeping everyone safe?" Rin tries to sound sure an optimistic, but she trails off to an insecure question.

**Gaara's sand retreats around him, falling down to the ground. Gaara stares straight into Sasuke's Sharingan, his own eyes prompting Sasuke to bite back shivers of trepidation. "Come," Gaara beckons. **

**Sasuke doesn't disappoint, sending two shuriken at Gaara, whose sand rushes up and forms a clone of him, catching the two shuriken in its hand. Sasuke runs forward, nonplussed even as the clone sends a blast of sand towards him. Sasuke jumps up over the sand, the Gaara clone throws his own shuriken at him which Sasuke parries with a kunai. When Sasuke starts to descend from his jump and is close to the clone, he goes for a side kick.**

**Grinning when the arms come apart from his successful kick, he land on the balls of his feet and hits the clone in the neck. Quickly, he tries to move his arm back, but with wide eyes he realizes his hand had sunken into the sand. Sand crawls up his arm, and Sasuke suddenly remembers what Kakashi told him of Gaara's fight against Lee. Sasuke's other arm comes up, palm open as it shoots forward to hit the clone in the head. The powerful hit destroys the clone's head, and the rest of the body crumbles to the ground.**

"So far so good baby cousin, you rock!" Obito cheers.

**Sasuke sidesteps the crumbling clone and moves in to punch Gaara directly.**

"**What is he an idiot?" Shikamaru squawks, his encounter with Gaara in the hospital leaving him with a healthy amount of fear for the deranged boy. **

"I concur." Obito voices.

"Now, now, let's see what he's got planned." Minato insisted with a smile.

"**No, no, let's see what he's been up to this past month." Naruto shushed, smiling. He had a good idea of what was going to happen, but it was much more fun to wait for the confirmation he knew was coming.**

Kushina giggles at the blatant similarity between her son and Minato, and her boyfriend shoots her an amused, prideful glance.

**Gaara sees the futile action, and simply waits for it, his sand coming up to block the attack . . . maybe this time he'd cover the Uchiha's entire body with sand and crush him, like those two ninja about an hour ago. **

**An inch from the sand, however, Sasuke stops. He suddenly smiles, and briefly Gaara wonders why— before Sasuke just disappears from his line of sight.**

**Simultaneously Gaara in the arena, and lee up in the stands, gasps in shock. **_**He didn't disappear . . . he used speed! **_**Gaara and Lee's thoughts are on the same wavelength. **

"Ooh, you didn't waste time that month did you?" Minato says in surprise, sending Kakashi an approving look.

**Sasuke reappears behind Gaara, and smirks. **_**Got you now, don't I? **_**His fist snaps forward, burrowing into Gaara's cheek before the force sends Gaara careening, cracking his sand armor and sending him in a tailspin to the other end of the stadium.**

"He hits much harder now too, apparently." Tsunade comments, giving Kakashi a firm nod of approval.

"**Nice power behind that hit." Naruto compliments.**

"**Of course baka! It is Sasuke-kun after all!" Ino cheers, grinning cheekily at her rival. However, when Sakura doesn't respond to Ino's familiarity as she usually does Ino blinks in confusion. Sakura never told her what happened in the forest after all, so Ino could have no idea about her hardened resolve and her more controlled feelings. Sakura just watches the match anxiously; Naruto's warnings against the genin Sasuke was fighting looping through her head on repeat, as well as the crazed way Gaara destroyed Lee what seemed such a long time ago. **

**Gaara's sand swirls around him as he falls, lightening the blow a bit. He pushes himself up to his elbows, marveling at the fact that now made the second time he'd been hit by another person who was able to get past the sand armor. **

**Temari winces at the blow, biting her lip in worry for her baby brother. Dangerous he might be, and even if he would kill her faster than she could blink, that was still her blood getting beaten down there.**

"At least she has her heart in the right place, and really listening to your instincts about danger is a key part of being a kunoichi or shinobi!" Rin encourages.

**Kankuro was worried as well, but for another reason. "I hope Gaara keeps it cool long enough for the plan to start— it all pretty much rests on him!"**

Kushina snorts. "Let the unstable jinchuuriki out on the masses, and let his bijuu take over huh? Pathetic."

"It's not right, how we treat jinchuuriki . . ." Obito whispers, and Rin nods sadly. Kushina doesn't catch their words, but Jiraiya and Tsunade do, and they send small smiles to the kids, agreeing with them.

"**Show some compassion, huh?!" Temari hisses. "He's getting hurt down there!" Kankuro's skeptical face lets her know he doesn't really believe that though, so she turns her face away and keeps watching the match.**

**In another part of the stadium, Gai and Lee are amaezed. "His speed . . . his taijutsu, it's all like Lee's." Gai mutters, casting a searching glance to Kakashi. Kakashi feels the gaze, but doesn't turn to address Gai, merely watching. **

**Sasuke sees the cracks along Gaara's face from where he hit the boy. "That sand armor is really something, huh?" he murmurs to himself, lightly shaking his fist out— it kind of hurt to hit something that hard. He looks disdainfully at Gaara now that the boy has risen to his feet.**

"**Come." He orders, sliding back into the Uchiha taijutsu stance. When Gaara does nothing, he gets impatient. "Fine, if you won't come to me then I will come to you." **

**He breaks out into a run, a huge trail of dust behind him before he seemingly disappears again, now going too fast for Gaara to see. Gaara, thinking that he'll appear from the front this time, gets ready to send a wall of sand forward— but Sasuke is behind him! His sand redirects and tries to attack the boy, but Sasuke is far too fast for the sand, dodging a couple of attacks, and then kicking Gaara back to the other end of the stadium.**

**Gaara grunts— this hurts! He doesn't want to feel any more pain!**

"He really acts like he's never been hurt before . . . that means no one has ever broken his sand armor before? Why, though, some assassin had to have some powerful jutsu . . ." Obito trails off, really trying to think this through.

Minato smiles at the thoughtful boy, proud of Obito for trying to really solve it, see the heart of the matter. If Obito became a Chuunin, it'd be well placed. "His assassins were probably other Suna ninjas, the Kazekage not wanting to bring attention to his unstable jinchuuriki by bringing in foreigners. So the assassins would know what he was like and be scared, giving Gaara an edge."

**While Sasuke is busy beating the shit out of Gaara, up in the stands the rest of the Rookie set is amazed at what Sasuke's doing. **

"**To achieve that speed in a month, where it took me years . . . he truly is a genius." Lee murmurs, feeling a strange mix of respect and bitterness.**

"I know the feeling, trust me." Kushina, Obito, and Jiraiya say in unison, commiserating with the young boy. They look at each other in surprise, snorting at their unintentional triplet moment.

"**Some guys have all the luck. At least you're the better taijutsu user." Naruto says, and it brings a small smile to Lee's lips. **

"**We all have our strengths and weaknesses . . . it just seems to me that Sasuke has smaller weakness than most." Chouji adds, swallowing his chips. Then something occurs to him and he asks, "Naruto? Didn't you beat Sasuke a lot?"**

**Naruto's mouth twists as he tries to answer the question. "Yes but not **_**all**_** the time— maybe every two or three out of five fights— and this was even before he got the Sharingan. After he got it, it was even harder to try and win . . . I think it's just the fact that I also assimilate different weapons into my style that gets him, while he only uses the standard shuriken and kunai.**

"Aw, he's just being modest. My baby can totally wipe the floor with the Uchiha brat's pretty little face any day of the week!" Kushina cooed, sweetly smiling.

"You . . . huh," Tsunade couldn't even think of anything to say to that, so she just shook her head, a huff of laughter escaping her

**It's exhausting trying to stay ahead of Sasuke— he more than earns the moniker of prodigy. Hey, what's he doing?!" Naruto's astounded shout grabs their attention and forces it back to the match where they realized they missed quite a bit during their talk. Sasuke was no bleeding from a cut on his arm, his fist, and on his cheek. Gaara was nowhere to be seen— encased in a bubble of sand. Sasuke stood back quite a distance from it, seeming to deliberate something. **

"Hey, hey, he made him retreat!" Obito called out, looking around to make sure everyone got that.

**Sasuke looked at his fists, tightening them then relaxing. **_**I think . . . it's time to bring out that new jutsu I learned. **_

**Sasuke crouches slightly, and makes a single hand seal.**

**Gai recognizes it instantly, and rounds on Kakashi with a slightly accusatory tone of voice. "You taught him **_**that**_** technique? Isn't it a little too dangerous for a genin?"**

Minato stiffens as he too comes to the same realization. "Oh, please tell me you were not that stupid."

"But! But . . . it's cool!" Kakashi whined, and the others looked between the two of them in surprise. Kakashi, even if he was mellower now thanks to the book, never ever whined. And Minato was looking at the silver-haired soon-to-be-Jounin like the kid killed his goldfish.

"Kakashi, I thought I warned you not to use it?" Minato said, ignoring the boy's earnest expression.

"Well obviously I got good enough to not only use it well, but to also feel confident enough to teach it to a genin!" Kakashi rebutted, and if it weren't for the mask the others were sure he'd stick his tongue out.

**Kakashi snorts. "Coming from the guy who taught his kid to open all the gates?" **

"Touché." Obito compliments.

**Back in the arena, a large amount of chakra starts to encompass Sasuke, and his hands start to glow. Sasuke moves his right hand down, his left hand griping the wrist. The chakra moves to his right hand, getting brighter . . . a strange sound comes from it, like the chirping of birds. The chakra takes on an appearance like lightning crackling in his hands, and hen Sasuke **_**moves**_**. He runs fast enough to nearly become a blur, and Naruto's eyes widen.**

"Isn't that the jutsu you said you created?" Kushina asks Kakashi with a frown. He nods, and she frowns even deeper.

"Isn't that an assassination technique?"

"Only because off the high level of speed." Kakashi is quick to say, defensive.

"**What the— you taught that **_**psycho**_** the **_**Chidori**_**?!" Naruto remembers the jutsu being described in a book about yells at Kakashi, and the scarecrow is taken aback. Naruto's never spoken in higher than a normal voice to him. Sure, he understood the doubt someone would have about him teaching a questionably stable, revenge-obsessed kid like Sasuke an assassination attack, but really it would all work out!**

"So you were well aware of his mental state . . . but you just went ahead and taught him that anyway." Minato's voice is almost a growl.

"Uh . . . yeah?" Kakashi answers feebly, aware of the glares trained on him.

"He's my cousin and I love the little guy but even I know how that's going to work out. And no bullshit about that whole 'power equals loyalty for him' thing." Obito scolds Kakashi, shaking his head sadly.

"**What's Chidori?" Sakura asks.**

**Gai answers the question. "The Chidori is Kakashi's one and only original technique. It's only able to be used by someone like Kakashi or apparently any sharingan user should they wish. It's an A-rank offensive assassination technique, requiring high levels of chakra and a lot of speed." **

**Sasuke charges toward Gaara's bubble, intent on piercing the defense. He is unable to dodge the spikes by feinting, as the Chidori requires you to run in a straight line, but he jumps up and receives a few scratches. **

"That's the same problem you've been having so—!" Minato wants to scold Kakashi more, but he realizes why the boy has more success in the future than he does now. "Ah, I see . . . Obito's eye . . . with the Sharingan you can see clearly so the tunnel-vision is taken out for you."

"Huh, so really I just need to find a way to not die . . . but to give you my Sharingan anyway. I'm thinking we can chalk it up to a really bad night wasted, in the Royal City." Obito jokes.

"Sounds legit." Kakashi agrees in a mock solemn voice.

**His hand rears back and then thrusts forward into the sphere. For a moment, all is silent. The spikes are gone and the audience is silent, waiting for the next move. Sasuke disengages from the bubble, jumping back and waiting to see the extent of the damage he caused. **

**A chilling scream suddenly erupts from the bubble, and Sasuke flinches, stepping back one step.**

"**BLOOD! MY BLOOD!" Gaara screams. He's never seen his own blood before, wasn't even sure he really had it. But he knew know, and knew it hurt **_**so badly**_** to see his blood. His mind snapped, and Gaara only wanted to kill everyone and everything that hurt him, that let him get hurt. From the outside Sasuke waits nervously. He gasps in shock when a large arm, made of sand and covered in purple lines shoots out of the bubble, waving around wildly.**

"Oh, there we go." Kushina sighs.

**Temari and Kankuro start, fear plain on their features. "That's HIS arm!" they cry out. An eye with strange looking pupils is suddenly visible in the hole Sasuke created, and he readies himself.**

**It wasn't to be— Sasuke wouldn't get to finish his fight.**

**Suna's invasion of Konoha had commenced.**

**A large smoke bomb detonated in the Kage's box. Immediately, ANBU members (fakes implanted by Orochimaru) cast a genjutsu that put everyone to sleep— feathers rained down from the sky, and that's all people saw before they fell asleep.**

"This is bad . . . the civilians can definitely get hurt this way!" Tsunade mutters heatedly, biting the side of her thumb nervously.

**Well, almost everybody.**

"**Come on, I suck at genjutsu and even I saw that one coming." Naruto grunted after dispelling the genjutsu, rising up from his seat and stretching. He leapt up onto the wall boxing off the section from the arena. "Sensei, permission to get the civilians out and kick some ass?"**

"Not given, genin are to evacuate with the civilians to the safe area." Jiraiya states with a suspicious glare to the now sheepish last Hatake.

"**Granted, but please help everyone else out after you get Katsu." Kakashi reminded him. "As a matter of fact, get her out and then come straight back to me. You'll be working alongside me today."**

"Oh come on! What happened to the freaking procedures we made?! Genin do not fight in invasions, they stay safe!" Minato groans, head falling back to the couch.

"Can you blame the boy? Naruto would probably have gone off anyway, because he has to make sure Katsu is safe." Tsunade reminds the man, who thinks about it and accepts it with a shrug.

**Naruto laughed. "Partnering up with the infamous Copycat ninja? I'm all a flutter!" he jumps down in time to avoid Kakashi's rebuking cuff and takes off. Meanwhile the rest of the rookies are looking to their respective sensei's, eager to get the same go-ahead and join Naruto. Ino is kicking Shikamaru, who is on the floor and feigning sleep. "Get up, lazy ass!"**

**Shikamaru grunts from a particularly hard kick to his ribs. "Damn . . . fine."**

"**You guys wake up the civilians and show them the way out." Asuma orders, chakra blades out and ready to go as he jumps away. Kurenai turns to Kiba and Shino. "Look out for Hinata, she was here today, okay? If anything, just find Naruto and ask if she got out." She leaps away too, after Kakashi and Asuma as they immediately engage the Oto ninjas that infiltrated the stadium.**

**Naruto remembers exactly where his best friends were seated, and gets there in record time. Katsu and Hinata are awake, if a little scared, so he sighs I relief. "You have to get out of here, now!" he urges them, eyeing the pair of Oto nin that had spotted them and were making their way there. **

"**Okay . . . but I have to swing by the Academy, see if Iruka needs help." **_**See if Konohamaru and his friends are okay, **_**Naruto hears the unspoken words in Katsu's statement. He frowns.**

"**Listen the chuunin there won't let anything happen to him— but if you really have to—Hinata! You watch out for her, Katsu will do the same for you, and don't even think of trying to help us out here. Get to the safe area and wait with Katsu okay?"**

"**H-hai!" Hinata answers firmly, a determined look on his face.**

**The Oto nins are on them now. Naruto turns around, axes already out, and slits the throat of one ninja, kicks away another.**

Kushina winces. "This is his first kill . . . please don't let him freeze up with so many enemies around."

"He won't he's stronger than that. He knows there will be a time and a place." Minato reassures her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to warm the Goosebumps that have popped up.

**It's his first kill, but he buries the emotion deep inside. There would be a place and time for him to throw up later. He sees Hinata knock out the ninja he kicked away from the corner of his eyes. **

"**GO, NOW!" He growls. With worried looks to him, they do as told. Hinata takes Katsu's hand, but Katsu takes the lead and they tear off. Satisfied that they had gotten away, he concentrates on waking up as many civilians as he can, reorienting them and sending them to the exits, carefully watching for more enemies. When three ANBU arrive and tell him they would take over waking the civilians, he is relieved. He searches for a head of messy silver and spots it whirling amongst a group of Oto ninjas, the enemies falling before his sensei like leaves to the wind, and he sprints off to catch up.**

"It's good that he can follow orders well, I was half afraid he'd trail them to the safe area." Kakashi mumbles, feeling proud of the boy.

"**Sensei!" Kakashi doesn't look back, but recognizes that Naruto is near him. He kills the last two nin, and then turns to see Naruto. The boy is ready, eyes hard and dark— but he sees the blood staining the axe in his left hand and notices that it's too much just to be a scratch.**

_**Hell of a time to have your first kill, **_**Kakashi thinks, but he just puts his hand on Naruto's shoulder and squeezes reassuringly. He'd talk to him later. **

"You're taking good care of my boy, Kakashi." Minato says, and Kakashi hears the unspoken _'thank you'_ in those words and inclines his head in recognition.

"**The civilians are being cleared out by our ANBU. The rest of our forces are—" A large boom interrupts him, and when an ANBU appears by his side, Kakashi is hard pressed to restrain a large sigh. "Report." He orders. **

"**Three large snakes— we've identified them to be Orochimaru's summons— have broken through the wall. Suna forces are now flooding the village, and our jounin forces have gone forth to beat them back, give the civilians' time to reach the safe area."**

"He's not doing things halfway." Tsunade growls, fists clenching so hard her nails bite sharply into her palm as she thinks of her not-yet fallen teammate.

"**And Orochimaru?" Kakashi almost dreads the answer.**

"**Our Lord Sandaime is currently fighting him. Accomplices of Orochimaru have put up a barrier that is impenetrable." The ANBU answers, and though it is monotone as always, the clipped way the words are given betray the operative's frustration. Kakashi, feeling the same way, roughly pushes a hand through his hair.**

"Barrier?! He really means to try and kill the old monkey?" Tsunade parrots incredulously.

Jiraiya laughs nastily. "Good luck to the poor bastard, I can't wait to see what sensei does to him." Deep down though, he knows those words are just bravado . . . even now, sensei is old, and he's not sure how he'd handle a strong opponent like Orochimaru, especially so far down the road.

**Naruto's head jerks up to see said barrier— a disgusting purple, just like Orochimaru's chakra— cove the Kage box, trapping his jiji inside. Kakashi's voice calling out his name brings his attention back to the two ninja in front of him. Though his insides twist with the anger towards Orochimaru, and the worry that his home was being destroyed by the invasion, he holds it all back and focuses on what he can handle.**

"**Naruto, there's nothing you can do about it now. Focus on the here and now. Your Rookie comrades have gone after Sasuke— he's currently in pursuit of the three Sand Siblings. Do you want to go after them?"**

"**All of them?" Naruto frowns briefly, before his face is smoothed out to a professional, cold mask. "No, that should be more than enough. I'll go if Gaara gets too demonic, otherwise I will stay within the village proper and deal with the Suna invasion. Make sure the civilians are safe."**

"Good call— don't bother with that bijuu at all. Let the resident seal master handle it." Kushina's advice came out as an order, and she had to work hard to quell the irrational worry and fear she felt at the thought of Naruto being smack dab in the middle of an invasion— It would be different, at the very least Minato would make sure some ANBU would look after him.

**Kakashi nods. "Then, let's go." The two of them leap off, heading toward the village marketplace while the ANBU heads off in a different direction, probably to push back the snake summons. Kakashi and Naruto leap over rooftops swiftly, and from the aerial view they can see the gigantic snake summons destroying buildings and probably their fellow ninja— the thought leaves a sour taste in Naruto's mouth so he turned his attention away from that. **

"**Kakashi-sensei, look!" Naruto points out a group of civilians running to the Hokage monument, and the Suna nins that have intercepted them. **

"**Naruto, knock them out if you want, but if they try to kill you, don't hold back for them." Kakashi snaps, and when Naruto nods in affirmative they descend and engage the ninjas. **

**All around the village is a scene of utter chaos. Ninjas clash in battle, ninjas fall to injuries and blows. Civilians flee in fear, screaming, shielding their loved ones— explosions and collapsing buildings prove just as dangerous as invading ninjas. Naruto and Kakashi work steadily, protecting civilians and engaging enemy ninjas. Naruto switches from his axes when they feel too heavy for him to move, moving to his daggers and then his Bo staff. His Kage bushins prove a boon to fellow leaf nins as they overwhelm the enemy or distract long enough for a win to happen.**

"He's performing admirably. You two should be very proud of him." Jiraiya states seriously to Minato and Kushina, who nod their heads in acknowledgement and thanks for the Toad Sage's words.

"**Naruto, can you keep going?" Kakashi eyes the panting form. Naruto snorts, sending a **_**'don't be so stupid' **_**look to the older man.**

"**Kakashi-sensei, don't worry about me. I've got **_**plenty**_** of chakra left, and I haven't even used any seals yet!" Naruto assures the man. Naruto spots a cluster of Konoha nins on a nearby roof, and points it out to Kakashi.**

"**Let's get an update, huh?" Kakashi asks, and they move to the group.**

"**Kakashi! What's your genin doing out here, shouldn't he be with the rest in the safe area?" A black-haired ninja asks, giving a curious glance to a slightly ruffled Naruto who adjusts his gloves nonchalantly. **

"**Idiot Kyo, didn't you hear?" A buzz-cut brunette chides his friend. "The genin all went after some Suna nins that escaped the stadium. I think that freaky jinchu—"**

"**Shh!" a bandana wearing ninja hisses, shooting a look to Naruto. Naruto rolls his eyes.**

"How nice, talk about how freaky jinchuuriki are right in front of the resident jinchuuriki who's working hard alongside you for all your sakes." Rin mutters, huffing.

"**Um, it's okay you know. I know about it, and I don't think jiji's going to get mad if you say it out loud right about now." Naruto assures them with a grin. The black-haired man now known as Kyo looks at him for a few seconds, before grinning and ruffling the sunshine locks. Naruto clucks his tongue and slaps the hand away making the man snort in amusement, carding his own fingers through his hair to "fix it."**

"**Right, kiddo, sorry. You're doing alright for your first battle-scenario." Kyo compliments grinning. Naruto opens his mouth to respond, when a feeling suddenly shoots through him. The gathered ninja all look at him in concern when he stiffens up, eyes widening. **

"Oh! What happened?!" Kushina whispers as she presses her fist to her lips in a physical representation of her trying to hold back her worried babble as she listens on to the chapter.

_**What a no manners little punk, showboating on our territory! **_**Kyuubi barks, his dark laughter filling Naruto's mind. **

"**Naruto, what is it?" Kakashi asks urgently. He does not expect Naruto to suddenly grin— a wide, slightly manic grin— and chuckle. The smooth, dark sound that falls from his lips confuses the nins, and makes them nervous.**

"**Can't you feel that?" Naruto questions, tensed body now relaxing as he looks quizzically at Kakashi, amusement sparkling in his eyes.**

**Kakashi's brow furrows as does the other ninjas, and they send their senses out to find what Naruto apparently already knows. They find it soon enough— dark, roiling, mad and so powerful it takes their breath away. The familiarity of it shakes them— they haven't felt something that evil in twelve years.**

"The bijuu . . . it took over Gaara." Minato mutters, eyes narrowing and his grip on his girlfriend's waist tightening. Kushina restrains a wince, knowing he needs the reaffirmation of contact just as much as she does, even if he is squeezing her.

"**A bijuu?!" The brunette ninja gasps in fear.**

"**It's Ichibi!" Naruto crows.**

"And he's _happy?!"_ Obito gapes.

"**Damn it, they let their bijuu out here?!" Kyo shouts, and moves to make for the forest. "That's where the genin are!"**

**A hand on his bicep stops him. "Hold up there, Kyo-san. I shall go and take care of that disrespectful brat." Kyo looks up at shock to see Naruto smiling widely, eyes trained on the forest and wherever the evil source of chakra is coming from. **

"**No, you're not strong enough." Kakashi argues immediately. Naruto turns away from the all, completely facing the forest now, and somehow Kakashi feels like he said something that amused Naruto.**

"**Not . . . strong enough?" Naruto repeats, as if it confuses him. Then, he laughs, and Kakashi has never heard him laugh so hard.**

"You want to shed some light on this, Kushina-san?" Kakashi asks with raised eyebrows.

Kushina chuckles. "You basically said the Kyuubi isn't strong enough to take on the Ichibi. Even though we are different from the bijuu, Naruto is really trying to get in tune with Kyuubi— so saying he's not strong enough is like saying Kyuubi isn't strong enough."

"**Naruto, stop acting—" Kakashi reaches for Naruto, but finds his words and actions aborted when Naruto looks over his shoulder at them. Kakashi's eye widens, and he hears the gasps from the jounins behind him.**

**Twinkling scarlet eyes star straight at him, the slit pupil intimidating against the red as he's reminded of October tenth twelve years ago. Naruto's whisker marks have thickened to feral markings, his canines long and deadly. "Listen up— the **_**one-tail**_** has appeared on my territory, and he thinks I won't respond?" **

"**Even if you say that can you—" Kyo argues, and Naruto's laughter cuts him off again.**

"**I'm the jinchuuriki of the **_**King**_** of Bijuu— the nine-tailed fox! I won't even need a full tail of my power against the weak, crazy little fool! Shikaku is mine to deal with; you guys just focus on the ones you stand a chance against! **_**The other humans**_**." Naruto suddenly disappeared, a whistling sound left in his wake. He went so fast, Kakashi realizes, the wind whistled around him. That's faster than anything he taught Sasuke this month.**

Obito puts a hand to his mouth in an exaggerated slow motion, other hand moving forward straight out in front of him and shaking as he reclines in his seat. The others laugh at his antics, and Jiraiya says, "Looks like it's getting serious huh?"

"Shit has just gotten very real." Obito answers, slightly muffled behind his hand.

**He turns back to the scared-looking jounin. **_**Naruto . . . did you do that on purpose? **_**"Looks like we're in good hands gentleman. Our jinchuuriki is much more capable of handling his bijuu's chakra compared to Gaara. Let's focus on the Suna and Oto nins— move out!" **

"On purpose?" Rin looks at Kakashi with furrowed eyes.

"Yeah, it makes sense . . ." Kakashi murmurs, looking at Rin. "Like a publicity stunt you know?"

"If they know who went after the Ichibi . . . and knowing how bad gossips ninjas are . . . it'll only add good standing to his reputation, for them to know he can control his bijuu that well!" Tsunade realizes. "That's perfect!"

**Before he leaps away, Kakashi looks back. "Sensei will kill me if you die, so come back Naruto." **

Rin sets the book down gently, sighing tiredly. "And that concludes the very exciting chapter of Genesis of the Nindo!"

"Holy crap I need sleep badly. Who knows how badly we're screwing up our internal clocks with this room?" Obito yawns, nearly bending in half backwards to stretch. Stiff bones pop in his back and he nearly collapses boneless back onto the couch in satisfaction. Kakashi is stretching his arms, walking up and down the length of the couch.

"Maybe we need to find a new place to sit . . . like we can sit on the floor next time around, or lie on our backs or stomachs. My ass is going to have sores from sitting so much before we even reach chapter thirty." Kushina comments, rolling her head on her neck to relieve the tense muscles.

"Well I hear massages are good for that kind of thing." Minato murmurs in her ear as he passes by. Kushina squeaks in surprise, beet red as she swats at him angrily, grumbling when he easily dodges it.

"OK, so I definitely call dibs on next chapter!" Jiraiya insists.

* * *

**(1) We miss you, KAMINA! TTGL FOR LIFE! Ahem! Sorry, i couldn't control myself. So, as always, review because your reviews are always so amusing to read. **

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad (see, i wanted Bloody Mad Hatter, but SOMEONE took it already. Pooh)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Well hello everyone! From me to you, i wish you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Kwannza, and a Happy Channukah! As well as a happy New Year, if there is a new year . . . whatever. At least i got his out before the Apocalypse, lol! So there are quite a few songs in here, i wanted the music to come back. If you want to look them up, look up the acoustic guitar versions. Also, think of this as the precursor, the leader up, to the Search for Tsunade Arc! YAY! I got some requests for more NaruXKatsu so . . . here we go!**

**R.I.P Neji Hyuuga, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does, nor do i own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Nineteen_

_The Uzumaki Naruto Cataclysm_

* * *

To the surprise of all the next morning, Tsunade had made breakfast. Though Obito and Kushina soon snapped out of it and assisted in setting the food on the table, the others could do naught but stare in wonder as they sat at the table.

"It's not poisoned, if that's what you're wondering. It's just French Toast and some eggs . . ." Tsunade reassured with a dry tone of voice, a slight frown on her coral lips.

"It's not that," Jiraiya insisted. "But you haven't cooked in years, why the sudden change?"

"It's always either the brats or Kushina that cooks. I thought it'd be nice to add another name to the rotation for kitchen duty— now if that's all . . . shut up and eat." Tsunade orders simply, cutting up her own French toast and making sure to slather it in the syrup on her plate with her fork. The others dug in, and they realized that Tsunade was actually a good cook.

"Wow, this is really good." Obito's muffled voice complimented around his bite of toast and waffle.

"Chew your food and swallow before you speak." Tsunade reprimanded him lightly, and Obito ducked his head sheepishly. "Now enough talking— let's hurry and eat, so we can read the next chapter!"

The reminder sent them all to work on the delicious food, eating quickly and cleaning up even quicker. Taking their seats on the couch, they waited for Jiraiya to begin.

Jiraiya reached over and grabbed the book, flipping to the page where chapter nineteen started.

**Naruto raced through the trees, he and the Kyuubi hyping each other up playfully as they approached.**

_**Did you hear that sensei of mine? You're not strong enough— ha! **_**Naruto grinned, almost feeling the reverberations from Kyuubi's chuckles in his body. **

"Well excuse me." Kakashi snorted, rolling his eyes.

_**Well, to those humans not in the know, all bijuu feel the same to them— big and scary. They couldn't be bothered to feel the special nuances; otherwise they'd have known straight off you're more than a match for the crazy raccoon-dog. **_**Kyuubi answered mockingly.**

_**Ah— I'll have to make sure this is quick. Even I have no idea exactly what I'm getting into, **_**Naruto allowed. Looking ahead, he suddenly spotted two familiar faces, and he slowed to check on them. **

"**Asuma-sensei, Shikamaru what's up with you guys?" Naruto called out to them, and the two lazy sensei-jounin duo looked at him in surprise from where they were tying up nine knocked out Oto nins.**

"**Naruto, what the hell man? Didn't you feel that?! What are you doing going towards it?" Shikamaru asked him, looking at the blonde like he was crazy. He was panting lightly, his chakra nearly drained from holding those eight ninjas in place so soon after his fight with Temari. Thank Kami Asuma-sensei had gotten there when he had, otherwise he'd be dead.**

"It's sad how these kids have barely gotten into the ninja world— haven't even had a B-rank yet— and now they know the taste of a close-call with death, from an invasion in their home." Tsunade remarks with a gloomy tone.

"That's just the danger of our world." Minato sighs, face grim at the reminder of what was happening to his home . . . what his child was doing.

**Naruto grinned. "Who do you think is going to take care of that? I'm the only one who can after all." Naruto told him, as if imparting a deep, dark secret.**

"**Naruto, are you sure about this?" Asuma asked him seriously, looking at Naruto's face closely. Naruto was devoid of doubt— he could do this. He **_**had**_** to do this. **

**Shikamaru growled. "I've never known you to be pig-headed, but this is too much—"**

**Naruto waved away the boy's concerns. "It'll be fine Shikamaru. If you want, have Asuma-sensei tell you why, I give my permission— or you can wait for me to explain. Just remember, it's a secret— so unless I say, it'll stay a secret, okay?"**

"Why bother keeping the secret if he's so willing to let them know?" Rin asked.

"It's still an official decree, one with consequences. Only the Hokage can repeal it." Kushina answered.

**Shikamaru glared at the boy, assessing him for a few moments, before relenting with a tired sigh. "What a drag."**

**Taking that as confirmation, Naruto grinned. With a two-fingered salute, he was off again. Naruto jumped through the trees, but stopped when he sees an unconscious Shino lying on the ground. He jumps down, running to Shino and checking his vitals. They're fine, if a bit quick, his breathing rather rough— he glances over at Shino's opponent, a knocked out Kankuro. **

**He looks at the form of Kankuro's puppet Karasu lying on the ground, the head detached from the body. Naruto frowns— he knew Suna favored puppets, and that some puppeteers usually added something extra in their puppets . . . like senbon, poison. Was Shino poisoned? Naruto picks Shino up, and without sparing a glance to Kankuro, leaps off, backtracking.**

"Good deduction." Tsunade murmurs with a small, pleased smile.

"**Asuma-sensei!" Asuma looks up at the sound of his name coming from a familiar voice. His eyebrows rise when he sees it is Naruto, carrying an unconscious Shino.**

"**Naruto, I thought you were going after Gaara?" Asuma asks, taking the proffered body of the young Aburame.**

"**Had to get Shino to you— I'm pretty sure he's been poisoned by that Kankuro boy— but he should get to the hospital quick." Naruto informed the jounin. Asuma nodded, taking Shino from the blonde. Naruto nodded curtly to them, and then returned on his way, rushing to reach the steadily growing aura of crushing force that the Ichibi's chakra created.**

"I hope he doesn't lose time for that." Minato noted with worry.

_**Showing some selective sympathy for the enemy, are we? **_**Kyuubi asked, referring to the fact that Naruto never mentioned Kankuro. **

_**Showing some compassion for a fellow jinchuuriki . . . even if he won't ever realize it, **_**Naruto answered calmly, flying through the trees. He knew he was getting closer— the burn marks from katon jutsus, the deep scratches made only by the claws he saw come from Gaara— the amount of destruction let him know the berserker boy and his teammates had been through here.**

_**Playing decoy won't help you this time, **_**Kyuubi advised. **_**Let your teammates do as they have been doing— if they're not dead yet they're doing something right— and you just use all those handy little stealth tricks and some cunning. **_

_**It's fine in theory, but . . . **_**Naruto sweat dropped as he looked around the trunk of the tree he'd hidden in, overlooking the current situation. Gaara had gone even further into his transformation than when Naruto had last seen him. He was half-covered in his own sand, the sand portion of his body morphed into a monstrous form. His clawed hand was outstretched to a nearby tree, where Sakura was pinned and getting crushed tightly, the giant hand encasing her body up to her neck tightening with every minute. Sasuke knelt across from Gaara a few trees away, exhaustion driving him to his knees. **_**There's not much else I can do but show my hand eventually. **_**Naruto finished, and he heard the Kyuubi cluck his tongue.**

"Oh, this sounds bad." Rin fretted, wringing her hands.

"It's too dangerous for a genin to handle a rampaging jinchuuriki like that— even if he himself is a jinchuuriki— he has to get help." Kushina muttered, but everyone in the room heard her.

"And yet," Jiraiya regretfully pointed out, "I don't think it's going to turn out like that."

_**Do as you wish then. I want to see how you handle such a situation. **_**Kyuubi faded away from his mind after those parting words, and Naruto was left feeling bemused. He spotted a familiar someone.**

_**Ah . . . someone who can shed a little light on the situation. **_

"**Temari-san!" The harsh whisper right beside her ear scared Temari half to death, and she would have shrieked if not for the subtle feeling of cool metal poised against her throat. Naruto smiled, glad Temari was reacting fairly well. **

"**W-what do you want?" Temari murmured, careful of the kunai ready and able to slit her throat. **

"**Just a report of what's been going on so far— on a scale of berserk to holy shit, how far along is Gaara in his transformation?" Naruto asked lightly.**

"Hot damn, is my guess." Kakashi guessed.

"Really? I'd have said holy crap." Obito responded.

"**He's about one mama joke away from letting Shikaku have the floor." Temari admitted through gritted teeth.**

**Naruto suppressed the urge to whistle, thoroughly impressed. "I see . . . such a shame I don't know bijuu suppression seals, or have mokuton. How do we stop him from going on an Ichibi rampage?"**

"**You can't!" Temari insisted, scoffing at the idea of just this kid alone trying it. "It's a tailed beast, a demon of epic proportions, nothing can stop it— it's impossible! And if you even think of killing him—" Temari cut off with a choke when Naruto pressed the kunai closer to her throat, a line of blood appearing.**

"He's getting serious now." Tsunade observed quietly.

"**Impossible?" Naruto repeated, rolling the word around in his mouth as if to figure out the taste of it. "Impossible is a word for people who've run out of ideas. What you need is a fresh perspective! And we must hurry," Naruto added silkily as the two blondes observed the sand form growing around Gaara even more, now swallowing up his legs and leaving only a portion of the torso and face open. "Gaara is a ticking time bomb. Tell me, Temari-san . . . how does the Ichibi gain control of your brother?"**

"**I won't say anything you damned tree hugger." Temari snarled quietly. **

**She heard Naruto sigh impatiently behind her, and suddenly his hand was yanking her ponytails, her head yanked back. She whimpered at the pain of her hair being pulled, and when she felt the skin of her throat scrape against the kunai, but never break. **

**Naruto leaned forward and hissed in her ear, "I'm trying to make sure nobody gets hurt, Temari. The only way I can help you and your brother is if you tell me. However, I can do that just as well by figuring it out. Now— I've already stained my hands with the blood of your comrades . . . killing the traitorous Kazekage's only daughter won't hurt me one little bit. **_**Start**_**. **_**Talking**_**." **

"Like a _Boss_." Obito stage whispered, drawing out the word.

**Temari's eyes flitted from side to side, trying to think over the cloying panic that was rising in her as Gaara spiraled further and further out of control, and the knowledge that the blonde behind her was dead serious— something she'd never expected from the usually peaceful Leaf ninjas. "H-he . . . um . . . it's most likely to occur when he's sleeping. If he's not actively keeping the seal up, then it allows for Shikaku to take over."**

"**Ah," Naruto hummed with a frown. "What shoddy seal work? Very well, so when he lets Ichibi take over . . . he'll be asleep. But if he wakes, then it's another story. That's all I wanted to know . . . I'll go save your brother from himself Temari-san, don't you worry!" Naruto assured her chirpily, rising up and releasing her. Temari turned to him with a wary look, one hand coming up to press against the shallow, thin cut he made across her throat.**

"**But . . . why? Shouldn't you be thinking of killing him?" Temari asked, confused. They were enemies after all.**

"**Don't be an idiot, -ttebayo." Naruto chided her, flicking the tip of her nose with his finger. Grinning at the surprised blush that came across her face as she touched the offended nose, he continued, "First of all, killing him would unleash the full Ichibi on us. **

"And that's reason enough!" Rin joked weakly.

**Secondly, I can't, in all good consciousness, kill another jinchuuriki. I know what he's going through— so I'm giving you two cowardly siblings a chance to redeem yourself in his eyes. Temari-san, please find a safe spot far from here, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Naruto jumped away, leaving Temari to gape in disbelief at his retreating figure.**

"Trying to play it cool in front of a girl, but who's he trying to kid, really?" Minato asked, grinning.

_**Well, I said that but, really this is going to be quite difficult . . . I've used up quite a bit of my chakra from fighting off Suna nins earlier. **_**Naruto admitted to himself. Still, he'd do what had to be done and defeat Gaara. Naruto lowered his chakra levels as far as he could, trying to mask his presence as he got behind Gaara and crept as close as he dared. When Sasuke's eyes started roving around, looking for anything to help, Naruto took this as a chance to catch the boy's attention. Sasuke's eyes flickered over to his position; he gave the boy a reassuring grin. **_**Stall for me**_**, he mouthed, and motioned to his scrolls hanging on his belt.**

**When Sasuke saw Naruto, he was even tired enough to admit a certain feeling of relief overcame him— but it was soon smothered down by Naruto's request. Stall for time— didn't that guy see just how exhausted he was? Two chidori was his limit, and he being awake even after all that was a blessing in itself. Still . . . he grits his teeth. If he couldn't do anything like this, he'd have to pull a Naruto— start talking and get his enemy to monologue! **

"Two chidori at his age, and enough chakra left for a foolish last stand?" Kakashi summarized, one eyebrow raised. "My, my, the Uchiha is something else I must say."

"You're not so bad as a teacher after all, Kakashi." Minato told the boy, smiling proudly.

"**Gaara!" he shouted, and the half-insane boy's mismatched devil eyes locked on him. Shivering at the feeling of dread that stare produced, Sasuke managed to grit out, "What's the purpose of killing strong people specifically?! You didn't seem all that bothered over whose blood you spilled before, what's with the selective pickiness?" **

**Gaara's gravelly, dark chuckle set Sasuke on edge. "It's because . . . okaa-san will only accept the blood of true pedigree, the strongest!" Gaara ranted, and though it sickened Sasuke to hear it, he could see the shadows behind Gaara morphing— Naruto was working on something, he knew it. He just had to keep going . . . just a little more. He turned his attention back to the stark raving mad . . . thing before him.**

"**That's why! I must kill you Uchiha Sasuke, your blood will be an excellent gift for okaa-san! It's only too bad I couldn't kill Uzumaki-san as well!" Gaara laughed, face taut and strained from his own madness.**

"**Please . . . my teammate is too much for you to handle. Your okaa-san shouldn't be so greedy!" Sasuke jeered.**

"Yeah, totally! Sort of . . . except for the killing others part." Rin cheered, chuckling awkwardly when she had to explain herself.

**The condescending manner of the beaten-down Uchiha irritated Gaara. He'd much prefer the boy dead and pulpy; all red from the blood Gaara couldn't manage to scoop up from his corpse.**

"**Enough of your talk! Die, Uchi—!" Gaara's death threat was cut off as he was suddenly bombarded with explosive tags in his back and sides, the sand not having enough time to protect all of him. Sasuke scrabbled for purchase on the branch he was on, barely managing to cling to it as the gusts from the blasts buffeted him. When he managed to right himself, Naruto was there next to him.**

"What the hell is exploding tags going to do?!" Kakashi cried out, disbelieving. Was Naruto all talk this time?

"**Dobe!" Sasuke snarled. "What the hell are you trying to do?! As if we hadn't already tried that and you nearly threw me off in the process!"**

**Naruto waved his hand like he was trying to remove a bad omen. "You aren't trying the same thing I am, trust me. Sasuke, move to Sakura's side and prepare for when she's released."**

"**Mind letting me in on your plan?" Sasuke asked acerbically.**

"**Well . . . if I do you might just stop me because it's really crazy." Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.**

"**Stop trying to act so cool!" Sasuke barked, rising up on wobbly legs. "What are you trying to do?!"**

"**I'm simply trying to lull Gaara-chan to sleep." Naruto answered easily, grinning. Sasuke froze when he saw the pleasant face, however— it was different than any of Naruto's mischievous looks, or his mocking look . . . Naruto seriously wanted to hurt somebody, and that poor bastard happened to be Gaara.**

"He _wants_ Gaara to go to sleep?! But why— the Ichibi will come out if he's asleep!" Rin wailed, lightly shaking at the very thought.

"Because that idiot has some sort of crazy plan . . . and I hope to Kami it works." Kushina answered simply, gravely serious.

"**What's the point of lulling him to sleep?" Sasuke asked, now looking at the swarm of Naruto clones that were poking and prodding the beast that was Gaara with explosives.**

"**When he sleeps, the demon inside of him awakes . . . as it is, in this symbiotic state they're in I can't do much . . . however, if the Ichibi comes out then I can win this." Naruto explained.**

**Sasuke was not so convinced. "He's already this strong and you want to bring out that monster he says he has inside him?! No, for having that in him . . . he is a monster! You have to figure out something now!" he urged the boy, and was confused at Naruto's suddenly expressionless face.**

"Ouch, what a thing to say." Obito hissed.

"**He's not a monster." Naruto stated quietly, and Sasuke looked as if he hadn't heard him. Naruto smiled at the look, and said more clearly, "He's not a monster. I'll explain it to you later on . . . for now, please go. You're exhausted, if you can't understand the logic of my plan then please aid the recovery effort." In other words, get to Sakura and lie low.**

**Sasuke understood that much from his words, and though he hated it, he knew arguing was useless. Without looking back at his teammate, Sasuke did as told. **

**With Sasuke out the way, now Naruto could really push Gaara. Naruto faced the furious boy, nearly foaming at the mouth . . . ah, no, just more sand. "Well, Gaara, I must say this is pathetic. I expected more . . . let Ichi-chan come out to play, he'll be more fun!" Naruto insisted with a pout. Gaara roared and suddenly from behind him a tail swiped out at Naruto. Naruto leapt back, and then had to avoid a volley of spiked projectiles that another swing of Gaara's tail produced. **

"**I don't need to— killing you like this is fine!" Gaara insisted, laughing hysterically. Naruto huffed, deciding that it'd be best to get in closer. **

"Ah! No, no, no— distance is good." Obito whispered, knuckles pressing to his mouth to keep from shouting anything in his nervous state.

**He summoned ten kage bushins, and they leapt for Gaara. Gaara destroyed them all with a single blow from his clawed sand arm— but that gave a now weightless Naruto chance to appear in front of Gaara and land a massive kick to the boy's face.**

"At least he realizes he must use all he has for this." Minato sighs, foot jiggling to get rid of his anxiety and nervous energy.

**Gaara roared in pain and anger, rocking back from the kick— the sand still anchored him to his branch, he could not be blown back from Naruto's kick, but he certainly felt his nose break, and his neck protest from the sudden whiplash.**

**Naruto immediately leapt back far enough to guard against any airborne attacks. "Gaara, Gaara . . . how can you honor your okaa-san like this?" Naruto mocked.**

"**SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I'LL KILL YOU!" Gaara screamed. Naruto shivered in foreboding. It wouldn't be much longer now . . . Gaara suddenly preformed hand seals, and Naruto couldn't guess what jutsu he was trying to do.**

"**Feigning Sleep no jutsu!" Gaara growled out. For a moment, he lay frozen in that pose, mad eyes glaring into Naruto's surprised blue ones. And then . . . he sagged, arms hanging limply as his head fell forward.**

"He's asleep!" Rin squeaked, hands nearly covering her face, as if it would ward off the words that she heard.

**Naruto took a deep breath. This is what he wanted . . . this was good. But he was still scared as all hell— this wasn't the Demon of the Mist, this was an actual demon. "Here we go," he murmured, readying himself.**

Kushina readied herself as well, and she could feel Minato tensing slightly behind her as well. They needed to prepare for anything that might happen to their child, even if they knew that it hadn't even happened— and there was nothing they could do anyway.

**In the background, Sasuke shivered. Once again, he had to watch as his teammates took on a stronger opponent than any of them, while he just cowered in the background. But Naruto was so sure— like he knew exactly what to do to win— that Sasuke simply had to trust him. He had to wonder where the crazy blonde got his confidence from.**

**Sand suddenly shot into the air, surprising both of the kids. "!" they cried, but did nothing but watch as the seemingly endless amount of sand whirled around Gaara, growing bigger and bigger . . . the Ichibi was forming!**

"**Well," Naruto managed to say as he looked up at the hulking form. "I didn't expect him to get so big when he hasn't even completely left the seal. Kyuubi, you think you could do that?"**

_**Hmm . . . not like Shikaku is . . . not with the way things are, **_**Kyuubi admitted. Naruto nodded, understanding. **

"**Yahoo! Finally, I'm out and free!" The one-tailed beast opened its enormous maw— and the high, crazy voice still took Naruto off guard. He had been imagining a voice similar to Kyuubi's after all . . . **

"**Oh man, I'm going to kill everyone in that village over there, yeah!" Shikaku cheered, and his body suddenly started moving, slow and lumbering towards Konoha proper.**

"**Not on my watch, Ichi-chan!" A voice made the Ichibi turn around in confusion. When had he last been called that . . . ? The last time he'd seen his sister, the Nibi surely. **

"Sister? They're all . . . related?" Obito questioned.

"Obito we'll get to that later— not now!" Jiraiya scolded, focused on the fight his future student was going through.

**Naruto bit his thumb and performed the seals that were oh so familiar to him now, and he jumped off the branch. "Summoning Jutsu!" he yelled.**

**With a large blast of smoke, Naruto was now towering miles above the tree line atop Gamabunta's head. Gamabunta was easily large enough to see eye to eye with the Ichibi, so now Naruto didn't feel quite so wrong footed.**

"**Brat, what did you call me out for? You may be acknowledged by the toad, but we still haven't even had a drink yet!" Gamabunta grumbled.**

"**When I can find the amount of sake needed to fill satisfy someone of your size, I'll call you, but for now, please help stall the Ichibi." Naruto said, not in the mood for banter with the Boss summon.**

**Gamabunta eyed the confused-looking tanuki. "Shikaku, eh? Man you sure gave me a tough one for our first collaboration together."**

"**Sorry, Gamabunta-sama, but please. I just need you to keep the Ichibi still so I can go and wake up Gaara. Once he wakes, Ichibi is sent back into the seal." Naruto explained.**

"**What's this, what's this?! People for me to kill already! I'll make frog legs outta youuu!" Shikaku sang, coiling in preparation for an attack.**

**Gamabunta let out a harsh bark of laughter as he unsheathed his katana. "Try, you bastard, see how far you get!"**

**Shikaku laughed and rushed toward Gamabunta faster than Naruto thought a beast of that size had any right to move. Gamabunta dodged to the side, his blade coming up quickly to bury itself in Shikaku's shoulder. With a heavy jerking movement, Shikaku's entire left arm came straight off.**

"Yay!" Rin and Obito cheered.

"Sand." Kakashi reminded them.

"Boo!" They jeered, pouting.

"**GAH! How dare you hurt me?!" Shikaku roared, though Naruto didn't see why it was so terribly upset. The sand arm just came right back to him and melded back to its socket anyway. Still . . . he couldn't deny feeling a vague unsettling feeling when he heard Shikaku's cry of pain. He couldn't help but see Kyuubi in the situation, though he knew if the fox got wind of that train of thought he'd have to watch out for those sharp teeth when he went back to the mindscape.**

"**Fuuton: Rising Tribal Cavity!" Shikaku roared, and with a large inhale he released a jet of air so concentrated and pressurized it was almost like a beam of light in his mouth before the air bullet came towards the Gama pair. Gamabunta jumped over it and countered with, **

"**Suiton: Cannon Ball." A large glob of water shot from his mouth, heading with alarming speed to the Ichibi, who cancelled it out with another blast of air, creating an explosion of water droplets in the air, sparkling as it fell back to earth under gravity's order. Gamabunta started to plummet, but he had his plan. Arms outstretched, Gamabunta landed and immediately grabbed the Ichibi . . . only for the Ichibi to easily slip from its webbed, slippery grasp.**

"Ugh, no, Gamabunta can't get a good grip!" Tsunade muttered, arms squeezing around her middle.

"**Damn, I can't get a hold on him . . . Naruto, think you can give me claws?!" Gamabunta urged the boy as he hopped after the Ichibi, who was wary of getting within close range of them.**

"**Um . . ." Naruto hedged, flying through ideas. Only one came to him, and if anybody wanted to try and rake him over the coals for it later he'd be in some trouble. **

"Think, boy, think!" Kakashi urged.

"**The only thing I can think of is . . ." He had no more time to hesitate! With a determined expression, Naruto lifted his hands up, seals for henge at the ready.**

"**HENGE!" He shouted, and they were engulfed in a cloud of smoke.**

**Sasuke choked on his astonishment as he reeled back from the sight. **_**What, how can—?! **_**His mind babbled, now staring at two monsters of legend.**

**Prior to this, and smack dab in the middle of the village, Katsu and Hinata observed the fight from atop the Hokage Monument.**

"Hey . . . shouldn't they be in the safe zone?!" Kushina almost demanded, the worry for her son transferring over to the next best thing.

"They're safe enough, so get back to the fight!" Rin peeped, glaring at the book.

"**Wow, I can't believe Naruto is taking on the Ichibi by himself." Hinata muttered, binoculars lowering for a moment to help herself to the bag of candy in the middle of the two girls.**

Minato snorted. "They came prepared for a show, didn't they?" he laughed.

"**Well, he's got Gamabunta-sama so he's not entirely alone." Katsu reminded her, also lowering her binoculars to pick up the camera lying beside her feet and take a picture. This would be killer for the scrapbook. "Ugh, I've got to by a better camera, the zoom is shit on this!" she muttered.**

"**Ooh, that futon looked nasty." Hinata remarked, cringing slightly at the powerful blast which made an impression on them even as far away as they were.**

"**Well, of course Gamabunta-sama would jump over— ooh, points for the sparkling water." Katsu praised.**

"**Very poetic." Hinata agreed, binoculars trained on the two clashing behemoths.**

"**You know . . . you guys are **_**supposed**_** to be in the **_**safe area**_**." Both girls jumped at the voice, but it was Katsu who spoke up.**

"**Ah, Jiraiya-sama . . . had enough playing with the snakes?"**

"**Well something like that. The others have it, so I thought I'd enjoy the sight of my pupil kicking the shit out of the sand bijuu over there . . . mind if I join you ladies?" Jiraiya asked.**

"**Not at all, want some candy?" Katsu piped up, though her eyes never left the fight.**

"**No thanks. Hey you guys seem pretty entertained . . . aren't you a little scared?" Jiraiya couldn't help but ask. Those two were just lounging around during an invasion, watching a bijuu fight!**

"**Well, no— let me speak for myself. Just because I'm Naruto's best friend doesn't mean I was gifted with the guts and brass balls that dude has. I'll tell you a secret Jiraiya-sama . . . when it comes down to it, I'm really a terrific coward! When the going gets tough, I'm already gone and hiding!" Katsu proclaimed shamelessly, not losing the perky smile on her face as she munched on her candies. **

"Such a bald-faced _lie_!" Obito gasped.

"I can't believe _she_ believes that." Kushina snorted.

**Jiraiya snorted, taking out his telescope to see Gamabunta running after the Ichibi. "That's hardly fair, to call yourself a coward just by comparing yourself to Naruto. Hell, even I might be a complete wimp compared to that brat's gutsy attitude. No, rather than us being cowards, it's . . ."**

**He paused, words trailing off as he saw Gamabunta and Naruto disappear in an enormous cloud of smoke. What was that boy doing? His question was answered when the nine-tailed fox suddenly sprung from the smoke, claws latching on to the Ichibi, his jaws locked onto the Ichibi's shoulder. No, not that it was the fox itself, he realized . . . Naruto might have used henge to help Gamabunta, who couldn't grip the bijuu before.**

"Okay, I certainly wouldn't have thought of that." Tsunade mumbles, fiddling with the end of her left ponytail.

"That's the only thing he could have thought of?" Minato chuckles, exasperated with his reckless son.

"**That is to say," Katsu started where Jiraiya left off, "Naruto is the most reckless idiot I've ever known."**

**. . . **

"**Uh-huh," all three of them muttered binoculars and telescopes respectively shoved into eye sockets. Katsu's camera went off rapidly.**

**Gamabunta, via Kyuubi henge, clung tenaciously to the struggling and thrashing Shikaku as it roared and wailed. "Naruto, hurry up I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on!" **

"**Got it! Thanks, Gamabunta!" Naruto shouted, making a running leap off the toad and onto the tanuki. As soon as he was off Gamabunta's henge was released and he was back to defending and attacking with his katana. Naruto ran up the length of the Tanuki's neck and over his forehead with incredible speed. Without his weights, Naruto was allowed to feel the freedom of an adrenaline-fueled sprint, and it was an almost euphoric feeling. He dodged the 'hands' of sand that erupted from Shikaku's body as he continued forward. **

"**Gaara, wake the hell up!" Naruto roared, now just a few feet away from the boy. He added another burst of speed.**

"**NO!" Shikaku howled, furious at the blonde brat who dared to take away his freedom. **

**Naruto didn't care what the hell Shikaku wanted, he was so close to Gaara now! **

"Yeah! Go, sochi, go!" Kushina cheered, clapping delightedly.

**Five feet . . . **

**Three feet . . .**

**Two feet—**

"**What?!" he gasped when he felt the restrictive 'limbs' of sand wrap around his arms and torso, restraining him. **_**Not a chance! I'm not giving up! **_**He thought fiercely. He strained himself, trying to push his upper body forward. When he was close enough, his head reared back, and he snapped it forward.**

Obito burst into laughter. "Oh holy shit!" he gasped out.

"Head-butt? Oh man, what a way to wake up." Jiraiya chuckles.

"**WAKE UP!" He snarled as his forehead collided with Gaara's. Blood dripped from each boy's forehead from the amount of force used. They gasped from the pain, and suddenly, as Gaara awoke, the whole of Ichibi's body began to shake and crumble. The sand crumbled under them, and Naruto no longer had anything to stop him from plummeting to the earth. Both he and Gaara spiraled downward, crashing into the ground with bone-jarring— if not breaking— force.**

Kushina hissed, flinching back as if she had felt the force. Minato rubbed her back soothingly, a grimace on his face for the pain his son constantly had to face.

"Oh, how can bones _not_ be broken?!" Tsunade hissed, fists hitting her knees in frustration.

_**OW. **_

**Naruto coughed harshly, wind knocked out of him. As he struggles for breath, it seemed his body thought it was the perfect time to let him know just how badly he had fucked himself over. Panting harshly, Naruto craned his head back to see Gaara still conscious, just staring up at the sky.**

"**I am such a sucker." Naruto muttered softly to himself as he turned over on his stomach and struggled to all fours. He'd fall out if he tried to rise to his feet, he knew it instinctively, so he just crawled over to Gaara in a slow, painstaking fashion.**

Jiraiya growled at the stubborn brat's actions. "Come on, kid, give yourself a break!" he argued.

"He wouldn't be our kid if he just took the easy path." Kushina forced the words out around the lump in her throat.

"**No, stay away from me!" Gaara cried weakly, but he was far too weak and injured to try and move his body. Gaara's sea foam eyes watched with unaltered fear as Naruto crept closer. **

**Naruto panted, not stopping, but his expression was soft as he looked at Gaara. "That pain . . . of being alone, of your life not meaning anything to anyone . . . I know that pain. I know it all too well."**

**Gaara's fearful expression freezes into one of shock.**

"Here we go," Obito sighed dramatically, arm flopping over his eyes.

"Diplomacy— in other words, the _Uzumaki Special Power of Friendship!_ Attack." Kakashi added with a tired chuckle.

"**Then, for all those people, why . . . ?" Gaara trails off, still unable to understand. Naruto chuckles now close enough to tug lightly, playfully, at Gaara's short red strands.**

"**Because I found people to care for and protect . . . and who would love me and know that I existed. I found people who told me as many times as I wanted to hear— as I **_**needed**_** to her that they loved me . . . that my purpose on this Earth was to bring happiness to others, to be a light. Gaara, you have people like that too . . . if you'd just give them a chance. Let's start with me! I'll be your first friend Gaara, it'll be great!" Naruto persuaded the jinchuuriki, smiling happily. **

"Ooh, it's over!" Rin squealed, feigning a blow to her stomach.

**Gaara is unable to answer, he just stares at Naruto. Naruto snorts in amusement, gathering his legs under him and bringing them forward to cross as he leans on his hands behind him. He blows out a breath, not even jumping when two shadows appear behind him.**

"**Temari-san, Kankuro, about time! If you want to get out of here without trouble, you'd better leave now." Naruto told them, watching the two injured siblings sidle around to Gaara's side, looking at him with a wary expression. **

"Don't even think of touching him." Kushina warned.

"**Temari, Kankuro. That's enough, let's go now." Gaara ordered weakly. Temari and Kankuro exchanged confused looks, but complied. They each took and arm of their youngest sibling and hauled him up, shouldering most of his weight.**

"**Okay, Gaara, let's go home." Temari murmured. With one last look to Naruto, who waved them away, they leapt off into the trees. Naruto watched them go, and when he no longer felt their chakra, he allowed himself to buckle to the ground with a strangled moan of pain and exhaustion.**

_**I want to go to sleep . . . but there's still so much to do! Have to . . . get up. **_**Naruto reminded himself, trying to find any vestiges of his energy.**

_**You've done more than is required for a young ningen. Rest, and replenish yourself. There will still be much to do even when you wake up— take sleep when you can get it, **_**Kyuubi advised him.**

"Listen to Kyuubi, young man, he knows about these things." Minato muttered sternly.

**Naruto grunted, but didn't answer. The sound of footsteps made him look to his left, and he was met with the sight of Sasuke looking at him wearily. "Sakura is fine now." Sasuke informed him.**

"**Ah, good . . . take her to the village." Naruto said.**

"**What about you?" Sasuke asked, brows furrowing.**

"**Well, yes Sasuke I would appreciate it if you could get someone to collect me . . . I'm kind of deliriously tired and on the verge of chakra exhaustion." Naruto snorted drowsily, his fluttering eyes marring the brilliant sarcasm.**

"**Kakashi-sensei will be here soon— Pakkun said so." Sasuke explained the former statement at Naruto's furrowed brows. **

"**Ah," Naruto breathed. "Okay, great . . ." and he was out like a light.**

**Naruto woke in the cave of his mindscape, but it was a different area than before. Here was a dark, large cavern with diamonds and other precious gems littering the walls and throwing around refractions of light, stalagmites dripping water from the ceiling high overhead. His upper body rested on something very soft, and long. His eyes blinked, night vision quickly coming to work and allowing him to see what he was resting on— one of Kyuubi's tails.**

"**So you've finally awoken." Kyuubi's deep voice drags his eyes up to see the fox looking back at him over his shoulder, scarlet eyes mildly impatient. "You do take your time don't you?" he continued, grinning at Naruto's annoyed snarl.**

"**Excuse me for succumbing to chakra exhaustion. Why am I here? Shouldn't I be deep into R.E.M sleep or something?" Naruto questioned, making no move to rise up from Kyuubi's very soft, very comfortable tail even though he knew he could.**

"**While it requires just a tiny smidgeon of energy to access this part of your mind— it's not really part of the whole ten percent package— it's energy you don't have, true. But as long as I feed it to you, via the tail, you can stay here."**

"Oh, is the Kyuubi keeping Naruto company?" Rin murmured fascinated, eyes sparkling at the close bond the fox and boy shared.

"**That's how . . . but why?" Naruto pressed, looking honestly curious.**

**Kyuubi hummed in the back of his throat, looking as if he was deliberating something. "You proved yourself well against the Ichibi. Had you not already been weakened by fighting the other humans, you could have walked away of your own volition. Such a thing deserves praise . . . but I don't give praise at all. So I thought I'd fill your condition for our agreement." **

"**Condition? What, are we going to share secrets or something?" Naruto teased.**

"**Well, didn't you want a story?" Kyuubi asked, ears twitching forward.**

**Naruto's eyes widened, a shocked laugh escaping from him. Forgetting the fact that Kyuubi would no doubt take back the comfortable back rest he now had, Naruto surged up and said, "Of course!"**

"**Then, I shall tell you the story of . . . hmm, let's see . . . Ah. I shall tell you the story of the great dragon Hiroki, and his doomed life of loving humans." Kyuubi decided, and shifted around so that he faced Naruto, large head on the floor and left eye gazing at Naruto.**

"Is it going to be in the book?" Minato asked, almost pleading. The others laughed at his ever-present thirst for knowledge.

"You're in luck, it looks to be so." Jiraiya snorted.

**Kyuubi told Naruto a wonderfully sad and moving tale of the great silver dragon named Hiroki, who's one failing was that he cared far too much for humans. All his life Hiroki sought to be friends to all, but humans feared him and demons thought him softhearted. One day Hiroki lazed about by a river in his human form, when a young woman stumbled upon him as she made to do her laundry— it was love at first sight for Hiroki. Hiroki wooed the girl all the while in his human form, fearful of her reaction to what he really was. Though, by accident, she stumbled upon him transforming back to his true form, and in hysterical fear, she cursed him and ran away. Hiroki, heartbroken, fled the land and travelled to what was now known as Fire Country. Flying over the land, he came upon vast barren fields and valleys— and walking one such field was a man named Hashirama. Hiroki saw the troubled look on Hashirama's face— and he just couldn't help it, he had to see if there was something he could do to help. Hashirama expressed his disappointment that despite his abilities, nothing would grow in the barren land. Hiroki told him that this was fortune indeed— he was looking for a place to die, and Hashirama needed his death to grow the land. So Hiroki lay down, encircling the entirety of the field they lay in, and as his last breath passed through his snout, his body turned to grass and wildflowers, covering the field and then some. This was what Hashirama used to create the village he desired. And it was thanks to Hiroki who, even brokenhearted and terribly lonely, could never let another person go on troubled if he could help it. **

"I definitely don't remember ojii-san telling that part of the story?" Tsunade muttered in confusion.

"Well the Kyuubi has no reason to lie, so . . ." Kakashi pointed out.

"That's so sad . . . poor Hiroki. He was so sweet, and his ending was bittersweet." Kushina whispered, lower lip trembling slightly.

"Amazing . . . we grew up from demon heritage, in a sense." Minato breathed, awestruck.

"**Whoa," Naruto breathed, wide-eyed. "So, Hiroki . . . Hiroki is what Konoha was created from?!"**

**Kyuubi nodded. "Yes, that Shodaime grew Konoha up from the flesh and bones of a great, wonderful demon. It was dishonorable what he did though— at the very least Hiroki's sacrifice could have been mentioned. Why do you think the soil is so favorable, the vegetation so lush? Why is Konoha such a beautiful place? It is because Hiroki wished with all his heart to help Hashirama, because he believed there was good in that man."**

"A demon did with ease what humankind struggles to do . . . he put his faith in another, different from him." Jiraiya reflects, the realization bittersweet.

**Naruto shook his head in confusion, looking troubled. "And there was never any mention? No one cared at all about poor Hiroki? That's . . . Kyuubi that's horrible!" Naruto cried out, looking at the demon. "Even in his death, no one wanted to acknowledge poor Hiroki?"**

**Kyuubi chuckled. "You're very concerned."**

"**Because I care!" Naruto protested, jumping up.**

"**Then Hiroki's death wasn't for nothing. I'm sure he would be happy, the fool." Kyuubi snorted at the thought of the old dragon who he'd met three times before his subjugation by humans. He shook his head of those thoughts— thinking of that long ago past was foolish. "At any rate, it's time you go." Kyuubi said to Naruto. **

"**All ready? But I wanted to hear another story!" Naruto protested.**

**Kyuubi growled. "Oh I'm sorry, did I somehow mislead you into thinking I was **_**Mother Goose?**_** Oh, no? I successfully managed to convince you I'm Kyuubi, that's good . . . you want another story, earn it! Now, don't you have some work to do out there anyway?"**

**Naruto snapped his fingers. He remembered now. "You're right. Okay . . . thank you, Kyuubi!" he thanked the large fox, smiling brightly. Kyuubi rolled his eyes. **

"**Yeah, yeah." Kyuubi muttered, watching from the corner of his eye as Naruto's form melted and disappeared, leaving him to the silence and his thoughts. **

**The first thing Naruto heard upon waking was the calm breathing of another— his nose identified the scent of amber wood, chocolate and clover— so Katsu was with him. **_**Must be lunch break then,**_** he decided. He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly at the brightness of the room, and turned when he heard Katsu give a short chuckle. He frowned— that sound unsettled him somehow . . . like something happened that he didn't know about.**

"**Hey there." He greeted quietly, slowly rising to sit up. Katsu smiled at him and replied, "Hey yourself. Been a while, Naruto."**

"**Oh? And how long was I out for?" Naruto asked, stretching his arms out in front of him, fingers wiggling.**

"**Three days." She answered. Naruto looked at her carefully; she wasn't acting like her usual self.**

"Seems to be standard for him when he blows out all his chakra." Tsunade observed.

"**Like the last time I had chakra exhaustion . . . anything exciting happened I should know about? How'd the invasion end?" Naruto questioned, looking directly into weary eyes that had faded to light saffron— **_**she's sad? Why? **_**He wondered.**

"**Well of course we sent them packing with their tails between their legs. But there were casualties, of course . . . not too many on our side. You— you really shouldn't be thinking of anything but filling that empty pit you call a stomach right?" she suddenly switched gears and laughed it off, throwing Naruto off balance. She hopped out of her chair and skipped to his side, looping her arms around his and gently tugging to get him off the bed. **

"So someone they knew died?" Rin surmised.

Obito made a sympathetic sound in the back of his throat. "Who?"

"**Come on!" she laughed. "I've got plenty for you to eat back home— you know the house was damaged when I got there— but not too much. Just a broken window, and a couple of the fence posts, but those were easy fixes, and—"**

"**Who died?" He interrupted her somberly. Katsu's false cheer immediately slid off her face, and she gave him a subdued look of gravity.**

"**I said there were some casualties." She said again. Naruto gently pulled his arm away, and even though he made the first move he still felt a sting when she stepped back and put her hands behind her back.**

"**Who of ours died?" he whispered. There was no way Katsu could misconstrue that, and they both knew it. Katsu sighed shakily, past shed tears still echoed in her voice when she answered.**

"**Jiji." She said simply. "The funeral is tomorrow."**

Tsunade's eyes flew wide open, hand flying to her mouth as she absorbed the shock of the news. Jiraiya choked on his own air, eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"Orochimaru . . . killed sensei?" Tsunade whispered, unbelieving.

"These kids might not find out about it, but I know sensei gave Orochimaru a real nice parting gift." Jiraiya growled, feeling better and more rational with anger building in him, not sorrow.

"That's . . . my poor babies. Poor Sarutobi jii-san." Kushina whispered. Having Hiruzen as something like a surrogate grandfather even in her youth, she knew just how much that man meant to those kids . . . and how devastated they must be.

**Naruto, now fully healed and clothed in black, stood with his team as the others did. Konohamaru and Asuma stood up by the memorial of the Sandaime as words of his accomplishments and his love for the village were eulogized. He glanced up at the sky— it suited the mood, for it to be grey and raining, he thought. Even the earth knew what an occasion this was. **

**He glanced back down at the white lily he had in his hand— he was the only one with a lily, as everyone else had chosen the traditional white rose. He just couldn't though . . . jiji had told him of the day he met his wife Buwiko, and the white lilies that covered her, and how from then on white lilies appeared in every single momentous occasion in his life. When it was time to place the flowers, Naruto noticed the odd beauty of the lily surrounded by the roses— he couldn't help but let a small smile shine through.**

"He never said it, but those were his favorite flowers." Tsunade said softly.

Jiraiya nodded in agreement and added, "He thought they were too morbid a choice."

**Konohamaru sobbed, inconsolable— after the death of his mother it was Hiruzen after all who raised him. Naruto would let his uncle and Iruka deal with it though— for now, it was a time for everyone to stop and go home and reflect. Businesses were closed, and people were tired. Work would be done to repair the village tomorrow, but just for today . . . they'd grieve.**

**Naruto waited under the awning of a little known tea shop for Katsu, glaring at the clouds and daring them to break when neither of them an umbrella had.**

"**Keep pushing and they'll shove." Katsu said, and he smiled. **

"**Want to head home and watch some samurai movies?" he asked her, and she nodded. But then she stopped and had a considering face.**

"**What?" he asked.**

"**Do you want to invite some friends over?" Katsu asked.**

"**Me? Why the sudden interest?" he questioned.**

"**Friends invite friends over . . . I've only got Hinata, and I'll feel less guilty if you invite some friends and I invite some people." Katsu explained.**

"It's good to surround yourself with friends on sad occasions like this. Makes it seem like things aren't quite so bad as they were when you're left to your thoughts." Rin noticed with a small, sad smile.

"**If you invite Hinata, then I'll invite my team . . . and Shikamaru and Chouji. And then, you know, Ino will undoubtedly come— she and Sakura will fight." Naruto teased.**

**Katsu clucked her tongue. "It's fine as long as they keep it at a respectable volume . . . I can tolerate them. But if they annoy me, I'm throwing them out and I'll let **_**you**_** explain it." **

"You're not the only one she doesn't like Kakashi!" Obito chirped. "She doesn't like those two fan girls either!"

"Oh joy oh bliss." Kakashi muttered in exaggerated sarcasm, punching Obito's arm.

"**Fair enough." Naruto acquiesced. Taking her hand, he tugged her along. "Well let's go find them and spend this day a little happily."**

"**Yeah . . . it's what he would want after all." Katsu agreed softly, looking up to the sky. They ran to the large group of Rookies that still lingered, and luckily enough it was just the people they wanted to invite. Shino and Kiba had clan duties to attend to, so they left right after the funeral.**

"**Hey, you guys want to come over to our house and watch some old samurai movies? It's always better to see movies with a crowd, in my opinion." Naruto offered them.**

**Hinata smiled. "That would be nice . . . I'll just say I was training in the fields if I'm asked."**

**Shikamaru sighed when Ino pinched his arm, glaring. "Ino wants to go, so undoubtedly I must as well. Troublesome woman. Sure, lead the way."**

**Sakura chirped her affirmation as well. Sasuke was the only one who looked like he'd decline, but Naruto knew how to get his agreement.**

"**Ah, but of course Sasuke how rude of me . . . you're not too **_**fond**_** of crowds right? You much prefer **_**solitude**_**. Well, it can't be helped; we'll still have fun without you." Naruto's words might have sounded sympathetic, but Sasuke heard the hidden message in the stressed words.**

_**You're afraid of being around lots of people, you'd much rather go and hide in a corner like a pathetic little brat. Whatever, your loss, we don't want you ruining the fun anyway!**_

"Ah, implied meanings . . . often misunderstood, yet always hilarious." Jiraiya affirmed with a nod and a happy sigh.

**Sasuke glared. "Hn." **

**Naruto raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he and Katsu led the group in the direction of their home.**

"**Wait, Naruto!" Sakura's suddenly shrill voice made Naruto look over his shoulder in surprise. "You mean you two live together?! But there's no adult to watch you!"**

"We got over it." Minato and Kushina waved the words off.

"**Yeah, and?" Naruto asked innocently, grinning when he slung his arm around Katsu's shoulders in a decidedly possessive fashion. He snickered at Sakura's cherry red face, watching her inhale to unleash an impressively alto diatribe on him.**

"Jiraiya's been mostly in the shadows his whole life, and yet he does things that can remind you of this idiot." Tsunade muttered with a disappointed sigh, jerking a thumb to the scowling Toad Sannin in question

"**Oh, here we go," Katsu grunted under her breath, and he laughed, making Sakura shriek in fury when she thought it was him she was laughing at. Whilst Shikamaru and Sasuke merely groaned at the excessive noise and the general annoyingness of it all, the rest of the group both laughed and switched sides to either defend or attack. But none of them got too angry, and no one broke off from the group— they were just coping the best way they knew how. Besides, they'd have lots of work to do for the foreseeable future. **

"How badly was the village damaged by the Invasion?" Rin fretted.

"There were two or three giant snake summons, a bijuu vs summons fight . . . and general tomfoolery," Obito ticked off on his fingers. "Safe to say there's some work to be done."

**And, starting the very next day, it was hard work indeed. Despite coming out of the Invasion sound and pretty much well off, there were still lots of damage to consider. The genin, under supervision and guidance by their sensei, worked alongside the civilians to rebuild and restore certain areas that were hit harder than others. The Rookies and their senseis mostly stayed together in a close radius— most likely the sensei's way of giving them all some comfort . . . they were still kids after all. Naruto helped as much as he could, spamming clones for all the teams and some extra groups— such as the carpenters, plumbers, and such. Every night Naruto went to sleep with new, useful information about rebuilding and caring for woodwork and other things. **

"OK, this brat is making us look bad." Minato suddenly declared. He turned to Obito and Kakashi and said, "Men, we have work to do— to the library!"

"Yeah!" Kakashi and Obito shouted out, fists punching the air with vigor.

**This trend continued on for two weeks, until Ino and Sakura called Naruto out for a favor.**

"**You've got all your clones helping, so you do this one little, specific favor." Ino persuaded the sunny blonde, perched on top of a fence. **

**Naruto rolled the lollypop in his mouth— sour apple, his favorite flavor— as he considered what they wanted him to do. "Play my guitar for you all? And just how is that going to benefit everyone?"**

**Sakura stepped in at this point. "We can't play the radio— it'd be irritating trying to fix the radio's signal every time, and no one would be able to agree on a station. Besides, we all enjoyed it when you played the songs for musical ninja chairs when we were at your house. Besides, you owe us for just kicking us out so suddenly!"**

"So they got too loud, huh? I suppose it was either him or Katsu that snapped first." Minato sighed.

**Naruto snorted. **_**If I hadn't kicked you out, Katsu would have bodily thrown you. **_**"The shrill decibels you two reached broke a glass vase of mine you know? I bought that because of the lovely frost detailing, and I'll never find one like it again. If anything, you owe me compensation."**

"That sounds like a weak Kakashi-patented excuse— Kakashi are you corrupting my baby?" Kushina asked suspiciously. She was mildly surprised when Kakashi snorted.

"Please, that boy knows exactly what he does, because he wants to do it." Kakashi denied.

"**Oh, please?!" Ino and Sakura cajoled him, puppy dog eyes on full blast. Naruto was not affected— he was master at the puppy dog eyes, his big blues being good for something.**

Jiraiya, Kushina, and Tsunade snorted casting accusing eyes to an innocent looking Minato. "Oh we know that all too well." They drawled.

**Naruto shook his head. "I—" he was interrupted when his guitar was firmly shoved into his midsection by a grinning clone.**

"**You might say no now, but you might also have said yes. Take it as my version." The clone whispered with a grin, popping into thin smoke. Naruto sighed— it was already there, might as well play it.**

"**Okay, instrumentals **_**only**_**!" he demanded amidst the cheers of the girls. He tuned the guitar and plucked a few strings for experimentation. "Requests— name it." **

**Ino's and Sakura's faces fell, as they hadn't thought that far. **

"**I have one— 'Sebonzakura', please Naruto-kun." Kurenai's voice rose up from the pile of wood she and her team was carrying around to the shops in need of repair around the market.**

"I suppose we couldn't hear him play?" Kushina asked out loud, turning hopefully to the screen. She pouted when it did nothing, not even blink on and off.

"**You got it, sensei." Naruto agreed, pick plucking the strings with gentle care as he played the song. The rest of the people working smiled at the melody; it was always better working with some nice background music. Even the civilians weren't trying to hide how much they enjoyed the playing, clapping politely for him when finished the song. Naruto couldn't help the blush that covered his cheeks, so he ducked his head and mumbled for another request. Kakashi, who was near to the boy and able to see the red hue across his cheeks, grinned. **_**Looks like your publicity stunt before the Ichibi fight paid off quite well, Naruto, **_**he observed. **

Kushina and Rin cooed. "Aw, bashful sochi-kun is so cute!" Kushina enthused.

**Naruto spent a good part of the afternoon playing the part of a human jukebox— Sakura asked for 'Just Be Friends', Shikamaru wanted 'Duvet', Hinata requested 'Shiny Shiny', and Chouji asked for the vintage 'Fukai Mori'. Then Asuma-sensei asked for 'Friend' and Kakashi threw out 'Takanaru' for him to play.**

"The only one I know is Fukai Mori . . . all those other songs aren't here yet." Rin deduced.

"Excellent observation." Obito coughed out, snickering when Kakashi snorted and Rin thumped him hard on the shoulder.

**When the last strings of 'Takanaru' floated on the air, Naruto sighed and put up his hands. "Okay! Enough . . . my fingers are going to bleed if I keep this up." **

"**Surely you can play just 'Sadness and Sorrow' for your awesome Toad Sage?" Jiraiya's voice made Naruto perk up, head swinging to the right to see aforementioned man walking up to him with a grin.**

**Though Naruto's pick was already dutifully picking out the strings to the song, Naruto couldn't help but ask, "That's an unusually heavy sound coming from you Ero-sennin."**

"Well, he just listens to you without question, doesn't he?" Kakashi asked in a deceptively light voice, but Jiraiya felt the heaviness of that glare the Hatake trained on him.

"Hey, hey now . . . he does what he wants, right?" Jiraiya tried to take the heat off of him, but Kakashi's glare just grew darker.

"Kakashi, stop being jealous." Minato ordered with a smirk.

**Jiraiya grunted at his nickname, but answered, "I can always appreciate art in its many forms. You aren't bad at all brat, take lessons?"**

"**I better be good, I paid for six years of lessons." Naruto agreed playfully, never even looking down to make sure his fingers slipped by the right strings, plucked the right parts. "So, you come here for just a social visit or what?" Naruto could already guess though, as the senseis had moved the others away so that the two might talk in private. Every now and then, one of his peers glanced at him talking with Jiraiya in confusion and surprise, maybe even a little awe. That **_**could**_** just be his ego talking though . . . **

"**Brat I've got a mission to go on of the utmost importance, and I want you to come along." Jiraiya declared, face smug as if fully expecting Naruto's immediate compliance.**

**Naruto sighed, popping a pocky stick in his mouth like Genma's senbon and talking around it. "What's in it for me?"**

"Good, don't just blindly assume it'll be important for everyone else— it might just be a hot springs trip." Minato advised, smirking at Jiraiya's huff.

"**I'll teach you a new jutsu— A-rank, really good stuff."**

"**Is that all?" Naruto mock whined.**

"**Greedy brat . . . okay, some seals, we'll get to some really advanced stuff if you work hard." Jiraiya grinned.**

"**Well, I guess I can't say no to a sannin, after all. When do we leave?" Naruto asked.**

"You're trying to steal him away aren't you?" Kakashi hissed to the older man, who couldn't help but grin smugly.

"The kid does what he _wants_— and he's _willingly_ going with _me_." Jiraiya reminded the silver-haired boy.

"Sensei, please don't ever say that again— it was just too creepy." Minato ordered seriously.

"**Tomorrow around one o'clock so don't be— hey, who's that?" Jiraiya pointed to a man dressed in a chef's attire running pell-mell towards them. Naruto stared— the boy looked familiar . . . and did his jacket say **_**Sakura no Chawan**_**? **

**At the little café, all the patrons were gathered in a big crowd, watching the sudden attack of the little orange-haired waitress by her coldly smirking boss. It had started out when Haruhi had let slip one or two mean comments about Naruto's part in the Invasion clean-up force, her niece adding in a snide word ever now and then, and only escalated the more irritated she got with Katsu's stubborn refusal to give in to the childish antics of her boss. It got so bad that even the patrons tried to step in to stop Haruhi, when her last words finally snapped Katsu's self-control.**

"HA! I knew it! I knew she was getting bullied at work! That Haruhi bitch is gonna be so sorry!" Kushina declared hotly.

"Well, that's what comes of making friends with the village supreme outcast, unfortunately." Obito sighed regretfully, feeling sympathetic for the young girl.

**Katsu's fists trembled as she straightened her back from wiping a table, bloodless face and wide gold eyes staring straight into Haruhi's cold simper. "What . . . did you just say?" she choked out.**

**Haruhi sighed impatiently, as if she was talking to someone slow. "Katsu, I've been telling you for months now that the way you're living now, you will never improve in society! You're throwing away your potential all because you're too soft-hearted to take care over the people you allow to associate with you. That Uzumaki boy is only trouble— always running around and stealing the entire spotlight for himself, pretending to be so good when he's no better than your average shinobi and it makes me **_**sick**_**—"**

"But he _is_ better than your average shinobi." Rin said bluntly.

"Second that." Minato cheered happily.

"**NO." Katsu interrupted roughly. "What did you say after all that?"**

**Haruhi sneered at the interruption, and gave the girl what she was asking for. "I said . . . that if you're not careful, that friendship you two inexplicably share can be taken for something else. He's a monster . . . and since you two live together, there's little doubt that he's just using you like a toy. I never thought the 'Devil's Concubine' was your type of roll, Kuroshio." **

Kushina snarled fiercely, making the others tense up. "Oh no she did not."

"She did— that bitch just did." Tsunade muttered darkly, fists shaking in her lap.

"I'd pull out her hair root by root if I were you Katsu." Rin hissed.

"Are we missing something here?" Kakashi asked the other men, who just shrugged.

"**So, basically . . . you're calling me a whore, my body being the only reason Naruto keeps me around." Katsu summarized quietly, voice shaking.**

"Oh we missed a big part." Obito snapped amidst gaps and hisses, eyes narrowed at the way in which this grown woman was attacking a child. It sickened him that such people carried themselves in such a way.

**Haruhi shrugged, unaffected by the harsh intakes of breath and the incredulous eyes turned on her. They'd all get over it and see she was right, after all what demon needed friends? Especially pretty female friends like Katsu?**

_**CRACK.**_

_**Crack? **_**The crowd thought in confusion, until they turned wide eyes to Katsu's trembling form, where an awful and terrifying aura spread out from her like a black cloud of death. **

"**YOU MISERABLE BITCH!" Katsu shrieked. "How dare you call ME a whore, when you're riding out your third divorce and still begging for more meat to fill your mouth, you worthless, slobbering hag?! It's so cute how you think getting a new haircut and wearing tight clothes are going to get you anywhere— when your hair looks like a Nara deer's grass-covered three week old shit after the rain, and those clothes only add to your sagging jugs and muffin top! You are the most pathetic little shit stain to ever skid across an eighty year-old man's underwear— you are the reason I don't touch make-up for fear of looking like a deranged clown— WHENEVER I see you a little voice in my head goes off like an alarm and screams, 'STUPID BITCH!'— You make me ASHAMED to be within a 10-foot radius of you, because I'm scared I'll either catch whatever STD you have, or your stupidity! AND I DON'T KNOW WHICH IS WORSE!"**

Minato tried to say something, but he was wheezing too hard through his laughter so he just slapped the desk.

"That's right, girly, crush them!" Tsunade whooped, cackling.

"**And you, you airheaded little bitch, don't think I don't see you giggling like a chipmunk on helium!" Katsu rounded on Haruhi's niece, whose painted rouge lips gasped in shock and anger, heavily made up eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. "That's right— you! You're worse than your slutty aunt over there, and don't think we don't all see the kangaroo pouch you have— and NO it is not caused by your three sizes too small jeans you pudgy skank! I know good and well that the only reason you've been joining your aunt in tormenting me is because you want to sink those manicured talons into Naruto. Well let me tell you something . . . if I catch so much as a whiff of your cheap, overpowering perfume on him I will hunt you down and claw your eyes out you FUCKING WHORE!" **

All the women in the room jumped up and whooped, clapping for Katsu.

"That's right, let that dirty bitch know!" Kushina howled in laughter, holding onto her stomach and wiping away tears with the other.

"Ouch . . . I feel like I became a woman after that." Obito muttered to Kakashi.

"So I'm not the only one who feels like my balls have receded back into my stomach then? That's reassuring to know." Kakashi murmured back, watching his sensei's and Jiraiya's hunched over laughing forms with amusement.

**Katsu puffed, dragging back in precious air that she'd started to neglect over her rant. She tore off her apron, balled it up and chucked it at Haruhi's face who was too stunned to even attempt to block it.**

"**I QUIT!" Katsu screeched. Whirling around, she stomped out, shoving the crowd out of her way amidst cheers and whistles from the crowd and her fellow— former now, she reminded herself— co-workers. Once she had shoved past the last person she tripped out into fresh air and bright sun . . . and straight into Naruto. She gasped, ripping herself away, face burning with shame. Had he heard go off like a crazy woman?! Did he hear what Haruhi said?!**

"Don't feel ashamed, it's not like sochi-kun would be mad or anything." Kushina scoffed, settling back down in her seat.

**Naruto froze in surprise when Katsu suddenly threw herself away from him. Arms still suspended, preparing to wrap around her, he spoke her name in confusion. "Katsu?"**

**Katsu's eyes filled with hot tears that she fought valiantly to keep from her cheeks. She was too angry to look at Naruto—still too hurt by what happened. Choking back a sob she fled from Naruto, showing Naruto just how much she had trained even without him as she disappeared into the distance very quickly. **

"Aw . . . she's not used to that kind of confrontation." Tsunade mumbled.

"It's a perfectly natural response. I just hope she has a good coping mechanism." Rin added, her own medic training coming into play.

"**What the hell . . . ? What is she so sad for, that was amazing!" Naruto asked Jiraiya, who he knew was behind him, scratching his head in confusion. Katsu had given that women and her devil niece what they needed to hear, if what the chef had told them about the situation was true.**

"**Who know with women?" Jiraiya shrugged. "You going to go after her?"**

"No shit genius." Minato snorted.

"**Well—"**

"**I wouldn't if I were you Naruto," A young girl with honey brown hair in a bun cautioned the boy. "I'm a friend of Katsu's and I can tell you— what Haruhi said to her is enough to severely hurt any woman, but especially Katsu. You leave her be for a while, and then go find her . . . Ah, I'm Matsumoto Kimi—when she's able to see people, you let her know I want her over, ok?"**

"Girl's night to the rescue." Kushina sighed happily, recalling sleepovers with her friend Mikoto during their turbulent single days— the days when she was fighting her attraction to Minato tooth and nail, while Mikoto carefully considered Fugaku.

"**Will do. Thank you for being a friend to Katsu, I wish you a good day Matsumoto-chan." Naruto bid her goodbye with a short bow which was returned before Kimi walked away.**

"**You going to follow the kid's advice?" Jiraiya asked.**

**Naruto sighed heavily, nodding. "Yes, she just needs some space . . . if I try going after her before she's cooled down, it'll only make things worse. I'll let her do what she has to and I'll make sure she doesn't sleep in a tree tonight. See you tomorrow Jiraiya, and— can I get my guitar back?"**

"**Oh, yeah sure. Thanks for the song brat, see you later." Jiraiya returned the guitar to Naruto, and with a jaunty wave he departed. Naruto returned to his sensei and asked if he could leave or if there was more left to do. Kakashi answered that once he ran off, the sensei decided it was time to call it quits too— **

"**Besides you have a mission to prepare for I hear?" Kakashi inquired, lazy dark grey eye drifting away from his little orange book.**

"**Which one?" Naruto joked with a grimace. Kakashi chuckled and sent him off, so Naruto returned back home to fix supper— whatever Katsu did, he was sure she'd be starving at the end of it. Naruto fiddled around the house for a few more hours cleaning this and that, arranging and rearranging this and that . . . but when the sun started to dip under the horizon, Naruto decided to go out and look for his wayward best friend. He had a few ideas on where to start, but he really hoped she hadn't gone to any of those places.**

"Where could she go?" Obito wondered with a laugh.

**He started out at The Dive bar in the Red Light district, the little bat nestled in between a whorehouse and a loan shark's office— in other words, prime real estate.**

"Oh." Obito deflated.

"A whorehouse and a loan shark? Oh Kami, why baby boy, why . . . ?" Kushina moaned in despair, putting her head in her hands.

"Why would she go there _alone_?!" Tsunade groaned.

**Waving off the nee-chan's playful teasing, Naruto slipped in and didn't leave the shadows until he got to the bar counter itself. The bartender, Shinji—**_** just**_** Shinji— grunted a greeting to the young blonde.**

"**Not in your uniform?" The grizzly man teased, nodding to Naruto's grey-blue hooded shirt and black jeans. Naruto chuckled, taking the shot offered to him and slipping more ryo than was required across the counter.**

"**I know better than to bring work in here," Naruto chuckled. "I'm looking for a lost kid— about so high, orange hair and probably on a mission to get drunk."**

"Drowning your sorrows is not a healthy way to cope!" Rin cried out, a heavy frown marring her pretty face.

"**You missed her about three hours ago. She had three drinks, spilled her woes to me and Sato— we tried to calm her down but she just thought it was over for her— and then that dumb bimbo from the Blackout hauled her out and took her over there. Though, I hear she left there about an hour or so ago . . ." Shinji muttered, cleaning glasses slowly and methodically. **

"So we've got a drunken girl stumbling around Konoha, alone?" Jiraiya reiterated, then sighed and ran a hand down his face.

"**Ugh . . . I gotta go hunting." Naruto groaned, passing back the empty shot glass to Shinji and hopping off the stool. "Alright, thanks oji-san, see you some other time."**

"**If you get that promotion, come back and I'll have something special for you." Shinij returned as his way of goodbye. Naruto nodded once, and then melted back into the shadows.**

**He walked out of the Red Light District, paused, then walked slowly into the forest. He enhanced his already formidable sense of smell with chakra, and took long inhales of the air through his nose, blowing them out through his mouth. He paused, and then moved to a tree. He sniffed at the bark . . . **_**she scraped her hand— she was stumbling . . . she must have run into more trees. **_**He analyzed, and continued in this vein, now looking for any disturbances in the shrubbery and grass, something for him to go on. He was no tracker specialist, but what shinobi couldn't find a trail made by a drunken girl?**

"Not bad, it's important to make a mental picture for yourself to follow, makes following and keeping a trail in mind much easier!" Jiraiya approved, Rin nodding in agreement despite not being suited for tracking without a nin-dog.

**He realized that the trail was curving towards the rest of the village, meaning she'd used on of the empty genin training fields.**

"Ah, at least she's in safer territory than if she had been in the District." Rin sighed.

"She's a girl alone in a field— it's still not acceptable." Minato said warningly, eyeing Rin as she ducked her head down with a blush.

**He perked up at the sound of harsh breathing getting closer as he walked further. Heavy thuds and labored breathing made his brows furrow, so he leapt out of the forest and into the training grounds, devoid of life except for a Katsu, hair tied up high, trying her level best it seemed to turn that post into splinters.**

"**Alright, don't you think that's enough?" Naruto asked, sauntering forward. "Hey, you're hands are bleeding, Katsu, stop!" he cried in outrage when he was close enough.**

"That's not healthy either!" Rin lamented.

"Well, we've all been there before," Kushina muttered, looking at her own hands and flexing them. Around the room the others took fleeting glances at their own hands and scars that adorned them— be they incurred or self-inflicted.

**Katsu didn't stop, merely threw out a combo and grunted, "Busy, come back later." **

"**No I don't think so. Dinner's cold and you are trying to turn your hands into stumps now stop." Naruto ordered, hauling her away from the log. Katsu stumbled against him, then reared back and tried to kick him. Scoffing, Naruto hauled her up on his back and jumped into the trees, heading home. Katsu squirmed, trying to jump off, and Naruto dug his blunt nails into the backs of her thighs as retribution.**

"**Stop it or we'll both get seriously hurt!" he growled. "What is wrong with you?!"**

"**A nosy brat interrupted my productive training session!" Katsu raged, banging her fist on his back. **

"Ah, they're fighting." Obito muttered, looking vaguely nervous.

"You aren't with someone that long without picking a fight with them once or twice Obito— it's just not possible." Kushina told the younger boy, looking unruffled.

**Naruto snorted and jumped off from the tree on the border of their property. He stomped into the house, up the stairs and into the bathroom. With a vindictive grin he dropped Katsu on the floor underneath a showerhead- not that she realized it.**

**Katsu whined, rubbing her sore bottom from the fall. "Idiot, that hur— AAH!" She screamed when a blast of freezing cold water hit her skin. Spluttering, she wiped her eyes clear of water and glared at Naruto. Naruto didn't budge an inch, and instead loomed over her.**

"Mean!" Rin pouted.

"**Either you take a shower, or I make you." Naruto threatened, bar of soap already in his hand. Katsu growled, snatching the bar of soap from him and rising up on wobbly feet to take her bath properly. Satisfied with her compliance, Naruto walked out the bathroom and down to the kitchen to fix both their plates. By the time both plates were hot and ready to eat, Naruto heard the bathroom door slam— angry footsteps— then the bedroom door slam shut.**

Kakashi snorted. "Well isn't she in a huffy mood?"

**Naruto rose up and walked up stairs, moving to the newly slammed door. He jiggled the doorknob— it was locked.**

"**Okay," Naruto murmured, taking a few steps back. He brought up his right leg and sent a powerful kick to the door, and it swung open under his punishment.**

"**You broke the lock!" Katsu cried in shock. Not answering, he stomped over to her and dragged her from her sulky huddle on the bed by the collar of her t-shirt.**

"You know better than to treat a girl like that!" Kushina snapped, leaning forward threateningly.

**He didn't look back once, or even pay attention to her stumbles or splutters, just marched down the stairs and then let her drop heavily to the floor by the table. He sat at the other end and glared, waiting for her to eat. Katsu gave him a look of hurt, bottom lip trembling even as she tried to force it to an angry pout.**

"**You're unusually cruel today." She spat.**

"He really is," Obito agreed with a perturbed look.

"**You're unusually weak today." Naruto countered hotly. Katsu froze, blinking at the hurt that statement made her feel— though she had cursed herself with it many times that day.**

"He has a funny way of going about making her feel better . . ." Tsunade muttered with a quizzical look, head cocked to the side.

"Well now, I'm sure he's going somewhere good with this?" Jiraiya tried to stick up for his godson.

"**I don't want to hear it from you— you don't know what I'm feeling. You have no idea what it's like leaving a job." Katsu huffed, masking the hurt with more snap.**

"**Oh, I'm sure— if I ever left the ninja corps it's either in an urn or to the loony bin you know?" Naruto retorted with heavy sarcasm, eyebrows raised. **

"**Does everything have to be about you?" Katsu shot at him.**

**Naruto sighed, catching a glob of rice with his chopsticks, dipping it in soy sauce. "How strange . . . you're not usually the type to wallow in self-pity for long, if at all."**

"Oh, turn it around now before you hit the point of can't-take-it-back." Minato muttered, urging his son to straighten out.

**Katsu bristled. "I can't stand—" she was cut off when Naruto grabbed her jaw and popped the glob of rice in her mouth, closing her mouth and forcing her to chew.**

"**Since it's so rare, I'll let you have it," Naruto continued as if she wasn't saying anything. "But I thought you might like to know that life goes on, and no one blamed you today— as I recall you got a standing ovation."**

"Oh, so that's where he was going with it?" Kushina wondered, still frowning. "He could have been a bit nicer."

**Katus swallowed her rice, tears blurring her vision. "I know," her voice quavered. "But I just . . ."**

"**I know. That's why I'm here to guide you out of your funk." Naruto said. She looked up to see soft blue eyes smiling at her, and she couldn't help the curve of her lips. "Damn it, let me wallow in misery." She whined.**

"Shock her, eh? He certainly did that— to all of us." Minato reminded them laughing.

"**Nah. Finish eating, I have to wrap those hands after all." Naruto reminded her with a scowl. She glanced down at her bruised knuckles and frowned. **_**I guess that wasn't the smartest move, **_**she admitted to herself.**

"No it wasn't." They all agreed adamantly.

"**Well is there any reason you're so full of courage and righteousness today?" Katsu asked, wanting to get the subject off of her.**

"**Meh, nothing much. I'm just going on a mission, but I don't want to leave you still sad. You shouldn't be you know— or ashamed! I heard from the chef what she would do to you . . . you ought to have done this a lot sooner. That rant was music to my ears!" Naruto laughed.**

"Truly." Minato agreed.

"Totally." Rin chirped.

"That's what rants are all about." Tsunade added with a grin.

" **. . . Really?" Katsu mumbled around a piece of seaweed. Naruto nodded enthusiastically, and she felt a little better.**

"**Well, when is your mission?" She asked.**

"**I leave tomorrow morning, so I don't know . . . it can't be longer than two weeks I suppose." Naruto said thoughtfully. **

"**Ah . . . then good luck. Don't worry, go ahead and have fun on that mission! I feel better now, really." Katsu encouraged him, hoping to sound as assured as she made herself out to be.**

**Naruto hummed in thoughtfulness. "Okay, but just to be sure . . . your friend Kimi-san wants you to come over to her place when you feel up to it. You've got plenty of friends to help you out you know? Plus," he paused to jog into the kitchen, coming back with a tub of rocky road ice cream that made Katsu gasp in delight, "I've got just the thing to cure your sadness."**

"Aww, Naru-chan!" Rin and Kushina squealed, grasping hands over the coffee table and giggling.

"Whipped!" Kakashi coughed.

"**How did you have time get this?" Katsu squealed, quickly grabbing a spoon and popping open the lid of the ice cream.**

_**Because kage bushin is awesome. **_**"Because I'm awesome." Naruto remarked. **_**Close enough, **_**he figured, grabbing his own spoon to dig in. A full tub of ice cream later, the two finally went to sleep, small grins on their faces.**

**The next morning, Naruto was preparing to leave, and Katsu decided she'd look around for Hinata before heading to Kimi's.**

"**Later Ru!" Katsu chirped, waving to his retreating figure.**

"**I'll see you later hime!" Naruto bid her goodbye with a broad grin, and went off to meet Jiraiya at the gate. He briefly wondered if Jiraiya would pull a Kakashi, and arrive late just to annoy him. The sight of the large man, however, put his mind at ease once he'd arrived to the gate.**

"**Ready to go brat?" Jiraiya asked with a smirk, arms folded.**

"**You know it Ero-sennin." Naruto replied with a smile, and then the two left out of Konoha, walking on the path. **

**For a while, a bit after the village had disappeared from view, there was silence before Naruto remembered something he had meant to ask Jiraiya.**

"**Hey, Ero-sennin, can I ask you something personal?" Naruto started out cautiously, eyeing the man walking beside him. Jiraiya looked down with a quirked eyebrow, a curious smile flitting across his lips.**

"**Yeah?" Jiraiya prompted.**

"**Jiji . . . he said you were something to me from the very start. Are you . . . related to me in anyway?" Naruto asked, watching the man's every reaction. **

"The moment of truth." Jiraiya chuckled, masking his nervousness expertly.

"Naru-chan wouldn't be mad at you . . . for very long anyway." Kushina assured Jiraiya with a small smile.

**Jiraiya blew out a deep breath as he looked ahead again, wondering how exactly to say this. He wondered if Naruto would be mad at him for not taking him away from the village— though that anger would be justifiable, he reasoned, but he hadn't thought then— didn't think now— that taking a baby on the road with him was a suitable environment to grow a child. Not with the kid being who he is.**

Minato sighed, feeling a little bad for doubting his sensei. "So that was it . . . after the Kyuubi attack, you were undoubtedly busy keeping Konoha safe by watching out for anything."

"It would be too unstable a place— if I didn't end up killing the kid first he'd never really be able to adjust well with others after all that travel." Jiraiya explained further, happy that Minato no longer doubted him with Naruto.

"So you can think rationally after all?" Tsunade joked, patting Jiraiya on the shoulder.

"**Well, he is right. You and I aren't related, per se . . . rather, your father and I were close. So he named me your godfather." Jiraiya answered, looking Naruto straight in the eye. He was prepared for any reaction the kid might have.**

"**My godfather? So why weren't you in Konoha then?" Naruto asked, brows furrowing.**

"**I still serve Konoha, but my job requires lots of travel and more often than not I'm away from the village. So, if anything, I would have had to take you with me on the road." Jiraiya answered, still gauging the kid's reaction. He said he was ready for anything, and yet the relieved sigh that erupted from the kid shocked him.**

"**Well I'm glad you left me here! I would have never met Katsu or Nami-baba! I couldn't even imagine that." Then Naruto's face twisted, and he burst into laughter.**

"That's right . . . well, your decision was even better!" Obito approved, grinning.

"**What?" Jiraiya chuckled.**

"**Oh Kami, can you imagine me after being raised solely by you? Ugh, I'd be as big a disgusting perv as you are Ero-Sennin!" Naruto laughed, so into his own amusement that tears started to gather at the corner of his eyes. Jiraiya harrumphed, slapping Naruto upside the head and walking on, though he couldn't help the smile that crossed his lips. **

"Another wonderful point . . . and then I'd have to kill you." Kushina said, more like promised, to Jiraiya. Jiraiya chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

**If Jiraiya knew what was happening in Konoha at the time, however, he would have ceased smiling and hauled him and Naruto off to Frost Country.**

"Oh here we go." Tsunade muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"It's always something." Rin agreed with a sigh.

**In Konoha, two intruders slipped quietly into the village undetected. They were covered with black cloaks with a pattern of red clouds, quietly sitting in a tea shop. They wore wide-brimmed hats to cover the parts of their face shown above the high collar of the cloaks. The smaller one with the pale, elegant hands motioned to the larger one— they both noticed the three jounin eyeing them. Quietly, they paid their tab and left the tea shop.**

"**We should go, it appears the jinchuuriki isn't here." A low, monotone voice said to his partner.**

"What do they want him for?" Rin asked nervously. When no one answered, and the adult faces turned darker at the very question, she meekly subsided and listened to the story.

**The two cloaked strangers walked on. They were passing a lake when they both stopped. Silently, they turned to face the two newcomers, Asuma and Kurenai.**

"**What might you two be doing here in Konoha?" Asuma asked them casually, stubbing out his cigarette. **

**Not too far away, Katsu waved goodbye to Hinata, agreeing to hang out again next time and train again. Whistling merrily, Katsu patted her holster on her thigh hidden beneath her just-below-knee length purple skirt. If there was one thing she could say she eclipsed Naruto in, it was throwing weapons— the Kuroshio family had a long line of ace shots, mostly bow and arrow users. She wondered now what she would do. Perhaps it was time to visit Kimi . . . the bubbly brunette had a funny quirk of only liking wildflowers, store-bought flowers being too synthetic for her. Luckily enough, there was a lake not too far off where the most beautiful flowers grew. Smiling, Katsu bounded off towards the lake, eager to spend time with her friend.**

"Oh no!" Obito and Rin moaned, knowing that was the same lake those two strangers were at.

**The closer she got to the lake though, the more uncertain she got— there was something strange in the air, it tingled along her skin and raised the hairs at the back of her neck. She slowed down, ducking into the trees that bordered the area.**

"Do not keep going— turn back and run!" Minato cried out in exasperation, putting a hand to his forehead.

**Climbing up one she jumped from branch to branch— without chakra, thank you very much, even civilians could do this much— and settled into the closest one to the lake without being seen. Katsu gasped, clinging to the branch she settled one as she recognized Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi battling against some strange blue-skinned man and . . . Uchiha Itachi?! **

Obito gasped. "No! Not Itachi-chan!"

"Who . . . ?" Kakashi trailed off. This time it was Kushina who answered.

"Remember I said in the first chapter Mikoto had one boy already? That boy is Itachi . . . but I thought he was dead in the massacre? And if he's alive . . . why is he attacking Konoha shinobi?" Kushina wondered, nothing making sense.

**She remembered him well, he was Sasuke's older brother, a former ANBU and— who could ever forget the one who massacred the Uchiha Clan?**

" . . . Oh my God." Kushina whispered, pale face nearly ashen now.

"I can't believe that sweet, solemn little boy . . . he was always such a gentle child. To think he'd be powerful enough— and dark enough, to kill the entire clan?" Obito forced out, eyes wide and unseeing as he glared at the table.

"And yet, he left his little brother alive?" Minato wondered.

"Analyze his character later and get back to the story!" Tsunade ordered, glaring at Jiraiya to read the book.

**Wide-eyed, she watched the ensuing battle, and how well both Itachi and the blue-skinned man fought against three high-level jounin. She stiffened when the blue man suddenly tilted his head in her direction— did he sense her? Swallowing, she eased back, trying to giver herself enough room to rocket out of there if needed. Still, she was almost entranced by the fight, especially between Kakashi and Itachi— the skill shown was something she'd never seen before, even when she and Naruto used to sneak into jounin training grounds and watch the battles. No, this was art, in lethal form . . . she snapped back to attention when she was suddenly hit by a light mist of water from a suiton.**

"Don't get distracted— don't even be there, get away!" Kakashi cried.

"**What do you want with Naruto?" Kakashi asked, blocking and attacking alternately.**

"**We were ordered to retrieve the jinchuuriki." Itachi answered tonelessly, and gave no more information, dodging Kakashi's attacks with seemingly no effort. **

**That was close— too close to her side, she had to move now— and then something strange happened. Kakashi suddenly moved his head the tiniest bit in her direction— he was looking straight at her with both eyes, he knew she was there. The bloody red and deep gray mismatched irises burned into her, they were telling her something. She just wasn't sure, and she wanted more time or figure it out! But there was no more time— Itachi and Kakashi suddenly locked eyes, and they both froze— it was just one second— and then Kakashi fell, and he would have fallen straight in if Asuma hadn't grabbed him and jumped back at the right time.**

"**Ha! It's over for your friend now, Itachi has him locked up in Tsukiyomi." **

"Tsukiyomi?" Minat repeated in confusion. "The sharingan excels in copying and genjutsu attacks the further they progress . . . what kind of genjutsu is that?"

"I've never heard of it. I don't even have my sharingan; I wouldn't be allowed access to the scrolls for it." Obito said regretfully, unhappy he couldn't offer more.

**The blue man laughed, eyes never straying from the ragtag group, and so he never saw the green blur that hit him like a torpedo shouting out, "DYNAMIC ENTRY!"**

"Gai! There won't be a problem now." Kakashi sighed in relief.

"I thought you didn't like him?" Kushina asked.

"I don't like the overflowing youth . . . but Gai is a good guy and very strong. I'm sure he's four times as strong as he is now." Kakashi answered.

**It was Gai! And it was her chance to get out of there, Katsu thought with determination as she bolted away from the lake. She performed the seal for henge, a puff of smoke whipping away to reveal a spiky brown-haired, brown-eyed average looking genin in purple pants and a black t-shirt with a holster on his right thigh running frantically. If that blue man had her signature, it would be bad if they remembered **_**her**_**. Katsu pelted through the village, spitting out hurried apologies as she— or rather, as 'Toru' the alias she made up on the spot— ducked and dodged people. **

"Smart, but henge is just an illusion. If they touch you they'll know, or even if it somehow breaks . . . !" Rin fretted, just seeing a plan fraught with peril.

"What does she need to henge for? She should be running home!" Obito pointed out.

"Something tells me she won't be so accommodating to our blood pressures." Jiraiya sighed.

**She mowed past the gate, not stopping even when she heard chuunins call after her— she had to go! She knew what Kakashi was asking her, realized what he had wanted her to do . . . she had to get to Naruto before them! **

"Kakashi, you idiot!" Kushina barked, throwing a pillow at him.

"Even if I hadn't prompted her— with a look, because that's so iron clad— then we all know she would have gone herself!" Kakashi argued.

"Nevertheless, you've provided a convenient scape goat. So—" Obito cut off and rained hits down on Kakashi, ignoring the boy's flailing hands.

**And learn how to conceal her chakra or something, she added irritably. Whatever Itachi wanted with Naruto, it couldn't be good, so she had to make sure Naruto was far away from them— she had to protect Naruto!**

_**Naruto, I won't let them touch you, I'll keep you safe! **_**Katsu vowed, brown eyes burning as intensely as her natural gold ones would. She pushed herself hard, ignoring the dull burning of her muscles as she sailed through the trees. She had no idea where they were going, but assumed that they would pass through the post-station not too far from the village. He had given no indication that he was going out of Fire Country, and that seemed to be a logical place to go, if not a good starting point. With that knowledge, and with a fire burning in her to carry out her will, Katsu headed forth. **

"Oh boy . . . I almost don't want to read the next chapter." Minato sighed when Jiraiya put the book down.

"Well I want to know what mission Jiraiya and Naru are going on." Kakashi voiced, rising up and gripping the back of his neck, massaging the muscles there.

"Well, that's all— so what we do now is just keep on and wait until tomorrow morning, then read the next chapter." Tsunade put it to rest, and then ventured into the kitchen. "Obito, want to help me make dinner?"

"Sure Tsunade-sama!" Obito yelled, running into the kitchen.

"Well, I guess we just put it out of our mind for now . . ." Minato whispered to Kushina, pressing a kiss to her temple. An arm wrapped around her waist, they both walked into the kitchen after the others.

* * *

**And there it is! What did you guys think? I thouht it was time for Katsu to take a bigger role, she can't be a supporting 'housewife' character all the time. She needs more screen time so the readers get to know her! I wanted her to go with them to find Tsunade, and i needed a conveniant excuse so, lol. Also, i've got a question for you guys . . . recently, idk why, but i've been feeling wierd about Katsu's name. Do you guys like her name, or should it be changed? Or is it even too late to do that? Ah, well, maybe i'm just being silly.**

**Your reviews are always welcome!**

**Love, **

**Bloody Mad~(^w^)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey everyone! From me to you, I sincerely wish you a happy new year. Thanks to the old readers for sticking to the story, and thanks to new readers for giving something new a chance! Happy New Year!**

**This chapter was inspired by Swedish House Mafia, winter breaks, and my manga fiend buddy. YOU KNOW. Yee. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto Misashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty_

_Uzumaki Naruto's Conviction_

* * *

It was morning, and the deep restful sleep the group of the past had was enough to recover their senses from the excitement of the last chapter. Today the filed into the living room, not even stopping for breakfast. Whoever was keeping up the room— as they hadn't touched a single cleaning tool other than for washing dishes since they arrived— had taken over their responsibility of filling a snack tray and getting drinks. Even now a crystal tray and matching pitcher filled with iced tea awaited them on the coffee table. With that, they could skip breakfast and get into the story. Last chapter left them with a deliciously tantalizing cliffhanger, and they could wait no longer to find out what happens next!

"Who reads this time?" Rin asked, looking around.

"I want to read please!" Kushina volunteered with puppy dog eyes in full use.

"Stow the puppy dog violets; you're going to get it regardless." Jiraiya teased the young princess, handing her the book. Kushina's uncharacteristically girlish giggles made them all smile as she picked up the book and leafed through the page. Finding the chapter she cleared her throat and began to read.

**Naruto sighed in mild irritation as he sharpened his axes almost lazily, sitting on the edge of his twin bed in the hotel room he and Jiraiya had rented for the night. Well, he had thought they would only make a pit stop in this little town— until Jiraiya had spotted a beautiful young woman who had winked her prettily made-up eyes at Jiraiya. Almost immediately Jiraiya had waved him off to find a hotel room for the night while Jiraiya 'looked up important matters.' Naruto snorted, he knew damn well Jiraiya was following after the woman from earlier like a lovesick young puppy. **

"You . . . why must you be yourself all the time sensei?" Minato asked in exasperation.

"It's all part of my charm, boy!" Jiraiya argued, shaking a fist at his student.

"What charm?" Kushina and Tsunade scoffed, and Jiraiya's face fell comically.

**Just thinking about it ticked him off! Clucking his tongue Naruto put away his whetting stone but left his axes out— he could at least practice with them . . . see if perhaps he couldn't come up with a new trick or two to bring out on Jiraiya when next they sparred.**

"I hope he gives you what for!" Kushina harrumphed, sticking her tongue out at Jiraiya.

**He was brought out of his vindictive thoughts of chopping off Jiraiya's super long ponytail when furious banging on his door startled him.**

"HAH?! Not my hair, that's my staple!" Jiraiya gasped, affronted by the very thought.

"Shut up! Can't you see we've gotten to a very important part?!" Tsunade growled, slapping Jiraiya's shoulder.

"**Ru?! RU! Open up, hurry, please!" An unfamiliar— yet all too familiar— voice shouted while pounding on the door. Naruto's eyebrows flew up. The voice was soft and male, but only one person had ever called him 'Ru' . . . Katsu?**

**He flew to the door in the two seconds it took him to identify that voice, the door flying open. Katsu had flown in and grabbed the door in mid-flight to the wall, and shut it closed. His brows furrowed at the henge she had on, and his hackles immediately rose when her frantic, tired eyes met his. **

"**Do you have your stuff on you?" She demanded, running to the window and pulling it up.**

"**Yes, I just got into the room—" Naruto started but she interrupted him and pulled at his clothes, forcing him out the window.**

"**We have to go! Now! We have to get to Jiraiya, Naruto, hurry!" she whisper-screamed, shoving him unceremoniously out the window, and he just managed to land on his feet in the adjacent alley. Katsu followed him soon after and, grabbing on tightly to his hand, she sprinted and forced him to follow suit.**

"Kami, she must be so tired but she's still going to keep him safe." Rin murmured, heart going out to Katsu.

"The important thing is that they have a head start, though it might not do much there's still some time." Kakashi spoke his thoughts out loud, running through possible strategies the two might use.

"**Katsu what's going on?!" Naruto shouted, frantically dodging people and vendors, leaping over stands as he was forced to follow her lead.**

"**Uchiha itachi and an accomplice are coming after you! I saw them fighting Asuma, Kurenai and Kakashi— Kakashi got knocked out by something Itachi did— but don't worry," she turned to give him a reassuring grin, "they won't touch you while I'm here. So we have to find Jiraiya and hurry, okay?"**

**Naruto's mind whirled with the new information, but he forced himself to calm down and consider the most important information first, and he would deal with her recklessly coming in to a dangerous situation later. "Okay, I'm not sure where he is so we have to find a spot to— STOP!" he roared out the word when two black blurs suddenly shot in front of him. The kids skidded to a stop just in time. Not ten feet from them stood the two Katsu was just mentioning. Naruto looked around and cursed— they had run into a park without noticing, and while it meant no civilians would be harmed there was little for them to use as a quick distraction.**

"Shit!" Tsunade muttered heatedly.

**Itachi's cold, blank gaze drilled into Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto, you will come with us." He ordered.**

"**Just let us pass by peacefully. As a fellow Konoha ninja, I cannot allow you to harm a comrade." Katsu growled out as she played Toru, tensing. Naruto shot her a furious glare as she sidled in front of him, putting herself in harm's way. **

"None of them stand a chance, but at least Naruto could make ten seconds. She wouldn't even make three, so what's she doing?" Jiraiya asked with blunt honesty.

"Three seconds can be good time for a ninja— especially as fast as he is, and even more so if he wanted to run . . . which she wants him to." Minato answered, raising a blonde eyebrow at Jiraiya.

**The blue-skinned man grinned as he casually swung his large sword— Naruto couldn't help but compare it to Zabuza's own blade, though it was even stranger with its weird scaled appearance— on his shoulder and said, "So you were the little spy from earlier. Not bad kid you made it here in good time. Just let us have the kid and I'll only take off an arm."**

**Katsu grinned wolfishly. "I'd like to take door number two, please." Quickly she took out a kunai with an explosive tag and threw it into the ground in front of them. Looping an arm around Naruto's waist she performed Kawarimi and switched out with a large boulder on the other side of the park just as the tag went off.**

"When opponents underestimate you it gives you time to think up a strategy— which, in this situation should preferably be to run. And thankfully, I think that's exactly what she intends on doing." Kakashi sighs.

**Katsu was a little disoriented from the jutsu but stumbled on intent on getting away— but Naruto was clear-headed and already taking the lead as he pulled Katsu along, intent on getting away. They speeded down an alleyway and scrambled up a fire escape to run into another hotel building, dashing down the hallway that looked to only contain utility closets and janitorial rooms. It was pure instinct that had him puling Katsu into his arms and leaping forward to roll back up into a crouch farther away just as a large blade swung right where their legs were a moment prior. **

"**Now now, we might have to bring you back alive but no one said anything about you being uninjured." The blue-skinned man chided them mockingly, grin firmly in place and showing off the small shark-like teeth he had. Naruto glared, and inwardly he smirked at the subtle tensing of the man's body. **

"It's his daddy's death glare." Kushina giggled nervously, a small smile on her lips as Minato rolled his eyes.

"**Katsu— leave . . . go and hide." Naruto muttered. He was surprised when Katsu suddenly shot in front of him, kunai at the ready as she glared obstinately at the two S-class shinobi in front of her.**

"**No." she said resolutely. "I will protect you— Naruto, run and find Jiraiya." And then she rushed forward and ran towards the two enemies.**

"Three seconds is nothing to throw your life away over!" Obito groaned, hands wringing together.

**Katsu knew very well that that she stood a snowball's chance in hell of winning, and that should they so much as pinch her henge would be done for. But she also knew that the flaring chakra signatures would catch Jiraiya's attention and bring him here, and as long as Jiraiya was here no harm would come to Naruto. She scrambled back from the flash of blade that would have taken her innards out of her, and glared at the laughing blue man.**

"**Kisame, stop playing around. We must capture the jinchuuriki." Itachi said, and Katsu frowned at the dead tone of voice— it was like nothing fazed this dude at all.**

"**So sushi's got a name?" Katsu taunted, jumping back to stand alongside Naruto who'd run after her. "Idiot, I told you to run." She hissed quietly, eyes never leaving the pair.**

**There was a pause, and Naruto just glared at her but made no move to speak, so Katsu figured he was just too angry to speak. Not that this boded well for her future, if she lived at all after this.**

"**On three?" Katsu asked lightly.**

"**Three." Naruto growled, and they both sent kunai hurtling towards the two, which Kisame blocked lazily with his large blade. **

Jiraiya snorted. "What now genius?" he mocked.

"**Uh . . . what now?" Katsu asked Naruto, big brown eyes blinking, and Naruto sighed.**

"**Run?" Naruto asked, but his plans were derailed when a certain **_**second-to-last**_** Uchiha suddenly shot out from between them and shouted, "Itachi! Today is the day you die!"**

"Look at this bullshit." Obito mumbled in a tired tone, head dropping into his hands.

**Naruto watched with befuddled eyes trained on Sasuke's running form and Itachi's utter lack of caring that his brother was about to go postal on his ass.**

**He fully understood why when Itachi just grabbed Sasuke's wrist like the two were playing a game, and then proceeded to break his brother's wrist without blinking, the Chidori fading out of existence. The two of them certainly flinched at the scream that Sasuke made, and made quiet noises of commiseration when Sasuke was thrown up against a wall, his brother's hand pinning him there by his neck.**

"Are you two going to help him at all?" Rin asked.

"Are you forgetting that Kisame guy?" Minato asked pointedly.

"**Great, now Sasuke's going to be set back and he's going to go all avenger moody angst bitch on me like before . . . and I'm going to have to clean up the mess because somehow, someway, I'm the most emotionally and mentally balanced person on the team." Naruto sighed, head tilting back as the annoyance turned his voice practically into a song.**

"Whoa, wait, the civilian with the normal family life on the team?" Obito couldn't help but ask.

"Considering all he went through he's the most balanced one to help Sasuke while fully understanding. Besides . . . a lot of fan girls aren't always playing with a full deck." Rin explained with a rueful smile.

"**Well . . . invite him over to dinner then. He had fun last time he was over." Katsu advised, wary eyes watching the large form of Kisame coming toward them. She wished there was something they could do for Sasuke, who was getting his ass handed to him on a silver platter by his brother, but they had to worry about their own strong opponent.**

**Naruto snorted as they ducked and barely dodged the swings of his suspiciously sentient looking sword. And what was with the increasing feelings of exhaustion? **

"**Have you figured it out?" Kisame laughs. "My sword eats chakra like candy, it loves it!" he bears down on them with a particularly fast swing of the sword that she knows she can't dodge— when just in time, a toad appears in front of her from out of nowhere, blocking the sword with a forelimb guard. Scrambling back from the two deadlocked opponents, Naruto and Katsu whip around to stare at their savior of the moment.**

"You certainly take your sweet time with Naruto's life sensei." Minato noted sourly.

Jiraiya shrugs waving his hands in an assuring manner. "Now, now, good timing is all heroes' business. However, that sword is suspiciously familiar . . . and if it reminds Naruto of Zabuza's sword . . . you think this guy is part of the Seven Swordsman?"

"Knowing my poor kid's luck, undoubtedly he is." Kushina muttered with a grimace.

**Jiraiya arrived on the scene from the window they scrambled in from, one leg propped up on the window sill while the other is flat on the ground, carrying the body of an unconscious woman. Katsu furrows her brow in confusion, but they smooth out when Naruto mutters in annoyance, "You couldn't have left her in the room or something?" **

"Seriously?" Tsunade hisses, glaring at Jiraiya.

**Jiraiya clearly heard that but he ignores it as he points to Itachi and Kisame and declares loudly, "Nice try, but such a distraction cold never work on the Great Jiraiya!"**

"**I think it did though, didn't it?" Katsu whispers to Naruto. He snorts, but they keep quiet and edge back towards Jiraiya, knowing that they would only interfere in a battle between him and the two enemy nin. Jiraiya sets the girl down and props her up on the wall, and he makes to engage Itachi and Kisame, when Sasuke once again interrupts.**

"**Itachi is mine!" Sasuke snarls, shooting forward to try and catch his brother unawares. Of course, like the time before that, Sasuke's ass is handed to him on a silver platter, but this time the platter is inlaid with diamonds and decorated with delicate filigree. In other words, Sasuke is getting abused like nobody's business, as Itachi wails on his brother again and again and **_**again**_**. **

Obito sighs. "I feel bad for the stupid bastard."

**Naruto sighs. "I don't even feel bad for the stupid bastard."**

"HA!" Rin guffaws, slapping Obito on the back good naturedly.

"**Harsh, dude." Katsu whines.**

"**No, seriously? This dude had difficulty facing Gaara in pre-tail mode with two Chidori. Suddenly he thinks that with a full-powered chidori and the power of the emo, he can defeat Itachi? Get the fuck out— this isn't a manga, okay; no one gets OP power-ups in the span of five minutes just in time to deal with a level boss like Itachi." Naruto argued.**

"**Look who's talking Mr. I-can-learn-any-jutsu-in-a-week-with-the-power-of-shadow-clones." Katsu snorts.**

"**I still put the work in didn't I? And it's not a week, kami can you imagine the migraine that would give me? Oh, hey, that looks bad . . . better go and help Sasuke." Naruto salutes Katsu and dashes by the clashing figures of Kisame and Jiraiya as he moves to aid Sasuke.**

"Because the power of the emo and the power of friendship is going to combine into a super combo big enough to defeat Itachi?" Kakashi mocked, going along with the previous just-barely-logic Naruto argued about earlier.

"No, no— it's the power of the bishounen." Obito corrected with a grin.

"**Foolish little brother," Itachi's voice might be monotone and unchanging, but there is no mistaking that he scorns Sasuke in this moment. "You still do not have enough hate. Your weakness is appalling. Perhaps you need another refresher of your purpose in life."**

_**No, wait, no**_**— Sasuke frantically tries to stop it, but it's too late. Itachi looks into his eyes and the pinwheels in his eyes start swirling. He's back again, in the pathetically weak form if his eight year-old self on that night. He can't **_**do this**_** again . . . he can't watch them all die again!**

**He cried out in horror when the first murders start. His aunt, the cousins, and— **

"Is he seeing the massacre?! Oh the poor boy was there!" Kushina gasped with realization.

**He slams into a wall, no longer in the genjutsu but back in the hotel room. He's on the floor, no he's being dragged up and his mind is sluggish as it tries to get his legs under him and help whoever is moving him. He sees a flash of blonde— Naruto. What did Naruto do?**

"Is it like Hell Viewing?" Rin asks, unable to keep quiet.

Tsunade gives her an approving smile. "That's a good start— but, I think it's more complicated than that."

"**Uchiha-san, are you well?" His eyes dart to the side to see concern in brown eyes. He glares at the unknown ninja, a genin like them his mind whispers. He's never seen him before, then again he never remembered any of the civilian classmates he had in Academy.**

"**Sasuke, what was that?" Naruto presses.**

"**It was a genjutsu that only the Sharingan can make . . . where you are in a world of the caster's choosing. In that world, I would have seen the murder of my clansmen on repeat for about 72 hours." Sasuke recites dully, locking eyes with disgusted brilliant blue. Even if Itachi hadn't succeeded this time, he remembered the last time he had gone through it— on the very night too, when he discovered the massacre. **

"A world of Itachi's choosing . . . so what did Kakashi see?" Minato wonders.

**Katsu gasps. "Look, at the hallway!" she urges, and all three gape as suddenly it is transformed into a fleshy . . . something.**

**They turn to Jiraiya, who smirks at Itachi and Kisame. "Summoning Jutsu: Frog Mouth Trap. You two will make good food for the Rock Frog." As he says it, fleshy tendrils move up from the floor and away from the walls of the frog's stomach to ensnare the two cloaked nins. **

"YEAH!" Minato and his team cheer.

**Itachi closes his eyes.**

**The three kids are knocked off their feet when an explosion suddenly rocks the hallway.**

"You _suck_ Jiraiya!" The whole room rounds on the poor white-haired man, who flinches in shock.

**Jiraiya runs around the corner and curses in shock. Somehow, those two were able to burn a hole through the organ of a frog that breathes fire, he realizes. He observes the black flames that lick the sides of the hole with interest. He doesn't dare touch it, but he does take them and place it in a sealing scroll for further study. He briefly debates going after them but decides against it— he has three little things to take care of first before that. **

**With a heaving sigh Jiraiya cancels the Frog Mouth jutsu and returns to where the three "genin" await him. He sees the Uchiha, pale and glaring at the wall with almost enough black hatred to give those flames in his scroll a run for their money, but as he's not unconscious Jiraiya doesn't pay too much attention to it. He notes that the boy's wrist is broken but there's little he can do about that.**

**Naruto is alright, he observes, and his axes have already been put away. There's not a scratch on him, and even if there were some little injury he couldn't see most likely the Kyuubi was taking care of that. More interesting than that though, was the glare of death he was pinning on an unfamiliar looking genin who Jiraiya had never seen around Naruto before, and yet the two looked very familiar with each other. He observed the genin and spread his senses— he noticed immediately that the person was under a henge. With that information and seeing how Naruto glared yet still nearly hovered over the person, Jiraiya had a good idea of who it was but . . . **

"**Alright kid drop the henge." He ordered the brunette. Said brunette grinned and saluted, before the henge was released with a puff of smoke, revealing the sheepish form of Kuroshio Katsu.**

**Sasuke glared in surprise at the girl who was supposed to be a civilian— so how did she know jutsu? "What are you doing here?" he asked rudely.**

"**Uchiha-kun, it is nice to see you as well," Katsu demurred, and Sasuke twitched at the subtle jab. "I came here to keep Naruto from your brother. I was doing an alright job of it too, I think—"**

"Oh, don't try and defend yourself, it never works." Kushina sighs, the glittering blue eyes that regard her with amusement bringing back memories of the fights they had over (namely her) reckless nature.

"**It is in your best interests to be silent." Naruto cut her off coldly, but it was even more surprising when she did so immediately, even miming locking her mouth and throwing away the key.**

**Jiraiya eyed the scene with amusement. "So that's why the room was empty . . . I suppose they arrived in Konoha and then immediately came here. You beat them here though and sent them on a chase through the town for you. Not bad, not bad at all. Leave the endurance training and fighting to us professionals though." He advised her when he noticed her legs quivering with the effort to keep her standing. **

"**Well I suppose we—" Jiraiya had to pause his statement when his face was suddenly accosted by a blue ninja sandal, the accompanying body screaming out, "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" **

"HA!" Minato guffawed.

"I never noticed just how big an asshole you really are Minato." Jiraiya glared at his traitorous, laughing student.

**Jiraiya flew with the kick, crashing into the opposite wall all the way down the hallway. Naruto and Sasuke looked at one another, glared at the silently shaking form of Katsu, and then returned to Jiraiya with a deadpanned look.**

"**Dammit Gai, what is wrong with you?!" Jiraiya growled out, rubbing his face to try and take away the sting. Gai wilted a little, bowing apologetically to Jiraiya.**

"**My apologies, Jiraiya-sama!" Gai shouted. All the man ever did was shout, Naruto reflected. "I had come with the intention to retrieve Sasuke-kun, but it seems . . . I caught you instead." Here he looked up with a sheepish grin, sweating under Jiraiya's glare. **

"**Whatever. You came here to take the Uchiha right? Get the kid and go already, he needs to get that wrist looked at." Jiraiya said with a wave of his hand to the wrist Sasuke had been unconsciously cradling. When Sasuke looked down and saw what he was doing, he dropped the wrist and straightened up, glaring straight ahead. **

"**And the girl?" Gai asked, looking curiously at Katsu.**

"**My assistant, she's with us this trip." Jiraiya smoothly explained her presence. Gai was skeptical, but he let it go and smiled his too-bright smile of Youth. **

"Aw, did you want the two of them to be _together_?" Tsunade coos, pinching Jiraiya's cheek. "_You big softy!_" she smirks, and her coo suddenly turns into a mocking leer.

"**YOSH! Then, Sasuke-kun, let us go!" Gai turned to the pale avenger and gave him a thumbs-up. Sasuke shivered in mild disgust at being alone with the overenthusiastic man, but seeing as he had no choice, knew he would have to bear with it. He turned to Naruto, and for a minute the two just stared at each other.**

"**. . . Thanks." Sasuke muttered, looking away as his foot scuffed the dirt.**

"**Yeah, no problem. See you when I get back Sasuke." Naruto smiled and waved to the boy. Sasuke looked at him— no, Naruto realized, he was assessing him.**

"**You'll tell me what you meant about Gaara . . . and you. What my brother wants from you." Sasuke didn't ask, it was both a demand and an expectation. They both knew Naruto would.**

"**Yeah." Naruto nodded. Sasuke inclined his head as well, and then Gai and Sasuke were off, the man having slung the boy onto his back— and they zoomed off in a trail of dust, explosive shouts of "YOUTH!" and "Springtime!" echoing behind them. The three left behind sweat dropped at the man's excessive behaviors, before shrugging it off relatively quickly. When you lived in a ninja village, the quirks of said ninjas never bothered you for long.**

"**So . . . what were those guys after? Katsu was trying to keep me away from them . . . were they after me?" Naruto asks.**

"**After a fashion . . . it's more like what you have that they want." Jiraiya answers.**

"**Ah, so . . . Kyuubi? What for?" Naruto insists.**

"**That's a good question . . . at this point, who knows? All that matters now is, anyone who wants the power of the bijuu that isn't a jinchuuriki isn't up to any good." Jiraiya explains, sighing. Naruto nods in agreement, but he feels like there's something left unresolved in that statement. However, if Jiraiya wouldn't go on, he wouldn't press it just yet. **

"**Well," Jiraiya prompted the two. "We'd better go— Naruto you still have our stuff in the scrolls?"**

"**Yeah, they're all here." Naruto assured, patting two scrolls tied with red silk ribbons on his right hip.**

"**Great, then let's go, and—" he snagged Katsu's shirt collar, preventing her from sneaking off as she'd been trying to do. "You are coming along with."**

"**No way!" Katsu protested, trying to wiggle out of Jiraiya's hold. **

"Most would be glad for such an opportunity." Jiraiya snorted.

"Most ninja." Rin corrected.

"**Too bad!" Naruto sniffed, this time the one to speak. "Now that I know even guys like that can infiltrate Konoha I'm thinking you'll be better off with me. Besides!" here Naruto perked up, the stern glower that nearly suffocated her lightening up to an eager smile. "It'll be just like the old trips we used to take, but this time we're going even further than we ever did with Nami-baba!"**

"**My legs feel like— like road kill, all wrecked and agonized. Plus! Plus I only have these clothes!" She pleaded.**

"One of the hardest parts of being a girl and reconciling with the reality of kunoichi business." Rin mutters, a small smile playing at her lips.

"**I'll carry you until your legs return. And I'll buy you a new outfit each place we stop." Naruto promised. Katsu remained skeptical for all of one minute before she blurted out a cheerful assent and jumped onto Naruto's back. The blonde stumbled for only a moment before righting himself and turning to look at Jiraiya expectantly. Jiraiya chuckled, but waved his hand signaling them to follow as he began to walk out of the town.**

"**So, Ero-sennin, mind telling us what this mission is about?" Naruto asked curiously as he made sure his grip on Katsu was firm so she wouldn't fall.**

"**We are on the search for the new Hokage." Jiraiya answered with a grin, though it mellowed out into a small smile when he saw the barely checked flinch both the kids made.**

"**May I ask who they have in mind?" Katsu piped up after a brief silence, returning to her previous cheer as she twirled a lock of Naruto's hair around her finger.**

"**Senju Tsunade— does that name ring a bell?" Jiraiya asked, head leaning back to view them over one broad shoulder.**

"What?" Tsunade whined, slumping over and pouting. "Boo! I don't _wanna_ be Hokage _Jiraiya!_" Tsunade complained, punching the man on the shoulder.

"Hey it was either you or me— guess who I chose?" Jiraiya explained bluntly.

"What's wrong with being Hokage?" Minato asked with a frown.

"All that work . . . and responsibility. Besides, the whole meaning of Hokage . . . I just . . . meh." Tsunade tried to explain her convoluted feelings, but ended up just muddling it and then dismissing it.

**Katsu frowned in thought, nose wrinkling. "No . . ."**

"**Er, I think she was mentioned briefly in my textbook but I never thought to go in deeper. Obviously she's one of the Legendary Sannin . . . wasn't she a skilled medic? And if Senju is her last name then I guess she's the last descendant of the Senju Clan, the founders of Konoha?" Naruto briefly recalled the little he knew.**

"**Not much, but it's a start." Jiraiya commented with a small shrug. "She's the granddaughter of the Shodaime and the grandniece of the Nidaime. That alone marks her as Konoha royalty— honestly most of the time people always acknowledged her as Tsunade-hime. She is one of the greatest— well shouldn't I say **_**the**_** greatest medic in the ninja world?"**

"My grandfather was better— he could do medic jutsu without hand seals. And people only started adding the hime to my name because you did all the time! It got stuck and no one would stop no matter what I did!" Tsunade corrected with a frown.

"**What's she look like then? If she's your teammate she's obviously of . . . ah, reckonable experience." Naruto asked tactfully.**

"That's just another way to call me old, isn't it brat?" Tsunade snarls with a playful smirk.

"But it's a very nice way." Minato points out with a smile.

"**Nice." Katsu acknowledged.**

**Jiraiya snorted his agreement as he rummaged in his vest for a picture of what she would currently look like. "Well, Tsunade-hime's vain you see, on top of being on the run from money lenders so this is probably the way she looks now." He hands them the picture, and Katsu plucks it delicately from his grasp and lowers it for the both of them to see.**

"Money Lenders, hime?" Jiraiya echoed with a small, smug grin. Tsunade scowled, averting her eyes lest she beat him to a pulp.

"**Money lenders? Don't tell me she— **_**Holy**_** . . . **_**Shit**_**. There is no way she's damn near fifty and **_**this hot**_**." Naruto gapes at the picture, and then drags disbelieving eyes to Jiraiya's knowing smirk.**

"Oh my Kami." Tsunade muttered in mortification, curling in on herself as far as she could go in a vain attempt to ignore the jeers and the catcalls from various people.

"**She doesn't look her age at all." Katsu adds, head tilted to the side. She knocks Naruto gently on the head and shakes the picture. "What do you reckon— Double D's?"**

"**Fuck that— those are E's, no other way about it." Naruto assesses stubbornly. **

"**Funny, that's what I always thought too?" Jiraiya nods in approval of Naruto's assessment. He takes back the picture and puts it away.**

"I'd beat you senseless if I wasn't so embarrassed. Jiraiya, how could you let them?" Tsunade despaired, accusing and mournful honey eyes locked on the shaking form of her red-faced teammate. The others behind her breaking down in laughter.

"**So what was that about money lenders?" Katsu brought up the earlier point, legs swinging on either side of Naruto. **

"**You know about the three shinobi vices?" Jiraiya asked.**

"**Women, drink, and money." Katsu and Naruto quoted solemnly like the little school children they hadn't been in a while.**

"**Right, well Tsunade is prey to the last one— terrible gambler. So permanent genjutsu is her favorite thing at the moment."**

"**Terribly addicted or terribly terrible at the gambling itself?" Naruto asked shrewdly.**

"**Both." Jiraiya answered with suppressed laughter in his voice. **

"**So where do you think she might be?" Katsu asked. "What are the leads?"**

"**At the moment? None." Jiraiya answered with a shrug.**

"**You . . ." Naruto trailed off, his face clearly showing just what he thought of the older man at this moment. **

"**We have to get to the next town in order for me to pick up information. Then, after that, I'll give you the training I promised you." Jiraiya placated.**

**Naruto pouted. "Can't I start the jutsu training at least?"**

**Jiraiya thought about it. The jutsu did, after all, take three steps to complete and none of them were easy. He supposed it wouldn't be too bad to give the kid a head start.**

"This jutsu wouldn't happen to be . . ." Minato trailed off, but Jiraiya knew exactly where he was going.

"Heh, why not?" Jiraiya chuckled, "Rasengan is a family thing after all."

"**Well, then, if you start you'll have to take Katsu off your back so she won't be a distraction." Jiraiya pointed out.**

**Naruto looked over his shoulder to Katsu. "You good to walk?"**

"**Yeah!" Katsu piped, but she was a little unsure.**

**Naruto frowned and gave her a considering look, as if he had heard her thoughts. He stopped and let her get off however, and they waited for her to stretch her legs experimentally before setting off again. **

**Once she was settled the group carried on once again, Jiraiya and Naruto now walking side-by-side as the Toad Sage explained the first part of the training to Naruto.**

**He took out water balloons from the pack on his back. "Okay, so we're going to be using these."**

**Naruto held one carefully in his hands, and then turned to Jiraiya with an evil smirk. "Does learning this jutsu require me to improve my aim? If so, then I thank you for offering yourself up as a target."**

"**Haha— no." Jiraiya deadpanned. "Watch and observe." **

**Jiraiya took a water balloon in one hand, and Naruto carefully observed what it was Jiraiya would go through. But he didn't sense anything, so when the water in the balloon suddenly swirled around making it burst in the man's hand, he jumped, startled. **

"That's not a bad way of teaching the first part, but what about the other two?" Minato asked curiously. Jiraiya just waved him to silence and gestured for Kushina to keep reading.

"**Wow!" Katsu whispered, impressed. Naruto nodded his agreement, but he still didn't really know how Jiraiya had done it.**

"**Try it yourself." Jiraiya instructed, nodding his head to the water balloon in Naruto's hands.**

**Naruto's nose scrunched up in thought as he tried to figure out how Jiraiya burst the balloon. Obviously chakra was involved somehow, but he was unsure as to what exactly the chakra did . . . and, he supposed, he wouldn't know until he tried out a few things himself. Adding chakra to his hand, Naruto concentrated on making the water inside move. **

**When ten minutes passed with silence, Jiraiya smirked.**

_**That'll keep his attention until we get to the town, **_**he thought. In the meantime, he'd wonder exactly how to convince Tsunade to return to Konoha . . . willingly . . . without the use of blackmail or drugs. Quite a bit harder than it sounds, but he'd certainly find away, especially since he brought along an insurance policy in the name of Uzu— **

"**Done." Naruto's chirpy syllable abruptly brought Jiraiya out of his thoughts. Wide-eyed, Jiraiya realized Naruto meant he was done popping that water balloon. It had only been half an hour though! **

"My son is just that good?!" Minato cried out with a laugh.

"Eh, but it took me a whole two months to get that first part!" Jiraiya wailed, scratching his wild head.

"**Can I get some more water balloons Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked.**

**Jiraiya was about to ask why, but then he thought about it. From his time training the kid, he knew Naruto to be ambidextrous. "Want to see if it's as easy with the left hand as it is with the right?"**

"**That, and I want to see if I can do it in both hands at once. It'll probably help in the long run." Naruto answered with a pleased smile. **

"**Go wild." Jiraiya gave his leave, handing the pack to Katsu who would supply Naruto with each new water balloon he'd need. Jiraiya, pleased with the fast progression from Naruto, thought to himself that this trip would be a breeze.**

**Three hours later, he conceded to how **_**very wrong**_** he was. **

**Hour One: During Naruto's third left balloon Katsu sneezed, making the boy jump and accordingly causing the water balloon to splash into his face and on his clothes. Naturally, Katsu laughs and Naruto is compelled to chase her around in circles around **_**him**_**. They calm down after a few minutes and he thinks it's over. Little did he know that Katsu would then make a game of distracting Naruto, and even though Naruto no longer wasted any water balloons he still wasted time chasing Katsu around— nothing he says makes them any less energetic. **

"Oh, they're just kids having fun Jiraiya, lighten up!" Tsunade chides him.

"Well, three is annoying but even with two it's quite a handful." Minato chuckles, looking away from the glares of his own cute little students.

**Hour Two: The both of them get into several inane arguments. First about which Warrior Ranger was better (Katsu maintained black while Naruto championed red), which somehow inexplicably delved into other arguments about whether black was a color or a shade, why Pokémon was so much better than Duel Cards (and though they both loved Pokémon Naruto felt like Duel Cards needed to be defended) and finally why were so many different muscles in Jiraiya's face twitching?**

"Because you're driving me up a wall kids." Jiraiya sighed. "Just thinking about it makes me twitchy."

"I don't think I've seen that look since the time Kira and I cut your ponytail completely off during training— which was an _accident_ sensei, really." Minato recalled.

**Hour Three up until the present: The classic "Are we there yet?" game. **

"Oh, love that game." Obito clued them all in, grinning at an eye-rolling Minato.

_**It's shit like this that reminds me of why I swore never to have kids, **_**Jiraiya thought. **

"**So . . . we're not there yet." Naruto states in the silence.**

"**YES!" Jiraiya hisses, so fed up with the two brats it wasn't even funny.**

"**So we are there yet!" Katsu chirps, bouncing behind Naruto.**

"**No, I just said—"**

"**But you said yes!" Naruto argued.**

"**Yes we are not there yet!"**

"**But I thought you said we are there yet?!" **

"**NO! For the love of Kami NO! OK?!"**

"**Make up your mind Jiraiya-sama . . . aren't we not there yet or aren't we?" Katsu asks seriously, face stern unlike her blonde friend who howled with laughter.**

"Oh, just that little part makes me want to bonk them on the head." Kakashi confessed, though his shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.

"Maybe I ought to rethink taking on Naruto as a godson and eventual student." Jiraiya muses.

**Jiraiya was going to rip out his hair. He really was. "ARGH! That's it! That is it— you! Over here and you get on the other side Naruto!" He roughly arranged the children on either side of them, and they had the good sense not to make a peep.**

"**You!" He thrust a rubber ball at Naruto, who took it with a dubious look. "Your objective is to make that pop, and woe betide you if when I ask you there isn't a solid theory as to **_**how**_** in your mind."**

"Rubber is harder to burst than a water balloon, especially as it's only full of air. Clever, Jiraiya-sensei." Minato praised the older man.

"Well, your old sensei still has some usefulness, eh?" Jiraiya joked.

"**And you!" he rummages in his pack for a scroll and tosses it to Katsu who plucks it out of the air easily, giving him a curious look. "You are going to learn at the very least the theory, so when we pinpoint Tsunade's location you can practice it while Naruto and I work. I don't want to hear a sound from you two— **_**not even a sneeze**_**!" He added, glaring at the innocent-faced Katsu.**

**Turning around to face forward Jiraiya growled something unintelligible under his breath before forcing himself to relax. He never noticed the two on either side of him lean back just the slightest bit to wink at each other before they returned to their positions, lips clamped shut to hold in laughter. **

**It was far too fun to piss of a Sannin. **

**Two hours of silence later when dusk settled over the land, just when Jiraiya was about to crack and let them goof off again just to chase away the quiet, they reached a town, and Jiraiya led them into the heart of it where a festival seemed well underway before addressing them.**

"**Alright kids enjoy yourself, while I go asking around for our wayward Hokage-to-be. I'll get us a room at the inn we passed by, with the flowers at the front?"**

"Can't sleep outdoors anymore? How soft you've gotten in your old age Jiraiya." Kushina teases with a soft smile.

"When you reach my age you'll understand the daily pains of living." Jiraiya warns her.

"**Just one?" Katsu pouted.**

"**Bah, what do we need two for? From what that purple-haired sadist told me back home, blondie here would just sneak over to your room anyway." Jiraiya laughed, before dismissing them with a wave and heading off wherever he was going . . . most likely a bar, she thought with rueful amusement. **

"**Well, hime, I do recall promising you a new outfit. Shall we go?" Naruto invited her, offering his arm. With a smile, Katsu gracefully accepted the proffered limb and walked with him through the thick crowd.**

"**Sure, and then we can play a few games or something!" she chirped. **

**They found a clothes shop and there Naruto persuaded Katsu to buy an outfit not unlike what a kunoichi would wear (though it was a shame since she saw the prettiest peach dress) — a blue and white striped long sleeve shirt with black knee sweats, which she insisted Naruto buy a pair of black boots she swore were adorable and road-trip worthy— and of course pajamas. After that Naruto had free reign on wherever they went.**

**They played several festival games, where he won gifts in each one for Katsu with only one ANBU-like mask for himself. They had cotton candy, and enjoyed a small street performance by a passing troupe before they decided to head back to the inn. The bath was a bit strange for them, being separated and then surrounded by so many other people that stayed in the inn, but they returned to the room fairly quickly.**

"**What are the chances of Jiraiya being too drunk to make it back?" Naruto joked as they stepped into the room.**

"Che, no matter how much he drinks I don't think Jiraiya has gotten drunk since his early twenties." Tsunade reflects, sharing a smirk with her teammate.

"**Not very good, it seems." Katsu giggled, pointing to the lounging form of Jiraiya who had already set up his futon, the room only having those uncomfortable pullout beds on the walls. Naruto noted the light smell of alcohol that wafted from the man, mingled with perfumes and smoke . . . a typical night out at a bar. **

"**Does information gathering usually include bar hopping?" Naruto asked Jiraiya, tapping his nose when the man gave hime a confused look. Jiraiya nodded in acceptance.**

"**Best places usually. Seems Tsunade passed through here and didn't stop around for much. Word has it though that there's a big thing going on in one of the border towns, though, so we'll head out in the morning. By the way Naruto, did you figure out the purpose of the next step?"**

**Naruto nodded, him and Katsu pulling out their own futons. "Yeah, instead of changing your chakra rotation like the first step, it's like . . . I need more chakra? Or maybe there's something about the chakra I have to change. I'm still having some trouble."**

"Yay, you're getting warmer!" Minato yipped.

**Jiraiya nodded. "Okay— that's alright, but before we go to bed I want to do one thing Naruto." **

"**What?" Naruto asked curiously.**

"**Your weight seals are good, but have you read up on resistance seals?" Jiraiya asked.**

"**Yes . . . but the way it was written, weights and resistance seals seemed practically the same." Naruto answered with a curious lilt in his voice.**

"They're a little tricky for beginners to work with, but they are very effective. Results show far better than with weight seals." Minato said, noticing the curious glints in his students' eyes.

"**Well, in a sense . . . but honestly resistance seals are more effective, your muscle density improves and overall it improves your body more than weight seals. See, even with a level one resistance seal, it would equate up to fifteen pounds of weight. But the next seal has no correlation, and the 'weight', if you will, is dependent upon each person. So take off your weight seals, I'll be placing resistance seals on you." Jiraiya elucidated. **

"Hm, but isn't the whole point of the resistance seals to get used to the resistance?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, but I know what you're thinking, and it's a good thought," Jiraiya praised the girl, "but Kyuubi's regenerative abilities will only help if Naruto tears his muscles. This is another matter entirely."

"**Okay." Naruto answered simply. He undid his weight seals, and with a special chakra solution made by Jiraiya he erased the seals from his skin. Then Jiraiya added the new resistance seals, and as he drew them explained how they would work.**

"**Okay, so they're cued in to only my chakra and yours. However, you are not to add or lighten the seals without my express permission. Of course, the seals are designed to automatically upgrade to the next level once you've completed the current level, so basically I just don't want you taking them off unless I say so. Or, if it's life or death— like Orochimaru wants to play life-or-death or black cloaks with red clouds life-or-death." Jiraiya spoke slowly, concentrating on the seals. With a flourish he finished them, and making a hand seal he flared his chakra.**

**Immediately Naruto felt weighted down in a strange sort of way. Not like anything was pushing or pulling him . . . but like he was in a hold of something. When he moved his arms and took a few steps, he realized that it felt as if he were walking through water. Laborious, rather slow, and he was definitely sure it would be a chore to walk tomorrow.**

"**You feel it right?" Jiraiya assumed, grinning.**

"**So, will that affect his weight?" Katsu asked, watching Naruto walk around with an amused smile.**

"**No, it's only him. So, if he were to sit on something, the object wouldn't register a change in weight. However upon touching him, or trying to lift the object with him on it, then you'd feel a change in weight." Jiraiya explained, smiling at Katsu. **

"**Well!" Jiraiya exclaimed, clapping his hands loudly. "It's about time for bed, so you kiddies scoot on over and hurry to sleep now." Jiraiya followed his own advice, and to the amazement of the kids, fell asleep in minutes. **

**Taking that as his cue, Jiraiya laid down to sleep, and actually was within minutes.**

"**Who knew a guy like him could sleep so well?" Naruto murmured, also lying down. Soon even he and Katsu drifted off to sleep . . . where Naruto found himself face to snout with Kyuubi.**

"**Evening Kyuubi, how are you?" Naruto asks promptly, not at all fazed at the hot air rushing past him whenever Kyuubi exhales. Kyuubi chuckles and raises himself up on his elbows, fingers linked together and propping up his head.**

"It's weird thinking of a fox with opposable thumbs . . ." Obito muttered, nose scrunched up.

"**As well as can be expected . . . and you, my jailer, are quite satisfied with your training?" Kyuubi returned placidly.**

"**Well, it seems interesting enough. I just wish I knew what the final result was . . . but I doubt Jiraiya would be that accommodating. Who knows though? Anyway . . . what's up?" Naruto asked, deciding to quickly get to the heart of why Kyuubi called him down. Besides that one story, it was never a social visit to the fox. **

"**Those men, kit . . . they are extremely dangerous. More so than you at your current level can handle. Which is not to say," Kyuubi explained when he saw Naruto bristle slightly, "that you are weak. Merely that extra training must be undertaken."**

"**Extra training? Go ahead, I'll bite." Naruto gave Kyuubi free reign to speak, sighing as he settled down on a boulder nearby.**

**Kyuubi regarded him coolly. "Naruto . . . I know your opinion on using my chakra. It is admirable indeed that you would rather earn your own strength, rather than rely on mine as so many jinchuuriki are wont to do. However, don't think for a second those two were on their own in an enterprise to get the bijuu. And make no mistake; it's not just me they want. If all their . . . accomplices or partners are as strong, it'd take a godly miracle to get you up to strength at a sufficient level where you can protect those other . . . humans you are fond of."**

"He's gotten much nicer . . . and do you really think he's right? That there are others?" Kakashi asked.

"Well it's an almost sure bet that there are more . . . things like this are always group undertakings with the bad guys." Jiraiya joked weakly.

"But what exactly is the fox asking?" Obito questioned, gesturing to Kushina.

"**So what are you saying?" Naruto asked, though he knew very well what was being said.**

"**I will begin training you in the use of my chakra." Kyuubi states, looking Naruto dead in his eyes. "Grow yourself as you wish, but when the time comes that you need me, I want you fully able to use my chakra without relying on me as a buffer or gauge."**

**Naruto looks at Kyuubi, face giving away nothing of his thoughts, but such a thing does not faze Kyuubi and so he waits . . . he knows Naruto, has been with the child since birth— patience was all that he needed. He was rewarded scant seconds later when Naruto spoke. **

"**If it means I can be strong enough to protect my precious people . . . if it means I won't have to cower under the threat of those who would use you, then I'll do it Kyuubi. I'd be honored." Naruto spoke, bowing his head in respect at the end.**

"It's a good decision." Kushina agrees.

"After all, it seems that's what Minato intended from the start with that seal anyway." Jiraiya adds.

**Kyuubi smirks. "I'm glad you weren't hard headed about this. For that, I'll give you a reward at the end of each tail you master. But don't think for a second mastering a tail will be easy. One tail of mine does not equate to ichibi's tail, understand? That's a totally different scale."**

"**I never expected it to be easy." Naruto chuckles. "Goodnight, Kyuubi." And with a last wave, Naruto disappears from his mindscape . . . and then wakes up?**

**Naruto blinks, surprised. He usually goes right back to sleep . . . "Huh." He mutters lowly. "This is new."**

"**That's me, actually Naruto." An amused voice speaks up from the far corner of the room. Naruto tenses, and then recognizes the voice.**

"Ooh, don't tell me it's the cloak guy?" Rin squeals.

"Heh, where's _he_ been lately?" Obito asks.

"**Ah, stranger?" Naruto asks in the darkness. "It's been some time." He carefully rises up from his futon, making sure not to disturb the people on either side of him. Rising up, he stretches and saunters over to the corner where the cloaked stranger seems to rise up from the black shadows. With his night vision, Naruto sees that the man is the same as ever— same ragged cloak and same grin on his face. **

"**Some time indeed, Naruto, good to see you're well." The stranger smiles. "I've come to give you a reward for your impressive performance both during and after the Chuunin Exams."**

"**How kind of you," Naruto murmurs. "I would have been fine with a card, you know?"**

"**Not my style." The stranger whispers with a smirk. "At any rate, passed down form a long line of heroes that the Fates championed—"**

"**Then I must decline." Naruto interrupts with a smirk.**

"Son, don't be rude." Minato mutters absently.

"**What for?" the man blurts out, as if he couldn't think of anything else to say.**

"**Hand-me-downs are not my style at all." Naruto answers cheekily. **

"Ancient power is not your style? What will I teach you? Where will I go wrong?" Kakashi wondered aloud, face in mock mourning.

**The man pauses, as if expecting Naruto to say he had pranked him. "Oh? But look—" he takes from the folds of his cloak a truly beautiful katana— thirty-six inches of an almost white, silvery type of metal with a hardwood handle wrapped in blood-red silk, the guard a deep black metal and a gold dragon pendant swinging from the handle. The sheath was the same blood red as the silk around the handle. Naruto could practically feel power pulse from it. **

"Honey, take back what you said and take the damn gift." Kushina ordered sternly.

"**This is what all the greatest heroes of old took with them. Men truly chosen for a greater destiny." The stranger said in a wheedling tone, as if coaxing him to buy it for what was supposedly a fantastic price.**

"**Oh it looks the part, no doubt. However, I'm not like those other heroes and I have no intention of being so— besides I'm a fox person myself, though nothing against dragons mind you. Second, I am not made for a katana, I'm lucky enough to have gotten away with my axes, seeing as I don't use traditional sword styles for them." Naruto demurred, gently yet pointedly pushing the katana away.**

"Eh? But I'm awesome with katana! Minato, this is your entire fault!" Kushina accuses, rounding on her surprised boyfriend.

"Hey, I'm no natural and I'm definitely nowhere near as good as you— but even I'm proficient with the blade. If he doesn't want to be just proficient, that's all him!" Minato defended himself.

**The man's mouth is a straight line, not even a quirk of humor at the corners. It's only now that Naruto wonders if perhaps he couldn't have been a bit more tactful— there was never any sense in offending a Kami or any deity really. He was about to apologize, when the man suddenly slapped a hand to his mouth to muffle laughter.**

Rin sighed with relief. "Good, Naru-chan won't be cursed for eternity or something."

"**Oh, you are funny," the stranger chuckled. "Countless ages the greatest men alive were honored to carry this sword— but you forego it in the name of originality! Ha! Well, you certainly wouldn't be Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's 'Number One Unpredictable Ninja' if such a thing didn't happen. Besides, you are right. Sometimes those heroes would tote this about and stubbornly refuse any other weapon simply because this looked cooler. And you know, some of them weren't even good with blades but they still swung it around like a mace or something! It's good to see you've a sensible head on your shoulder Naruto. Very well then . . . let me think on this, and then I'll be back with a new gift!" The man chirped, looking very eager. **

**Inwardly though, he was proud of Naruto. **_**He knew full well his weaknesses, and bypassed greed and naivety with sense and dignity. Besides, this blade comes with its own backstory and requirements. This katana comes hand-in-hand with a dragon summoning contract— and those overgrown lizards are quite territorial, he wouldn't have been able to keep his Toad contract with them. But more than that . . . he was right. The katana wouldn't have suited him. Oh, it's been so long since the forge has had a challenge! Mistress knows that they'll be quite enthusiastic about this. Heh. **_

"It almost seemed like Naruto passed some kind of test." Minato mused, hand cupping his chin.

"What the stranger says makes sense, but . . . man! That would have been cool." Kushina sighed in slight longing.

"**I'm glad you weren't offended stranger." Naruto chuckled, rocking back on his heels.**

"**Heh. I like you Naruto. You're an interesting kid . . . it'll be interesting to see what kind of hero you turn out to be. Until next time, Naruto. Goodnight, Kuroshio-chan."**

**Surprised, Naruto turned to look at the still form of a seemingly sleeping Katsu, where her drowsy voice floated up from. "Goodnight, sir."**

**Then Naruto and Katsu were left the only ones still awake. Shaking his head at the strange happenings in his life, Naruto tiptoed back to his sleeping spot and lay down carefully. "What did you wake up for?" Naruto whispered to Katsu.**

"**Oh . . . suddenly I didn't feel as warm." Katsu answered, and Naruto grinned at her mocking smile. **

"**Go back to sleep." She whispered. A breathy laugh under his breath, Naruto did as told. Once he heard her rhythmic breaths, and knew Katsu was asleep, so did he fall into slumber.**

Cue the adoring coos and awes from the females, which the men suffered with small smiles and eye rolls.

**The next day they woke up at the peak of dawn, and Jiraiya towed the two lightly drowsy kids off onto the road. Naruto kept on trying to bust the rubber ball, with no success much to his frustration, while Katsu continued to study the scroll given to her, and question Jiraiya on it.**

**Naruto, in the back of his mind, registered Jiraiya explaining to Katsu that you could, in theory, cancel out the growth of her hair during the jutsu but he doubted it would have the same results. Suddenly, he remembered his conversation with the Kyuubi, about training to use its chakra.**

"**Jiraiya." The man in question broke off his debate with Katsu to look at his godson, nodding in recognition of the call.**

"**The Kyuubi says he will train me in using his chakra . . . specifically, I'll be learning to master each tail." Naruto enlightens the man, and Jiraiya's eyebrows rise. **

"**He'll train you to master the tails?" Jiraiya echoed for clarification, and Naruto nodded. He furrowed his brows in thought, wondering if perhaps he should nip this in the bud for fear of the fox trying to trick Naruto— but then he thought about it again. Remembered how defensive Naruto was when he had initially introduced the idea of trying to "control" the fox's chakra, and how Naruto was sure the fox could do a better job of doing such a thing anyway. **_**Hell, just another gamble, like my life hasn't had a fair few of those before, **_**Jiraiya thought to himself with a snort.**

"I'd take offense with you gambling on the kid's life, but you are right in this instance." Kakashi allowed with a smirk.

"Glad to have your approval." Jiraiya said with sarcasm.

"**Alright, kid, though I do suggest waiting till we find Tsunade to start. Kami knows we'll be there for some time before Tsunade can be convinced to come back to Konoha." Jiraiya muses to himself with the last part, chuckling. **

**Naruto smiles, happy that Jiraiya wouldn't give him any trouble over this, and with new energy returns to the damn rubber ball that **_**dared to mock him by not bursting! **_**It didn't help that he had to stop every so often to deal with the weird tremble his hands had started to show after his training. **

"Overuse of chakra?" Rin diagnosed roughly.

"Ah, yeah . . . that's normal, really." Minato said sheepishly.

**They stopped for the night again at another town— though not before Katsu drug Naruto to the cutest shop she spotted with eagle eyes, and got a new sleeveless turtleneck pale yellow and periwinkle jumpsuit— and Jiraiya and Naruto arguing about who would pay for the rooms ("Just how big a cheap bastard can you be, Ero-sennin?!" Naruto hollered at the man, who merely bonked him on the head and told him to shut up, sighing as he pulled out his own checkbook). However, on the Toad Sage's usual bar rounds was where Jiraiya was finally able to pinpoint where Tsunade would be.**

"Jiraiya! I can't believe you are making children pay for you, bastard!" Kushina growled.

"Oi oi, stow the violence!" Jiraiya squawked.

"**So she was here?" Katsu asked, legs swinging in the air from her stomach-down position on the futon. **

"**No, rather I was able to find out exactly what big thing was going down in exactly which border town. It seems that Tanzaku is having a big festival . . . and Tanzaku is already quite the tourist trap with its hot springs, theatres, the festival is also a big thing in Fire Country . . . oh, and the casinos, as well . . ."**

"**Of course, casinos." Naruto chuckled in the same position as Katsu but with his hands buried under his pillows. No matter how many times he told Katsu the tremble in his hands would go away, she just got too freaked whenever she looked at it, so he had to hide it away. They slept peacefully now, certain that they had Tsunade pinned down.**

**Which was why Naruto was rather confused, and a little irritated, when Jiraiya went even slower than before.**

"**Hey, uh . . . maybe I'm missing something here Ero-sennin. Shouldn't we hurry and catch up to her in Tanzaku?" Naruto broke the silence of the mid-morning trek. Jiraiya turned around and grinned at Naruto, wagging a finger at the boy.**

"**If we do that, Tsunade will know for sure we're there for her and she'll bolt. We can't spook her just yet . . . so we'll get there a couple days after her and it'll just seem like we happened to run into each other. See?" Jiraiya elucidated for the two kids. **

"Shit, what am I, a damn rabbit or something?" Tsunade scoffed.

"**What is she, a deer? This skittish behavior doesn't really seem to fit." Katsu giggled, skipping along the side of the road.**

"**Yeah, I guess . . . but it's a tracking thing." Jiraiya agreed. "Naruto, any progress?"**

"**Oh, totally! I'm pretty sure I've destroyed **_**all**_** feeling in the palm of my right hand, but it's going to take a little longer to completely destroy the whole entire hand." Naruto chirped out in a perky tone of voice that clashed comically with his deadpan expression.**

"**You're hilarious," Jiraiya deadpanned right back. "Seriously, what's taking so long kid?"**

"**Just leave me alone, old man, I'm trying here! Kami, you old folks are just so impatient." Naruto grumbled, glaring daggers at the rubber toy in his hand.**

"**I'm not getting any younger brat, so before I meet my maker please." Jiraiya jeered.**

**They stopped in several towns before reaching Tanzaku. Katsu got many more outfits (and Naruto was seriously starting to get concerned over his wallet, she wasn't picking up cheap threads that was for sure) — and Naruto and Jiraiya argued over who'd pay for everything a lot more:**

"Heh, did you think her compliance wouldn't come at a price, my foolish son?" Minato chuckled, holding Kushina's hands so she couldn't hit him for his impertinence.

"Jiraiya, why are you tormenting that child?" Tsunade sighed.

"**How do you sleep at night?!" Naruto growled at him murderously, throwing money for their bill on the table of the tavern they were eating at after he'd gotten tired of them being the spectacle of the evening.**

"**Like a baby, all sound and sweet." Jiraiya shot back with an all-too smug look on his face, taking a pointed bite of sushi and chewing in an exaggerated fashion. Katsu muffled her laughter as best as she could by shoveling as much salad in her mouth as she could fit.**

**It was several days later when Naruto finally caved and decided to just go for it. "Hey . . . . Ero-sennin?"**

"**I'm pretty sure I told you to quit it with that name kid." Jiraiya grumbled back.**

"**I'm pretty sure I stopped listening after the fifteenth time, but hey— listen, I got a question." Naruto insisted.**

"**Shoot." Jiraiya said with a shrug, turning to look at the boy and walk backwards.**

"**What's . . . what is the culmination of these steps? What am I supposed to achieve?" Naruto asked, big oceanic eyes blinking up at the older man.**

"It's always easier to learn a jutsu when you see what it's supposed to be, in my experience." Kushina admitted with a laugh.

"Me too." Rin and Obito voiced.

"**I was wondering when you'd ask that," Jiraiya chuckled with an impish grin. "Okay . . . let's go to that tree over there!" He led the two kids to a sizable, sturdy tree on the side of the road. He stopped in front of it, and the pair stopped behind him.**

"**Naruto, watch my hand alright?" He requested, left hand held out palm up. As the two amazed children watched, chakra swirled and thickened, forming a swirling, spiraling sphere and they fancied they could feel the slightest sensation of wind coming from the spinning, visible ball of chakra. Jiraiya's hand reared back, and then with great force he thrust it into the tree's trunk. When his hand came back, he jutsu eliminated, Naruto was strangely disappointed to see only a small, if somewhat deep gash in the tree.**

"Don't be hasty now." Minato advised with a grin.

**Jiraiya, seeing the boy's thoughts— in those rare instances— written on his face, smirked and pointed to the tree. "Look behind it." He suggested with a smile.**

**Naruto and Katsu moved around to view the back of the tree— and gasped at the sight. The back of the tree seemed to have exploded. "My, my, my . . . how impressive, Jiraiya." Naruto praised, turning impressed starry-eyes to the man.**

**Jiraiya laughed, shaking his head. "What are you looking at me with such amazement for? I'm not the one who made it you know?"**

"**Who did?" Katsu piped up.**

**Jiraiya grinned wickedly. "The Fourth Hokage, of course."**

**Naruto gaped, and Katsu clapped her hands delightedly. "Tou-chan, eh . . . ? Che, why am I so surprised? Tou-chan was pretty amazing after all." Naruto muttered more to himself than anything, but Jiraiya chuckled and went on.**

"**Pretty amazing doesn't cover it. Yet, there is something I'll say about this . . . it took him three years to create this. I wonder how quickly you can master this kid?" Jiraiya challenged.**

**Naruto grinned. "In no time at all, Ero-sennin." With renewed vigor, he went at the rubber ball.**

_**Three years? Well, it's another matter entirely to create a jutsu . . . and now that I've seen it in action. It takes more than shaping chakra to get it to have such a devastating effect. **_**Naruto noted, concentrating on the rubber ball.**

**He furrowed his brows as he thought a bit more. He was close, he could feel it . . . there was just a piece he needed to connect from the visual to his theories. **_**As I thought, I have to change the chakra, but perhaps that line of thinking made it more difficult for me. There's a definite power! Which means, the chakra needs to be thicker, no— denser. **_**Decided, Naruto set to work on this. For hours he worked on it, despite growing discomfort in his hands he worked tirelessly at it. **

**On the fifth hour, just as they walked into the last town of the night, Naruto popped the rubber ball. **

"Hooray, Naru-chan!" Kushina and Minato cheered, throwing up their hands.

"**Jiraiya!" Naruto crowed, bouncing up to the man. "Look, **_**look**_**! I did it!" **

**Jiraiya laughed, ruffling Naruto's hair. "And so you did! Okay, then tomorrow we can start on the third step."**

"**Eh? But I was hoping to—" Naruto started to complain but Jiraiya stopped him.**

"**You wanted to try it on different hands and in sequence I know. However, I think we can just leave it at that, once you can do a rasengan one-handed in one hand— why, doing it in the other will be second nature, I guarantee it." Jiraiya assured.**

"**How do you know?" Naruto asked.**

"**Because I did the same thing when I was learning the ransengan. The difference? It took me a fair few months to learn this." Jiraiya confided with a wink, and with that said he ushered the kids into the inn and into their rented room for the night.**

"Who knew Jiraiya could be so sweet?" Kushina said in a half mocking, half sincere tone of voice that made Jiraiya snort.

"Eh, he's definitely trying to take our places Kakashi-kun . . . we should jump him after this." Minato told the younger silver-head boy, who nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

**The next day, they reached Tanzaku. **

"**Okay, festival is all week— but no slacking off on your training!" Jiraiya warned them. "I'll just be milling around and—" he stopped when suddenly an influx of people started running in the opposite direction of where they were facing.**

"What did you do now Tsunade?" Kushina sighed, giving the older woman a 'really?' look. Tsunade's gaping expressions made them all laugh, and the woman just huffed and turned away.

"**Well— let's go!" Katsu urged them with a grin, already springing off to where the commotion was. **

"I thought you were a coward?" Rin asked slyly.

"**Wait, Katsu!" Naruto called, running after her. With a growl, Jiraiya overtook the two kids and the group ran to the castle that sat atop a hill, where they were met with a scene of destruction. Walls were crumbled to dust and debris, holes and gashes in the ground leading the three to believe either someone was murdered or there was a massive battle.**

"**Well, looks like our snake friend met up with Tsunade." Jiraiya surmised, looking around at the destruction.**

"**Orochimaru?" Naruto muttered, looking around as well. "So shouldn't we get to Tsunade now, tell her not to listen to a damn thing that bastard says?"**

"**Only if you want to become a smear in the ground." Jiraiya sniggered, pointing to the chaos of the castle.**

"**I thought she was a medic?" Katsu asked faintly, looking around with surprise.**

"It's a medic technique . . . sort of. You need the chakra control of a medic, at least." Tsunade explained, shrugging.

"**Yeah, well . . . she had her hobbies." Jiraiya said vaguely. "Let's give her some time to cool off. Naruto, the third step is to combine both steps one and two to create the rasengan. See you kids around!" And then he was gone in a swirl of leaves. Naruto glowered at the spot, before sighing.**

Minato followed suit and glowered at the sheepish looking Jiraiya. "Should have expected that." He grumbled.

"**Should have expected that. Well, hime, shall we—?" **

"**Sorry, Naru but I'm training by myself. Don't want to get distracted after all— bye bye!" Katsu giggled and whirled off, running off to the town again. Naruto gaped at the outright treachery of the people he travelled with, before growling and stomping off to an empty field he saw along the way.**

**Naruto set to work right away with trying to combine the two steps into one big bang . . . and by Kami, it was **_**so damn**_** difficult. The rasengans he was making were flimsy and weak, and he only succeeded in leaving lovely spiral patterns in the bark of the trees he was using to practice. He huffed after his fifth try and decided to give his hands a rest.**

"What's he missing sensei?" Rin asked.

"Oh, you'll see." Minato dodged the question with a wink. Rin looked away, fighting back a blush. Damn her overwhelmingly charming sensei!

"**Just what am I doing wrong?" he wondered. "Either I lose the shape soon after making it, or there isn't enough power. So . . . but damn it all, it hurts like hell!" **

**Naruto growled, looking down at his hands, bruised and shaking. It was kind of hard to concentrate on the steps when his hands were practically—**

"**Wait. That's why?" Naruto realized, and then slapped his forehead. How could he not have noticed it sooner?! "Stupid, stupid . . ." he muttered to himself, lightly thumping his forehead with the heel of his hands. It wasn't that he was doing anything wrong . . . in a way, he mused, he had to get used to doing things right. He had to overcome the pain threshold and grow past it to fully use the rasengan!**

"BINGO!" Minato and Jiraiya shouted, clapping.

"Poor sochi . . . stupid Minato!" Kushina grumbled, glaring at her lover.

"**Then, I can't just keep pushing myself like this, that can be bad if the consequences get serious . . ." Naruto said to himself. He looked up at the sky, surprised to see it was so dark. "Wah! Well, I guess it's time to go and find the others—"**

"**Here we are!" Katsu chirped, hopping alongside Jiraiya as they approached him. Jiraiya grinned, patting Naruto on the head.**

"**Heard your little revelation— good for you, kid! Now, let's go and see Tsunade, eh?" Jiraiya invited, and he guided the kids through town. They passed by many lively places before choosing a brightly-lit, friendly bar. They entered, and almost immediately zeroed in on Tsunade. She wasn't exactly inconspicuous now, was she? With her sat a woman with shoulder length dark hair in a modest dark blue kimono and kitten-heel ninja sandals, holding onto a little pink pig with a necklace of pearls around its neck.**

"Oh, so you're travelling with someone?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well, she sounds familiar . . ." Tsunade recognized, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"**Tsunade!" Jiraiya yelled, as if he was actually shocked at seeing her there.**

**Tsunade's head jerked up, and Naruto could tell by the blush on her cheeks that she was well on her way to wasted. "Jiraiya?!" she shouted, really and truly confused at seeing him there towing a pair of brats on either side. She focused in mainly on the blonde boy at his left, and worked hard to keep the shock off of her face. **_**Well look who grew up . . . **_**she thought, but her eyes remained focused on Jiraiya, who sauntered over without her even giving permission to do so, and sat down. **

"Aw, you recognized Naru-chan!" Kushina cooed.

"**Order up kids, I bet you're hungry." Jiraiya told them, and with a nod they looked at the menu. "How long has it been Tsunade?" he asked, friendly and open. The kids ordered, and there food was brought to them quickly.**

"**Good evening." Katsu greeted the older brunette quietly.**

"**Good evening as well. I am Shizune, you are?" Shizune introduced herself with a soft smile.**

"Little Shizune?!" Tsunade gasped, delighted. "Oh, that's Dan's niece! She was always interested in my medic work whenever I saw her."

"**I'm Kuroshio Katsu, and he's Uzumaki Naruto." Katsu introduced the both of them, Naruto waving from his side.**

"**Let's not play games Jiraiya. Just what do you want?" Tsunade barked, discreetly pressing a hand over where her liver would be, and performing her detoxification jutsu. Now of clear head and sound comprehension, the blush now completely gone from her face, she glared at her old teammate. Jiraiya steeled himself ever so slightly, just as Katsu and Naruto looked up with interest. **

"Sober, drunk . . . the outcome is the same." Obito said carelessly, nudging Kakashi.

The silver-haired boy snickered and said, "Tsunade SMASH!"

"Oh . . . is that so?" Tsunade asked quietly, a sweet smile on her face. Obito and Kakashi shut up immediately, shivering.

"**Alright, let's not play games then . . . Tsunade, you are requested to return to Konoha and become the Fifth Hokage."**

**Tsunde blinks, just staring at Jiraiya, before she barks out a harsh laugh. "Pass. Only idiots become Hokage."**

"Tell me how you really feel." Minato said, glaring at Tsunade, who chuckled sheepishly. "Don't 'tee hee!' me, why do you say that?" he continued.

"Hey, Hokage isn't exactly a job with the best track record. Which of our Hokages actually got to enjoy retirement?" She defended weakly. As fiery as she usually was, even she knew not to diss the mantle of Hokage in front of Minato's face.

"**Ouch." Naruto and Katsu mutter, averting their eyes and shoveling food into their mouth when Jiraiya and Tsunade glance at them. **

"**That's pretty harsh to say hime, especially to me. My greatest student became a Hokage, you know?" Jiraiya reminded her.**

"**Yeah . . . and, uh . . . where is he now?" Tsunade returned, though not as harshly as before. "All I'm saying is the track record for Hokages aren't the greatest, kami even sensei! Old bastard just up and gave his soul away like a fool, when he was just so close to retirement. Hell, he should have been retired." **

"Gave his soul away?" Kushina parroted, looking confused.

"What technique calls for a soul as payment?" Jiraiya asked in confusion.

"**Hey now, tone the disparagement down will you? Some of us still haven't recovered from his death." Naruto spoke up, gesturing to him and Katsu with a pointed stare.**

"**You've taken on two more brats Jiraiya? And here I thought you learned your lesson . . ." Tsunade mumbled, knocking back a shot smoothly.**

"**Well, you know I can't help myself. And it's just the one here," he corrected, ruffling Naruto's sunburst hair. "The other one is the brat's best friend, and she did us a favor so she got dragged along for her troubles."**

"**Well aren't you teaching her anyway?" Tsunade asked.**

"**Not officially, no . . . she's a civilian." Jiraiya explained.**

"**Guilty." Katsu admitted sheepishly under the shocked look of Shizune.**

"**Hmph." Tsunade snorted. "Well you've got my answer Jiraiya, now clear off."**

"**Well hold on, since Rochi-chan is in town I thought we could have a nice team reunion." Jiraiya wheedled.**

**Tsunade glared. "I want nothing to do with Konoha, and anyone affiliated. I will never accept the position of Hokage. Just because sensei stupidly believed I would come back—"**

"You're coming on a bit strong aren't you Tsunade?" Kushina asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well . . . two wars and all the bullshit that comes with it does not help lend a person a sunny disposition." Tsunade admitted with an apologetic tip of her head.

"**Is that a fact?" Naruto chuckled, but really he was angry with the way she spoke about **_**his**_** ojii-san— **_**her**_** sensei. Tsunade glared at him, which quite honestly was a bit hard to do when Kushina's eyes were glittering at her from under the sunny mop of hair.**

"No, it might be my shape, but it's Minato's eyes." Kushina corrected.

"Well in certain lights your eyes look _blue_, so . . ." Tsunade explained.

"**Is there something funny brat?" Tsunade glared at the boy.**

"**You know, Tsunade-hime, in my experience all concrete facts end up being the flimsiest facades." Naruto answered with a charming smile.**

"**What could make me want to come back to Konoha then?" Tsunade asked with a mocking smirk, leaning forward to put her elbows on the table, hands cupping her face. Of course she was unaware of the fact that this pushed her cleavage together.**

"You cradle robber!" Kushina gasped in mock affront, but Tsunade was genuinely horrified at the accusation. She spluttered, waving her hands and attempting to explain.

"Honestly, those have been there for a while, how could you not notice by now?" Jiraiya chuckled.

"I honestly don't think about it." Tsunade confessed, totally embarassed.

**Of course, Naruto was ignoring that with an iron will, steadily focusing on her honey brown eyes. If Jiraiya felt the need to stare, then by all means— he certainly wouldn't begrudge his godfather, oh certainly not . . . **

"My sweet child, you're such a kind boy!" Jiraiya sobbed, fist shaking up to the heavens in victory. Tsunade growled and bashed his skull, making Jiraiya whimper and cradle the agonized cranium.

"My son . . . just what?" Minato couldn't even think of anything to say, just shaking his head in amusement.

"**Protection from money lenders, a stable home, lots of attention and adoration from your many, many fans and admirers," Naruto rattled off the top of his head.**

"**Brat, keep out of this alright? Young brats like you ought to just go off and play, not hang around in bars with lechers." She jerked a thumb to Jiraiya, who snorted.**

"Hey!" Kakashi, Rin, and Obito complained.

"**What I do is my business, and what do you think you know about young people now?" Naruto asked testily. **

"Oooh!" Kakashi, Rin, and Obito intoned lowly, leaning back from the direction Tsunade was in.

"**Naruto, what the hell?" Katsu muttered out the side of her mouth, eyes wide. Juu-sensei would have hit them both over the head with his slipper if he could see them now.**

"**What's that supposed to mean brat?!" Tsunade growled.**

"**What do you think old woman?!" Naruto shot back, and he realized they both had gotten out of their seats to glare at each other.**

"Son, why must you fuck up now? You had so much _life_ ahead of you!" Minato mourned, head hitting the back of the couch.

"**Miserable little punk, how about I teach you a lesson?!" Tsunade growled out.**

"**Ugh, and I thought Orochimaru was the only one who played with little boys. I know your real age, **_**obaa-chan**_**, so I'm afraid I have to decline!" Naruto jeered, and in the corner of his eye he saw Jiraiya nearly choke on his sake as he laughed and inhaled the liquid at the same time.**

"Oh— shit— _BURN!"_ Obito exploded, jumping up from his seat and waving his hands around like they had been burned.

"Why are my sochi and my cousin fighting?" Kushina asked in an exhausted tone. She didn't even bother mentioning the rudeness of her son, since Tsunade seemed all too willing to dish it back in the book. Jiraiya was on the floor, nearly sobbing with laughter.

"**Not interested!" Tsunade hissed coldly, eyes flinty and narrowed, hand now fisted into Naruto's collar. Kushina's son or not, she was so very close to bashing the kid to kingdom come!**

"**Well I know what you are interested in . . . say, Milady, how about a bet?" Naruto prompted impish grin and twinkling blue eyes a sign of clear danger to any who knew him.**

"Clearly it's a trap; no way am I falling for it!" Tsunade snorted.

**Tsunade's interest was sparked. **

"Fuck!" Tsunade cursed, cringing.

**A bet? What could he possibly have to bet? She let him go abruptly, making Naruto fall back clumsily into his seat as she sat down far more gracefully. "What's your wager kid?"**

"**Watch, first." Naruto whispered with a secret smile, hands coming up. His right hand stretched out to the middle of the table, palm up. His left hand hovered over it in a sort of half-clawed shape. His hand started going around and around, faster and faster . . . **

"**Jiraiya, you taught him that?!" Tsunade squawked— outwardly in shock but inwardly very pleased. Though it was flimsy and she could see it wouldn't hold itself for five seconds if that, it was undeniably the rasengan. **

"**As you can see . . ." Naruto began again, once the sphere faded away, collapsing in on itself. "It's unfinished. I bet you it'll take me a week to make a perfect rasengan."**

_**Aw kid, and I like you too . . . but it's a bet I know I can't lose. **_**Tsunade thought to himself. "Seems like a piece of cake . . . what do you get if you win?"**

"**If I win— you come back to Konoha and become the fifth venerable Hokage. If you win, you get every single cent on us and a promise to never bother you again. And my promises are ironclad— I never, ever break them." Naruto vowed, no smile on his deadly serious face. Tsunade knew very well she could trust her word, even without his added incentive— his mother and father were much the same after all.**

**She fought hard to keep a small, wistful smile off of her face. **_**You grew up well, Naruto-chan. Still, there's something about your attitude to Hokage that confuses me . . . **_

"Hey, Tsunade, are you just testing my kid?" Kushina asked the older woman. Tsunade just shrugged, not entirely sure herself. Probably though.

"**Is the position of Hokage so much to you brat?" Tsunade asked. **

"**Not really. I don't care for it— but they want you for it." Naruto answered unflinchingly. **

_**There's something I'm missing here . . . better ask Jiraiya then. **_**Tsunade decided. "Okay brat, you've got a deal. In fact, I'll make the bet sweeter. If you win, I'll give you this." She pulled up the necklace that hung from her neck— a pretty piece of jewelry, Naruto decided, the beautiful blue crystal catching his eye. Still, what was so special about it?**

"You're wagering that necklace?" Jiraiya gasped, wide eyes turning to Tsunade.

"I thought you liked my son." Minato muttered in disapproval. He knew all about the supposed— bullshit— curse on it, but really if she believed it so why was she betting it?

"**Sure, sure." Naruto appeased.**

"**Shizune, we are leaving." Tsunade declared, slapping her money down on the table for her share of the meal, and then striding out of there. Shizune caught up to her after bowing in goodbye to the three.**

"**I hope you know what you're doing Naruto." Jiraiya grumbled.**

**Naruto winked at the older man. "Eh? Isn't this what you brought me for Jiraiya? If you were tou-chan's sensei, she must have known kaa-chan and tou-chan . . . must have known me. Something like that?"**

"Ah," Jiraiya hummed, realizing why he'd brought Naruto at last. "Close, but no cigar."

"**Close, but a small part of it actually." Jiraiya admitted after a surprise pause. **_**After all, how can she resist a kid that looks so much like Nawaki did? **_

"Nawaki?" Tsunade echoed, confused.

"Who's that?" Obito asked.

"My little brother . . . he died in the war. But Naruto doesn't look like—" Tsunade paused as she really thought about it. The determination, the round face, and the big eyes . . . in all actuality, Naruto looked very much like a blonde, blue-eyed version of her beloved little brother.

"You asshole!" Tsunade spat, slapping Jiraiya's arm.

"Not cool Jiraiya." Kushina agreed, shaking her head at the underhanded tactics. And who was he to use her sochi like that?!

"**I hope you realize also that you won't have time to concentrate on seals if you want to master the rasengan in a week." Jiraiya reminded him. From Naruto's growl of "Ah shit!" and his palm hitting his head, Jiraiya assumed Naruto hadn't realized. **

**That night, Jiraiya told them they did, in fact, have two rooms. He showed them the two keys and explained, "This inn has beds. I figure I ought to, for once, show some responsibility."**

"Hmph, you better." Tsunade sniffed.

"**That's really good of you Jiraiya-sama—" Katsu started, reaching for the key to her room before Naruto plucked it away.**

"**Yeah, great— night Jiraiya!" with a shriek from Katsu Naruto stole the key and shut the both of them in their own room. Jiraiya stood outside for a moment, mind blank, before slowly turning around— tears of pride streaming down his face as he thought to himself, **_**Who am I to stop my godson from being a MAN?**_

"Ugh, Naruto . . . you didn't even ask?" Kushina mumbled, face falling into her hands.

"It's your responsibility as his godfather to stop a twelve year-old from 'trying to be a MAN' Jiraiya." Minato pointed out to the man, sarcasm heavy in his voice.

"Like a BOSS." Obito and Kakashi said assuredly, nodding.

**When all was said and done, and the two pre-teens were washed and ready to sleep, Katsu mock glared at Naruto. "You have a nerve, eh?"**

"**But hime . . . you've been busy training and I've been busy too! We didn't play together a lot, and you always scooted away a little when we slept." Naruto whined, stretching out on the bed. Katsu huffed and lightly pushed his leg off of her knees.**

"**When even one part of us connects in our sleep, we roll around and wake up all contorted . . . I doubt Jiraiya-sama would have appreciated waking up to us sprawled all over him." Katsu noted. **

"**Bah!" Naruto snorted, snuggling deeper into the sheets and looping an arm around Katsu's neck. Giggling, the two drifted off to sleep.**

"Aw . . . cute!" Rin and Kushina squealed happily.

**The next morning marked the start of Naruto's training with the Kyuubi's chakra. Katsu was with him, as she was very interested in seeing how he'd do such a thing— while working on her own jutsu, of course. **

**Naruto of course worked on the rasengan for about three hours with fifteen clones before deciding it was enough and focusing on the Kyuubi. With some application of puppy dog eyes and a little convincing sugar sweetness from Katsu, the owner of the inn agreed to let them borrow the seldom used radio for their training each day. The catchy strains of some house song floated around them as they worked in the field.**

"What's house?" Obito asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"It's the kind of music you're likely to hear in clubs or raves, stuff like that." Rin answered without thinking. When she realized what she said, she flinched minutely and peeked up to see all the adults looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"I'd be interested to know how you know all that, Rin-chan." Minato said lightly, though the look in his eyes was anything but.

"_**I wanna know your name,**_**" Naruto sang along. "**_**You just killed me, could you at least do that?" **_

"**Okay . . . how do we do this?" Naruto asked out loud. Katsu wouldn't look at him strange for it, so he felt comfortable doing so when talking to Kyuubi.**

_**I originally wanted you to just tap into the power of my chakra, but I though it over, **_**Kyuubi said, **_**and I think you'll have a better time of connecting with it if you understand it, know its flow. Rather like your water chakra training, remember?**_

"**Yes." Naruto answered slowly. "But isn't that just tapping into it?"**

_**No, there was some meditation as well. But I want you to meditate fully, just like you did to reach the mindscape that first time. Search for your chakra, just as you did in your early Academy days, but this time go even deeper and look for mine. **_**Kyuubi instructed.**

"**Meditation? Ugh," Naruto muttered. No matter how much he'd calmed down from that rambunctious six year-old, sitting still for so damn long never quite sat well with him. But he had to do it. **

"Something you and I share, my love. Don't worry, it won't be quite so bad." Kushina said with a smile.

"**I'll get you some lunch when you come out of it Ru." Katsu promised, and feeling a bit better, Naruto sat down cross-legged to begin.**

**He counted his breaths, concentrating on making each one deep and slow, feeling it all the way into his lungs and then whooshing back out. He read somewhere that making a visual— if not a happy place then some manifestation of what he wished to achieve— helped, and he thought it ought to be of what his chakras would look like. He remembered the pipelines of his original mindscape, and figured that wouldn't be a bad place to start. **

"Well the chakra pathways are somewhat similar to a pipeline system, so it's not a bad concept at all." Tsunade said, nodding in support.

**He searched for the pipes that glowed with a blue light, pulsating wildly and fast— if one listened closely they might here a staccato rhythm like a pumped up heartbeat as the chakra whizzed through the piping system— his chakra. Then he imagined a secondary set of pipes, running alongside— sometimes crossing over, sometimes branching away, but always coming back to the parallel standard— the Kyuubi's chakra. They were thin right now, not that they were new— just that they were unused, for the most part. They throbbed with red heat, glowing crimson and yet not mixing with the blue glow of his chakra pipes. **

"That's a good way of putting it." Kushina considered.

**He searched deep inside, looking for those pipes. He knew very well the feel of his own chakra. It was wild and thrumming with energy, the maelstrom his name signified whirling and storming inside his own body. He bypassed that though— he was looking for something more. He searched deeper, deeper . . . a lick. He could practically taste it— it was hot and it touched him for the briefest moment before sinking down— he reached for it again.**

**He was **_**blinded**_**. **

**Red hot, scorching— roiling— boiling— Kami it was nearly too much and yet it felt **_**so good**_** all at once!**

"This sounds kind of wrong doesn't it?" Obito whispered to his teammates.

"Like something we shouldn't be hearing?" Rin giggled, blushing lightly.

Minato heard them though, and he just chuckled nervously. "If he's this . . . _descriptive_ . . . at just twelve, things are going to get awkward when he's sixteen."

**It was primal and untamed, something no man could control and how dare that conniving bastard of a fox for making him believe he could master **_**this**_**—**

"**NARUTO!" A voice jerked him out of his stupor. He thought he had awoken from his meditation, but no— he was in darkness, no, a room . . . a boiler room? In the middle sat the blinding source of Kyuubi's chakra, beating like an actual heart, trails of its chakra connecting to pipes. Next to him on his haunches sat a significantly smaller Kyuubi, whom he could see eye to eye with. **

"**What the hell was that?" Naruto growled, glaring at Kyuubi.**

"**My mistake," Kyuubi admitted with a heavy sigh. "I didn't think you'd just dive straight in— how'd it feel?"**

"**Like . . . a firestorm . . . or, just a supernova that burst with a promise of . . . something . . ." Naruto struggled to articulate his feelings.**

"**I'm glad." Kyuubi said. When he saw Naruto's puzzled look, he explained further. "When most others feel a, significant amount of a bijuu's chakra, they revile it— they call it evil, cast it aside."**

"It's not that it's evil, then— just overwhelming." Minato theorized. "It's too much, and a normal person wouldn't understand it . . . and humans fear that which they cannot understand."

"When you put it like that . . . it makes me feel like a total dick for thinking bijuu were all evil bastards." Obito said morosely.

"**I wouldn't do that." Naruto whispered.**

**Kyuubi glanced at him, and Naruto fancied he saw a smile flit at the corners of his lips before he spoke. "Naruto . . . do you see this? This is just my chakra alone, the part that isn't mixed in with yours. In time, it will grow smaller as my chakra is incorporated into yours . . . and all I am will become part of you. This is what you must master. Not all of it, not all at once. Just this part for now—" Kyuubi reached out with one clawed hand, and immediately a ribbon of chakra shot out from the main heat source to his hand.**

**Naruto looked at it with interest— that was an easier task, at least.**

**Kyuubi grinned. "Not so bad, eh? You've felt the main source of my chakra . . . but get a feel for just this portion." He stretched his hand out to Naruto, who looked at him for a moment, before his hand lifted and gently stroked along the ribbon. Warmth, heady yet gentle, like sparks from the sun raining down on his skin soothed him like little else could. As gentle as that warmth was though, the chakra thrummed and beat like an ancient war drum underneath his fingers— he quickly pulled his hand back.**

"There's like . . . some definite bromance developing here. I can feel the testosterone fest." Obito muttered, sniffing deeply to prove his point.

"**Kyuubi . . . you're so alive." He murmured, completely fascinated with the rippling ribbon. **

"**When you arise from this meditation, this chakra will be awakened within you. Each day, you shall meditate, pull this chakra, and work on it." Kyuubi told him. Naruto nodded— he closed his eyes— and then he was awake. He felt the difference— a feral edge to his thoughts, a roughness to his voice when he spoke. He glanced at Katsu, and grinned. **

"**I've got work to do hime— so be a love and cheer me on." He purred, rising up. Glancing down at his clawed hands, he flexed them, and then clenched them into a fist. How exactly did he go about mastering a tail? **

_**In this form your strength and speed are increased by a fair amount. You are to learn to control this, until in this form you could pluck a blade of grass without tearing it. **_**Kyuubi said to him.**

"That doesn't sound hard at all!" Obito laughed.

"**Ack! Naruto, the poor tree!" Katsu's voice brought him out of his conversation with Kyuubi to see that the tree he'd been meaning to lean against was slowly being crushed and grinded to sawdust under his hand.**

"**Ah . . . this is going to be difficult." Naruto acknowledged— if even touching the trunk of a tree damn near crushed half the thing, it would certainly take some time.**

_**Oh, and learning to control your temper in this form is going to be a **_**real**_** scream, **_**Kyuubi laughed. Naruto resisted the urge to snarl— **_**Agh, dammit! **_**He cursed when he realized what he had just done. Kyuubi laughed at his plight.**

**That night, when Jiraiya thought the kids were asleep, he went out to find Tsunade and share a drink with his old teammate. What he didn't know was that Naruto followed behind him, far enough that Jiraiya wouldn't sense him unless he was looking for him— still close enough that Naruto could see him.**

_**The perks of a bijuu, eh? **_**Naruto mused. **

**Jiraiya walked on, into the heart of the town where he happened upon a little bar, and on a stool sat Tsunade. He moved next to her, sitting down and ordering some sake.**

"**Nice night, isn't it?" Jiraiya prompted some conversation from the women who seemed content to just ignore him.**

"**Hm." Tsunade mumbled. "Say, Jiraiya . . . what really made you go and seek out Naruto? I thought you were content behind the scenes with him?"**

"**I'd ask how you know that but . . . well, it wasn't that I was looking for him. He caught me, and would not let go. Demanded some training, and you know, he was just such an interesting kid I couldn't help but see where it'd take me." Jiraiya answered. **

"**And where'd it take you?" Tsunade asked.**

"**Haven't gotten there yet— but the ride's been fun so far." Jiraiya said with a grin.**

"**I'm surprised. Thought for sure he'd be a Hokage-in-training, just like his daddy." Tsunade noted with a slight grin.**

"Hmph— not like you care." Minato muttered, a sullen pout on his handsome face.

"Oh, don't be like that Minato." Tsunade fussed, smiling at the man who looked like a sullen teenager.

"**Nah— he says Konoha doesn't deserve his magnificent self as a leader." Jiraiya laughed.**

"**Oh? Too cocky?" Tsunade asked.**

"**No, he's absolutely right. That village is lucky enough he likes it so much." Jiraiya corrected with a grim smile. Tsunade turned to look at him fully, brow furrowed and lips thinned.**

"**What do you mean? The few times I wrote to sensei, he said the kid was fine." Tsunade told Jiraiya.**

"So you were checking in on him?" Kushina mumbled. Not that it did a lot of good though, if she didn't know about everything else . . .

"**Well, he had food and a roof over his head. He had a friend— best friend, only friend— in that little girl you saw with us, and her grandmother became a sort of grandmother figure to him. So, sure— if you had just all that he'd be fine. But when you add in the contempt, the fear . . . the hatred of the village? It sure isn't an even trade." Jiraiya mutters, head tipping back as the burning liquid races down his throat. **

"**So your fool of a student just left him without so much as a by your leave." Tsunade grunted.**

"I knew it. You don't like me, _liar_!" Minato accused the woman.

"Oh stop being such a baby." Tsunade chided, hitting the man lightly with a pillow.

"**No . . . he did say to treat the boy as a hero." Jiraiya defended.**

"Besides, it looks to be true." Tsunade pointed out to a miffed looking Minato.

"**Words— just empty air and it did as much good!" Tsunade scoffed, tipping back another saucer.**

"**Quite enraged on his behalf aren't you?" Jiraiya teased.**

"**Well . . . his mother and I were friends, weren't we? Certainly we were blood related. In a distant sense, he's family." Tsunade mumbled out her excuses.**

"**Family, right. Certainly looks like family." Jiraiya agreed.**

**Tsunade glared at Jiraiya. She knew where he was going with that look comment. "Oh yes, I did in fact notice quite the resemblance between him and Nawaki you manipulative bastard."**

"**Guilty as charged." Jiraiya allowed. "Blasts from the past all around this week, huh?" **

"**Hmph, seems you and Orochimaru are just gunning for my weak spots. Bastard actually had his lackey cut open his hand and I froze." Tsunade grumbled.**

"**Still got that fear huh? Too bad . . . take it as an omen for whatever Orochimaru has offered you." Jiraiya recommended. **

"**How do you know he told me anything?" Tsunade demanded with an affronted expression. Jiraiya couldn't possibly know what was going through her mind now! She knew Orochimaru was a bastard . . . but when he offered to bring back Dan **_**and**_** Nawaki, even she had to stumble a little. **

"That's what he offered you? And you would just take that?" Jiraiya asked critically.

"Hey, I said I was skeptical . . . and look; I even gave you a week in order for me to sort everything out!" Tsunade pointed out, glaring at her teammate.

"**Hime, whatever it was is serious enough for you to give it thought like this. Otherwise you wouldn't be sticking around right?" Jiraiya guessed. Though Tsunade gave no appearance of it, just returned to nursing her sake, he knew very well.**

"**It's none of my business, it might be true." Jiraiya went on, "but I just want to make one thing clear. If you betray Konoha, I'll kill you myself." He pinned her with a dark look, intent clear in his eyes, and Tsunade knew he wasn't joking.**

"Well, I wouldn't expect any less from you." Tsunade sighed, though the others all stiffened I shock. Despite their attitudes toward one another, and their seeming incompatibility, everyone knew the two were very close. So for Jiraiya to say that . . . it was serious indeed.

**She returned his promising glare with a bored look of her own, gently swishing the liquor around in her cup. They had a stare down until— BAM!**

**Tsunade jerked back with a startled gasp when Jiraiya's face crashed into the bar counter in front of her with a nasty sounding smack, courtesy of the tanned hand that pressed firmly against the older man's skull. She looked up the connecting arm to see Naruto grinning evilly. Naruto scrunched up his hand, pulling at Jiraiya's hair, and then pulling the man completely off his bar stool. Tsunade hid her laughter with a cough, turning her face away.**

"You little bastard!" Jiraiya growled, hand subconsciously reaching up for his hair, just wincing at the mere thought.

"Looks like Naru-chan's rushing in to defend Tsunade-sama's honor." Kakashi commented, coughing lightly to mask his chuckles. Obito and the rest, however, had no such sympathy and let their amusement be known freely.

**Jiraiya tumbled to the ground with a thud and a half whine, half growl. "You rotten little brat, what the hell did you do that for?!" he shouted angrily, hand pressed to his face.**

**Naruto snorted, only flicking a glance at Jiraiya before snapping his fingers impatiently at the stunned bartender, who flinched and then jumped at the unspoken command for attention. "Get me your finest bottle of sake—it better have insignia too." Naruto snapped out with quiet authority.**

"Oh-ho, insignia! He's looking for top dollar quality in that little bar?" Tsunade commented, chuckling at the authoritarian streak in him . . . most likely, she thought with a sly glance to Minato, from his paternal side of the family.

"**R-right away, sir!" The bartender stammered, scuttling back to his storage room for the best bottle he could find. **

"**And you, Ero-sennin—" Naruto rounded on the man with a mocking look of disappointment and a wagging finger. "You know better than to talk to a lady that way! Shame on you!"**

"**You little son of a—"**

"**Such language in front of Milady!" Naruto gasped, affronted as he chucked Tsunade's bottle of sake at Jiraiya, who caught it in one hand but was unable to stop it from sloshing over onto his arm. Ignoring the too-audible sound of grinding teeth and muffled curses, Naruto turned to a glaring Tsunade.**

"**My apologies, Tsunade-hime . . . the old sage has been on the mountain far too long it seems. Will you take this small token of my deepest apologies?" Naruto asked, gesturing to the bottle of sake the bartender brought out with a nervous look. **

Kakashi whistled, and Obito and Rin snapped their fingers in time to a rhythm. "Smooth." They crooned, much to the amusement of the others.

**Tsunade looked at the bottle, and her eyes widened in consideration— who knew this little bar would carry such fine store?**

"**Alright, brat, you're forgiven." Tsunade begrudged him, taking the bottle and pouring a little for herself and him. "Since you asked for the finest, I can guess you've had a taste of this yourself." **

"**Indeed . . . this is fine stuff," Naruto licked his lower lip in appreciation of the taste. He grinned at Tsunade. "It'll be good celebration fare for when I win the bet."**

"**Hmph! Getting a little ahead of yourself there brat, you can't even hold the rasengan for five seconds." Tsunade taunted. The cold, mocking look on her face gave birth to a spark of irritation in Naruto, but he suppressed it— mostly.**

"**So nervous you've taken to watching me train, **_**Nade-chan?**_**" Naruto shot back. **

**Tsunade spluttered into her saucer of sake, shocked at the kid's sudden change from formalities, but even more shocked at the nickname. **_**Only Nawaki ever called me that . . . what . . . ?**_

"Is that why no one ever calls you that? I remember the one time I tried and you bonked me on the head hard." Kushina pouted at the women, the phantom pain ghosting over her mind.

"It's too little kiddy, you know? And yes, Nawaki's claim on the nickname might have something to do with it." Tsunade responded, looking away.

"**Brat, there's only one person who ever called me that and he's long dead. **_**Don't. Call. Me. That.**_**" Tsunade snarled, looking as dangerous as anything— her snarl could give a honey bear a fright, he thought to himself with amusement.**

"**Hey, no need for all that!" Naruto laughed. "What's a cute little nickname between friends as good as we're going to be, especially when you come back to Konoha?" Jumping from the stool right after saying that, he dodged her fist. With a smirk, Naruto pulled out a fair few bills and placed them on the bar counter.**

"**This will be for the bottle, and whatever tab Nade-sama over here as accrued." Naruto informed the bartender, who nodded. With a bow of respect to the two sannin, Naruto turned and sauntered out of the bar.**

**Tsunade watched the exit for a moment, before turning back to look at Jiraiya who was grumbling as he reclaimed his seat. She giggled, pouring the expensive sake for her and Jiraiya.**

"You giggle?" Minato asked incredulously.

"Oh, I wanna hear it!" Kushina implored, a teasing glint in her eyes.

"**He's grown up different than expected . . ." Tsunade contemplated. **

"**No— he's just as annoying and brash as his folks. Can't say I didn't expect that." Jiraiya grunted, swigging back the sake, and then pausing to savor the taste in surprise. He swallowed, looking at the bottle with one eyebrow cocked.**

"**Kid's got good taste though." He admitted, holding out the saucer for Tsunade to refill.**

"**Yeah." Tsunade agreed, obliging. **

**After that, for six days Naruto trained near constantly— only stopping to eat the lunches Katsu would run into town for if she was training with him, or she'd stop by and feed him during her runs through the festive, lively town— with the rasengan first, and then the Kyuubi's one tail. The rasengan was coming along much quicker than the tail, but that really wasn't saying much. He'd almost broken Katsu's ribs when he caught her after she stumbled when he was training to control his strength— it was instinctive, as was the hour long self-loathing fest after he heard her shout out in pain from his too-tight hold. **

"It's okay, sweetie, I know she doesn't blame you. And hey, you didn't actually break them!" Kushina pointed out optimistically.

"That makes you feel even worse, actually, you just pointing all that out." Minato said.

**On the sixth day Naruto was panting on the ground, having decided to switch it up— tail training first and then the rasengan. He lay out on the grass and breathed deeply of the sweet grass and fresh breeze. He could now properly hold a rasengan. HA! He told that old hime, he did, and now she'd pay for her quick bet.**

"Well, congratulations Naru-chan." Tsunade clapped, a small smile in place.

"Kami, it took him only two weeks to master it?!" Minato gasped in amazement, pride shining on his face and from his eyes, like cerulean lanterns.

"**Damn . . . too tired to form any chakra." Naruto gasped out, smiling. He shielded his eyes as he looked up at the azure sky, wispy clouds floating past. "I don't really get it . . . maybe it's a Nara thing . . . ?" Naruto muttered to himself, thinking of Shikamaru. **

"**Ru-kun! Look, look what I found!" Katsu's giggling and tinkling voice made Naruto turn his head to see her skipping up to him, two cartons of something— he sniffed, and nearly jumped up in eagerness, but alas his muscles wouldn't have it. **

"**Ramen?! No way I was looking everywhere for a stand!" Naruto shouted, struggling to his elbows, and then sitting up, back propped against the boulder next to him. **

"He found the energy for ramen." Kakashi snorted.

"Aw, she looked hard for that ramen." Rin trilled, blushing at the cuteness.

"**I know, right? Had to look pretty hard, but you've been working pretty hard so~!" Katsu said, passing him his carton with chopsticks and opening hers. They broke open their chopsticks, the succulent smells coming from the take-out boxes bringing their stomachs to a roar.**

"**Itadakimasu!" they shouted out happily together. Naruto nearly moaned out loud from the hot, savory flavors of the noodles soaked for just the right time in the broth. The naruto stood no chance against his teeth as they devoured and crushed everything.**

_**Kami**_** he loved ramen. **

"**Still not better than Ichiraku's though." Naruto muttered. Katsu heard him and snorted in amusement, but nodded her head in agreement.**

"If he's moaning for second-rate ramen . . . what's he do with Ichiraku ramen?" Rin wondered.

"Ugh, don't need to know." Kakashi and Obito muttered with a shudder.

**They ate, not quite savoring it but not shoveling it either. When Naruto had drank the last drop of broth he placed the carton next to him and leaned back on his hands with a luxurious sigh. **

"**Yum, that was good." Katsu hummed happily, placing her carton next to Naruto's. Naruto grinned and rocked forward, catching her arms and crushing her to him in a bear hug.**

"**Waa, hime, you got me ramen and I've been so awful to you!" Naruto whined, snuggling his face against hers.**

"**What are you talking about?!" Katsu cried out, trying to break Naruto's hold on her. Did the boy have no sense— they were in public, how embarrassing! **

"**Even when you cheer me on in training I ignored you, didn't I? Poor hime, were you lonely without Na-Ru-To?" Naruto continued on, falling onto his back and taking her with him. **

"You know . . . it's kind of weird to read aloud— no, it's just plain weird to read about my son flirting." Kushina noted with a wry expression.

"Well, at the moment he's just someone who we know will be your son, but isn't yet? So, you can think of it like that?" Rin suggested.

"Or give those parts over for one of us not related to him to read." Kakashi added.

"Yeah . . . I think I'll be doing that from now on!" Kushina laughed.

"**Damn it— stop—Naru, ha!" Katsu struggled to control her laughter as Naruto would occasionally poke at her ticklish spots. Naruto stopped, but only because he sensed someone walking towards them. He dropped his hands and tilted his head back to see Shizune walk up towards them, TonTon with her as always. Shizune looked rather bemused to see Katsu practically sitting on top of Naruto, but she made no comment on it.**

"**Naruto-kun, Katsu-chan how are you two?" Shizune greeted with a smile.**

"**Fine, Shizune nee-chan, and yourself?" Naruto replied with a polite smile.**

"**Well, thank you. Naruto-kun, I was hoping to talk to you about the bet you made with Tsunade." Shizune requested.**

**Katsu moved to her own seat and Naruto sat up, turning to face Shizune. "Yes?" he prompted.**

"**Naruto, please drop the bet with Tsunade-sama," Shizune implored. "If not for her sake, at least for your own life. You see, the necklace Tsunade-sama offered up for the bet . . . it's cursed."**

"**Cursed you say? That pretty little thing? Heh . . . figures she'd try to get back at me through a cursed necklace. So what's the curse exactly?" Naruto inquired, looking up at Shizune.**

"**Whoever receives the necklace dies the very next day." Shizune informed them solemnly.**

"**Shizune nee-chan . . . forgive me if I sound skeptical but surely you see this is a little hard to believe, in light of the circumstances?" Katsu examined, a light frown on her face. **

**Shizune looked earnest as she cried out, "But it's true! Tsunade-sama's own little brother and her lover both died after receiving the necklace. Please, you should give up the bet."**

"**Ah, now I can't do that!" Naruto protested with a grin. "I never give up, it's just not my policy. You'll see, I've completed the rasengan, but I'm in no shape to shape chakra. So it'll have to be tomorrow I show her."**

**Shizune looked like she wanted to protest, but then she just heaved a big sigh. "Very well then, if you are so set on it. Well, Tsunade-sama can't be found right now anyway, so it will be better tomorrow. What will you do now?" she asked.**

**Katsu grinned. "I don't know about this guy . . . I think he better head to the hotel and sleep. Hey, nee-chan, want to go and eat ice cream with me?"**

"**Sure, at that little ice cream parlour in the west end?" Shizune asked, and Katsu nodded eagerly.**

"**Whoa, wait a minute you are not leaving me!" Naruto protested, pushing himself up on shaky legs. Katsu laughed and scurried under his arm, hefting some of his weight. Shizune came up to his other side after putting TonTon down and assisted him as well, and so the chatting, amiable trio headed off for ice cream.**

**After a good nights' rest, Naruto was up and fully functional. He changed into his gear and was preparing to head out, Katsu having decided to spend one last day at the hot springs, when Shizune burst into their room, panting and frantic looking. **

"**Where is Jiraiya-sama?!" she asked, sounding extremely harried. **

"**Beats me . . . why, what's happened?" Naruto asked.**

"**Orochimaru offered Tsunade-sama something in return for use of his arms. I fear she's gone to accept the offer, Naruto we must hurry and stop her!" Shizune explained in a rush as she moved to the window. **

"You don't . . . hime, did you accept?" Jiraiya stuttered out in the silence, imploring dark eyes turned to Tsunade. Tsunade glared stonily at him, and with each passing minute his heart sank.

Tsunade broke her silence and laughed, surprising the others. "Idiot! No matter what, even future me would regret making such a choice!"

**Just before she touched the window her head jerked back on instinct— just in time too, as a kunai whizzed past a hairs breadth from her face and jammed into the window frame.**

**Heads snapped to the side, and they were shocked to see a panting, ill-looking Jiraiya gripping onto the door frame like it was the only thing holding him up.**

"**Shit, Ero-sennin, who the hell got the jump on you?" Naruto asked incredulously as he watched Jiraiya walk carefully— yet heavily, a little clumsily— into the room.**

"**Damn Tsunade . . . drugged my drink. The effects will wear off soon, but not soon enough for the fight . . . Naruto, can I count on you to help me out with this?" Jiraiya ground out, looking down at the blonde.**

"What is it with you and drugging me?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade with a discontented look.

"That's what she said!" Obito laughed.

"**Like there was any other choice!" Naruto grinned. He turned to Katsu, a dark glare pinning her to the bed. "You— stay here."**

"**Please, I wouldn't even dream of trying to peek." Katsu snorted, settling down easily. Hell, Itachi was one thing, but that creeper snake sannin? Nope— not today.**

"**Let's go!" Shizune said as she jumped out the window. Naruto and Jiraiya followed suit, keeping up easily with the woman. As they sped through the town they never noticed a shadow flit past them— a bespectacled shadow who hurried to report their arrival to his master. **

"A follower of Orochimaru's?" Jiraiya guessed.

"**There, look!" Naruto pointed to a faint dust cloud— faint to their eyes, but he could see the traces of debris flying in the air, could hear the dim, small thunderous noises of something smashing. They followed his lead, and arrived at an open field. They weren't there, but the destruction made it clear to a grinning Jiraiya— whatever Orochimaru had offered Tsunade, she had refused. **

"See? I just went there to kill him." Tsunade declared smugly, grinning at the sheepish yet relieved expressions of the others.

**They ran on a little further and arrived at the fight. Naruto wasn't surprised to see Orochimaru and Tsunade there, but he was definitely shocked to see Kabuto.**

"From the Chuunin Exams!" Kushina exclaimed, remembering mention of him from those chapters.

"So Naruto and that Shikamaru boy were right to be suspicious of him . . . good instincts." Jiraiya commented, Minato nodding in agreement.

"**Kabuto! So you're one of Orochimaru's lackeys, huh?" Naruto called out, waving mockingly at the bespectacled leaf-traitor. **

"**Indeed, Naruto-kun. You don't look all that shocked though— then again I noticed you and the Nara giving me suspicious glances in the Chuunin Exam." Kabuto admitted with a chuckle. **

"**Enough of this!" Tsunade spat, flying forward to smash Kabuto's face in. Kabuto smirked, and with his scalpel in hand, he sliced a large cut across his palm, right in front of Tsunade's face. The woman automatically froze— eyes wide, entire body trembling minutely. **

"AW!" The room groaned.

"So you have a fear of blood?" Obito asked, confused beyond all belief. Tsunade nodded, shamefacedly.

"I know it's rather unorthodox for a medic nin . . . it started after the death of Nawaki, because I was just so traumatized. I managed to control it though, left my freak outs for when I was off the field. But after Dan died, it got worse . . ." She told them, voice dipping into a downtrodden quiet.

"**Nade?" Naruto questioned, and then sucked in a breath when Kabuto landed a vicious hit to Tsunade's jaw, the woman careening back yet still on her feet. **

"**Damn . . . it's her Hemophobia." Jiraiya grunted. "Naruto, Shizune, you go help her— I've got Orochimaru." He ordered them, striding forward as best as he was able to meet the snake face on.**

"**Pathetic. What kind of medic-nin is afraid of blood?" Kabuto sneered, punching Tsuande in the face. Despite the shock of the pain, Tsunade just could not move, and so Kabuto had free reign to beat her. **

"You just going to let that punk whale on you?!" Kushina demanded.

"**Tsunade-sama!" Shizune shouted, intercepting a punch meant for the older blonde's midsection, and engaging Kabuto in a fight. While they fought, Naruto crouched down next to the still trembling, shell shocked Tsuande. **

"**Much as I hate to agree with that bastard— this is indeed a pathetic sight. A princess must never show her enemies her fear!" Naruto scolded, looking at Tsunade. Sighing when she wouldn't respond, he rose up and planted himself firmly in front of Tsunade, ready to defend the near-comatose woman should Kabuto slip past Shizune. But Kabuto had gone back to his master's side to aid the man in fighting Jiraiya. It was then Naruto noticed something: Orochimaru wasn't moving his arms.**

"**What the hell?" Naruto muttered. Kabuto was the one making the hand seals for Orochimaru, and with a flourish of smoke, a large snake appeared, Orochimaru standing on him. **

"**Orochimaru! You dare to call me?! I better have my hundred sacrifices!" The snake hissed.**

"Sacrifices? Like, of rabbits or something?" Obito asked.

"Try human sacrifices." Tsunade corrected with a grimace, remembering the rather dour Snake Boss summon.

**Orochimaru chuckled. "Of course Manda, I just thought you'd like some toad meat today." Manda, the now introduced large purple snake with the cold eyes, glanced at Jiraiya.**

**Jiraiya cursed. His chakra control was pretty bad, but maybe his system had cleared enough to . . . he flew through the hand seal. "Summoning Jutsu!" he shouted, slamming his palms to the ground.**

**. . . And out came Gamakichi.**

"Sensei . . . I believed in you." Minato whispered lowly, shaking his head as he stared dead at the man.

"Well, that's embarrassing." Jiraiya muttered, hand dragging over his face.

"**Hey, what the hell are you playing at?!" Gamakichi squeaked when he caught sight of the Boss snake summon. Jiraiya didn't answer, both palms covering his face as he shook his head.**

**Orochimaru threw his head back as he laughed. "HA! Once a fool, always a fool Jiraiya!" **

"**Agh, damn . . ." Jiraiya growled, waving away Gamakichi as he glared at Orochimaru, and the little toad didn't hesitate to go back home.**

**Naruto smirked. "Summoning Jutsu!" he shouted, catching the attention of the two men, and with a large flourish of smoke, arrived Gamabunta. **

"Yes! Family loyalty to the rescue!" Jiraiya hissed.

"**Well, well, well . . . if it isn't old Manda." Gamabunta chuckled. "What do you need me for now kid?"**

"**Gamabunta-sama, Jiraiya needs you now, not me." Naruto answered. Jiraiya jumped atop Gamabunta's leg and ran up to the toad's head. **

"**Damned disgusting toad!" Manda spat, glaring daggers at Gamabunta.**

**Gamabunta snorted. "I'm sure the wife will love a snakeskin wallet!" the two summons clashed immediately, their summoners throwing jutsu upon jutsu atop their head. **

**With his master taken care of, Kabuto tried again to go for Tsunade, only to be accosted by Shizune. Shizune fought hard against Kabuto, but as the fight continued she realized that she was outclassed— and it hit home even more so when Kabuto sunk into the ground then reappeared behind her and cut her Achilles tendons. With a cry of pain Shizune went down, clutching at her heels. Kabuto bypassed her and then went straight for Tsunade.**

"**Dammit, I have to . . . !" Shizune grunted as she struggled to stay up and conscious, before she dropped, unconscious. **

"Eh?! Now it's just Naru-chan to hold him off." Kushina worried.

"**Step aside Naruto-kun and I won't kill you!" Kabuto warned the boy smugly, rushing the blonde. Naruto let loose a bark of laughter as he spun his daggers and met him blade for blade. Kabuto's scalpels were very small and light, but the curves in them made for good dagger holds so that he could knock them away from him. **

"**Filthy commoners like you aren't allowed to touch royalty. Kneel down swine!" Naruto snarled, lashing out at Kabuto with vigor.**

"Ugh, it's your entire fault he got into the whole hime thing, damn it!" Tsunade whined, hitting Jiraiya.

"What?" he whined. "It's cute, really!"

**Kabuto hissed, angered that some little genin was actually holding his own— he rarely had to get serious, but if this little brat wanted to take it that far then he was all for it!**

**Kabuto and Naruto clashed again and again, until Kabuto managed to dig his scalpel into Naruto's shoulder, a deep gash spraying blood. Naruto hissed between his teeth, other hand scrabbling to pull at Kabuto, but Kabuto took Naruto's momentary shock from the pain and pushed past him intent on stabbing Tsunade. He was nearly upon the woman, and drew his arm back to stab a kunai he replaced his right scalpel with deep into Tsunade, when a blur of black and orange suddenly shot in front of him, and caught the kunai.**

_**No . . . **_**Kabuto corrected himself, eyes widening as he took in the situation. **_**He was fast enough to get in front of me, but not fast enough to block the kunai. He let it go through his hand just to stop it!**_

"Argh, that has to hurt!" Obito hissed, clutching his own hand at the imagined pain he was sure Naruto was feeling.

"Damn, Tsunade, wake the hell up!" Kushina bit out harshly, glaring at the wilting older woman. If she could just get over her damn fear, her son wouldn't have to go to such lengths!

**Naruto stood in front of Tsunade, blue eyes livid and glowing with murderous intent enough to make Kabuto sweat a little. His hand was in front of him, Kabuto's kunai having gone straight through it, but Naruto gripped it and managed to stop Kabuto from harming Tsunade. Naruto didn't even care about the pain of having his hand impaled upon a kunai— it would be nothing compared to the pain he was about to put Kabuto through. Unbeknownst to the silver-haired boy, his other hand was moved a little away from his body and without anyone noticing, chakra started to swirl in his hands.**

"**I'm not letting you near her." Naruto promised Kabuto.**

"Aww!" The room chorused.

"Naru-chan is _so_ cute!" Tsunade laughed.

"**Why are you fighting for her? She's just lying there, if she's no good even as a medic she has no purpose and therefore no reason to live." Kabuto argued, the muscles in his arm straining as he tried to get back his kunai that Naruto refused to let go of.**

"**Because I hate bullies!" Naruto joked, his fist shooting forward straight into Kabuto's nose and sending the older boy's head snapping back. Naruto released the kunai then, and Kabuto stumbled back, hand rising to fix his broken nose.**

"**What are you doing . . ." Tsuande's voice surprised Naruto and made him look back. She just stared at him with the same wide, fearful eyes as if she was still looking at fresh blood.**

**Naruto shrugged. "Eh, doing what I want . . ."**

"**Don't be stupid, go . . ."**

"**Can't do that."**

"**Just go! You don't need to be hurt anymore!" Tsunade barked, eyes focusing enough to give him a desperate look.**

**Naruto just grinned. "Watch this Nade!"**

**Tsunade flinched in shock. **_**Nawaki always said that to her when he had something he wanted to show her . . . **_

**Kabuto leaped forward, face twisted in a snarl at the audacious little brat who was making a fool of him. Too late, far too late into the jump, he noticed the swirling blue mass of condensed chakra shaped into a spear. He could only watch horrified as Naruto drove it into his stomach with a roar of, "Rasengan!"**

"Yeah!" Minato, Jiraiya, and Tsunade holler.

**Kabuto flew back from the powerful attack, blood flying out of his mouth. He flew back so far he hit an outcrop of rocks, smashing into them and breaking more than a few bones to go along with his torn and near liquefied internal organs. He coughed, the pain nearly overpowering. His eyes widened in shock— he couldn't heal these as fast as usual! Just how strong was that jutsu?**

**On the other side of the field, Naruto turned back to Tsunade. "Ha! Did you see that?! Did you see, it was a Rasen—" his own blood spurting out of his mouth cut him off. He looked down in shock at the blood that dripped past his mouth; an astonishing amount pushing passed clamped lips and gritted teeth. Tsunade jerked in horror. Had Kabuto managed to hit him just before the Rasengan hit?!**

"Kushina, calm down . . . you're going to tear the book, darling." Minato implored, his hands coming over hers to ease her grip on the book.

"**Naruto?!" she hissed. Naruto turned wide, confused eyes to her before he suddenly collapsed. Tsunade gasped— **_**oh kami, oh kami there was so much blood . . . **_**Gulping, she crawled over to the still form, Naruto's eyes shut . . . he looked far too peaceful, like he was . . .**

"**No!" Tsunade gasped, shooting forward and checking his pulse. Panicking when she could feel no heartbeat, she performed a scan. **_**Dammit, his arteries were cut! **_

**But she knew what to do. She could save him— she **_**had**_** to save him! "Naruto, come on . . . don't go!" she muttered, hands glowing green and hovering over his heart. **

**But Naruto couldn't hear her. He was having trouble comprehending what was going on in his own **_**mindscape**_**, never mind the outside world. He looked around in shock at the crumbling walls, the tumbling stalagmites and trembling waters of the cave. The Kyuubi paced franticly in front of him, snarling and howling in anger.**

"**You fool! You stubborn fool!" Kyuubi snarled, turning on Naruto.**

"**What? What happened?" Naruto asked quietly. He felt so tired . . .**

"**That bastard hit your heart before you managed to blast him with the rasengan!" Kyuubi hissed, tails whipping around in agitation as the fox eyed the crumbling mindscape.**

"**Kyuubi I . . ." Naruto trailed off. What was he going to say? He glanced down when he heard a sound. The ground beneath his feet was crumbling, but he wasn't as alarmed as he supposed he ought to be. A gasp escaped his lips when the ground suddenly rushed out from under his feet.**

"**Kyuubi!" Naruto shouted, reaching for the clawed hand Kyuubi was attempting to grab him with.**

"**No!" Kyuubi howled when he couldn't reach, and Naruto spiraled down into darkness. It was oppressive, and he couldn't move . . . he was scared! But then, after a while, the darkness lightened. He thought perhaps the Kyuubi had gotten him . . . no . . . that voice was decidedly female . . . and frantic.**

" **. . . to!"**

"**Na . . . to!" Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion. Who . . . ?**

"**Naruto!" Ah. It was Tsunade. Tsunade . . . ? Ah! The fight! Kabuto . . . Shizune . . . Tsunade! Wasn't she afraid of blood? He was sure he coughed up a gallon of it though. He felt something hit his forehead . . . something wet.**

**Blue eyes squinted open, and the first thing he saw was a swinging crystal dangling above him. Without much though, his hand lifted and he clutched at the crystal. Whatever the crystal was attached to twitched, and he struggled to open his eyes wider. He saw Tsunade staring at him with a mixture of surprise and relief, tears coating the bottom lashes o her eyes. **_**That must have been what I felt earlier**_** . . . he thought. **

**He managed a weak grin. "I win." **

**Tsunade sniffled, but gave him a shaky smile. "Lucky little brat." **

Kushina blew out a large breath, and turned to Tsunade with a shaky smile. "Oh, I'm so relieved. Tsunade, thank you!"

"Naru-chan wouldn't have been in that situation if not for me." Tsunade argued, shaking her head with a small smile.

**Orochimaru watched this from the corner of his eye, cursing the brat for all he was worth. "That Kyuubi brat you've taken on is quite good, eh Jiraiya?" **

_**Too good . . . he needs to be taken care of, now. **_**Orochimaru thought.**

"**Heh, seems my apprentice beat yours by a mile. Sucker." Jiraiya sneered, grinning as he readied himself for another attack. What he did not expect was for Manda to gun for them while Orochimaru jumped off, running for Tsunade and Jiraiya.**

"**Hime, heads up!" Jiraiya shouted, concentrating on not being eaten by Manda.**

**Tsunade looked up at the call, and saw Orochimaru running for them, his gaze trained on Naruto. In his mouth he held that damned sword, Kusanagi. Tsunade's eyes widened as she realized he was going to kill Naruto. It was instinctual, she didn't think of anything else— she placed herself in front of Naruto to shield the boy with her body, and Orochimaru's sword ran through her chest.**

"Tsunade, what the hell?!" Jiraiya squawked, tugging at the end of the blonde's right ponytail.

"Ow, hey! It was instinctual!" Tsunade argued.

"Hey, just another thing to torture Orochimaru for, before we dismember and burn him." Minato said with a tone of such dark, amused evil that it sent shudders down their spines.

**Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock, and just as soon as his sword ran her through, he retracted it, swallowing the sword. "It wasn't my intention to hurt you Tsunade. Just move aside, my aim is the boy."**

"**You won't touch him!" Tsunade swore, wincing from the pain in her chest. **

"**Why do you defend this child?" Orochimaru asked, eyes narrowed. **

"**It's my responsibility from here on out as the Godaime of Konoha!" Tsunade declared. With a growl, she shot forward and punched the snake sannin, sending him flying, and even though Manda caught him before he could crash to the ground, she still felt good.**

**Tsunade took a deep breath and brought her hands together, hands forming the tora seal. "Creation Rebirth!" she cried. The diamond on her forehead morphs and extends, forming almost tribal-like tattoos around her face. Her wounds close up and heal at an astonishing rate, and when she opens her eyes it's like she's been rejuvenated.**

"Ah— I did it! I really did it!" Tsunade squealed.

"What is that?" Minato asked.

"It's my most advanced technique yet! The ultimate regeneration technique, even— I store my chakra in a seal somewhere on my body, apparently the diamond on my forehead, and it forcefully stimulates cell division. It doesn't bother with the old cells, but rather promotes the growth of new ones. Wounds heal in an instant!" Tsunade gushes, still euphoric over her success.

"There's got to be a side effect right?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, yeah— my natural lifespan is shortened, but whatever." Tsunade said dismissively.

"That's pretty freaking important!" Obito protested, bug eyed.

**Tsunade performed the summoning technique. "Summoning Jutsu!" a cloud of smoke covered her, and she reappeared atop the head of a giant slug. Naruto stared, and then chuckled before giving into the encroaching darkness. **_**Slugs? Well, you see something interesting every day . . . **_

"**Tsunade-sama, it is good to see you again." The slug greeted her summoner after many years of separation.**

"**I know, it's really good to see you to Katsuyu." Tsunade said warmly. "Katsuya, let's help these old toads and kick Manda's ass!" she totally switched gears, going from fondness for Katsuyu to bloodthirsty vengeance when looking at the snakes. Without even a word, the slug and toad boss summons converged on the snake summon. Even with Manda's considerable flexibility and experience, the battle was a hard one. Gamabunta, spotting an opening in Manda's form, struck with his blade and pinned Manda to the ground. Orochimaru was knocked off the snake and tumbled to the ground, lying pathetically and floundering for a few seconds to get on his feet without the use of his blackened, dead arms.**

**Manda, seeing nothing for it, returned to the Summoning World with a poisonous glare to Gamabunta and Katsuyu. Tsunade smirked at the shaky looking Orochimaru, and wasted no time in going after him.**

"**Katsuyu thanks, I can take it from here!" Tsunade called over her shoulder as she landed on the ground and hurtled towards Orochimaru. Katsuyu nodded and returned to the Summoning World, as well as Gamabunta once Jiraiya thanked him.**

"**Uh-oh . . . hime's going in for her pound of flesh." Jiraiya muttered with a grin, watching the ensuing beatdown.**

**Tsunade was on Orochimaru like a flash, her considerable strength pulverizing Orochimaru. Right hook— uppercut— roundhouse kick— pull him back and give him a haymaker— mule kick! **

"Hell yeah, get him!" Kushina cheered.

"Ah, I can see it in my mind's eye," Jiraiya sighs. "I can hear the grunts of pain— can practically taste the terror!"

**Orochimaru coughed, the tender feeling of being a human pulp of flesh and blood bringing back old not-so-fond memories of the old days. He managed to get his feet under him and to jump away from a still approaching Tsunade.**

"**Kabuto!" he called, wondering just how badly the demon brat had hurt the bespectacled boy. It was a heady, smug feeling indeed when Kabuto appeared at his side, though beaten up and bruised, but still able to serve him.**

"**Yes, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto replied faithfully, yet carefully. Taking the brute force of a rasengan was no joke. **

"Tough one, he's not dead yet?" Minato muttered, clucking his tongue.

"**We must leave, our plans won't work," he muttered to the boy, and then spoke louder for Jiraiya and Tsunade's benefit. "Be stubborn if you wish Tsunade— there are other ways to heal my arms." And then they fled, gone from the field in a sudden turn.**

"**Tch! Well I guess we won't be seeing him for a while." Tsunade muttered, breathing deeply. It had been a long time since she was in such a fight. She walked to Naruto and Shizune, beckoning for Jiraiya. Jiraiya started, staring at her hands. It's like they had aged a hundred years right before his eyes, her hands veined and oh so fragile, as if she were nothing but an old, frail woman. Was that the price of her astonishing technique?**

"**Come on, we've got to get those brats to the hotel. They're due some sleep." Tsunade told the man, waking up Shizune and healing her ankles. Jiraiya picked up Naruto, giving the kid a once over, before joining Shizune and Tsunade in returning to the hotel.**

**It took Naruto three days to wake up. When he did, he blinked in confusion, seeing the off-white ceiling of a hotel room. He looked to the side and saw Jiraiya sitting in a chair next to his bed, smirking at him.**

"**Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" Jiraiya teased.**

"**Screw you." Naruto muttered, looking forward again and testing his body. There was no pain when he stretched, no twinges when he moved . . . he was fully healed then. Satisfied, he got up and swung his legs around and off the bed. He sent a mental nudge to the Kyuubi. **_**Hey, Kyuubi? You alright?**_

"Thank goodness he healed up all right." Minato murmurs, twirling Kushina's fiery crimson locks around his fingers.

_**. . . Fine. Just fine. Peachy, even. Now let me alone, keeping you from death is a tricky process, even with that woman helping, now let me sleep. **_**Kyuubi grumbled, and then all was silent in his mind.**

"**So, we good?" Jiraiya asked seeing that Naruto had finished his mental conversation. Naruto grinned and nodded.**

"**Where's Katsu?" Naruto asked, looking around the room.**

"**Downstairs with Shizune checking out. Tsunade figured you'd wake up today, and she wanted to stay an extra day to make sure you were fine but I convinced her we needed to get a move on." Jiraiya said, and Naruto nodded. Yes, going home would be nice. He turned his attention to the door when it swung open, revealing a frowning Tsunade.**

"**You don't do things halfway, do you Naruto?" Tsunade asked, though he knew she wasn't looking for an answer. She strode in and immediately set glowing green palms over him, checking and assessing.**

"**Clean bill of health Tsunade-sensei?" Naruto asked innocently, smiling. Tsunade tapped him on the side of the head, but answered with an affirmative.**

"**Yeah, everything looks fine. But take it easy for a while, damage to the heart is no joke." Tsunade lectured. "But if you're good for it, then let's go home brat."**

"**Home?" Naruto repeated. Tsunade smirked and pointed to his neck. His hand automatically came up to check it, and he blinked when he noticed something new. He pulled it out to see it was Tsunade's necklace.**

"**The first hokage's necklace— it's yours now, as per our bet." Tsunade answered. Naruto looked at her with wide eyes, and then he grinned.**

"**Yeah . . . so let's go home!" he chirped, bouncing up out of bed and grabbing his jacket off the chair behind Jiraiya as he bounded out the room.**

**Tsunade chuckled and sighed, sharing a weary glance with Jiraiya. "Am I going to regret this?"**

**Jiraiya pondered on this as they walked out the room, and headed down to join with the rest of the group. "Mostly, yes. But deep down, in the part of you that always admits to those guilty pleasures you hate to love, you'll always go— totally worth it."**

"**Well . . . not bad, then, right?" Tsunade allowed, smiling at the picture the three in front of her made: Shizune laughing at the gamboling Naruto and Katsu, eager and ready to hit the road.**

"**Nade-chan!" Naruto called her when they were within earshot. "Nade-chan, there's lots for you to do when you get to Konoha, so you better be prepared!"**

"**I'll take whatever you dish out brat!" Tsunade assured him with a smirk. Then she eyed him with a smirk, which made him look at her strangely. Suddenly Tsunade moved forward and gave Naruto a solid peck on his forehead. Moving back, she chuckled when she saw the bright blush on his cheeks— Naruto pouted when he couldn't will it away and looked away from the laughing group.**

"Le gasp! Tsunade and Jiraiya are trying to take our places Minato!" Kushina hollers, throwing a pillow at the blonde woman.

"This cannot be allowed!" Minato agreed.

"**Besides, who's going to teach you how to be a proper Hokage if not me?" Tsunade challenged.**

"**Um, I'm not going to be Hokage." Naruto snorted, waving his hand in a 'pass' gesture.**

"**Oh yes you will— you think I really want to? If I gotta do it, then so do you!" Tsunade proclaimed, and that set the two blondes off to arguing. In high spirits and rambunctious moods, the group left for Konoha.**

"And, done!" Kushina pronounced, snapping the book shut.

"Hey that was a great chapter." Rin murmured, rising with Obito to get a snack from the kitchen.

"I know! The way Naru-chan just owned Kabuto with that rasengan." Obito agreed, making for the fridge.

"Don't forget the chase with Itachi and Kisame." Kakashi added, walking in and heading for the cupboard.

"Yeah!" Obito crowed, looking in the fridge for a soda. "That was totally— wait. What happened to that woman Jiraiya-sama had?"

Awkward pause.

"Er . . . Fridge Logic?" Kakashi responded hesitantly.

Obito frowned, but saw his soda and then picked it up, shrugging off the matter. "Yeah, sounds legit." He closed the refrigerator door.

* * *

**So, reviews are wonderful and lovely bits of news that warms the coggles of my heart each time a new one pops up in my mail. Until next time, i bid you all adieu!**

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad**


	21. Chapter 21

**The winter break proved very accomadating to my writing, it seems! However, this is just an intro chapter befor we get to the FIRST Naruto movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow! **

**However, with that i have an announcement- Over the weekend i stumbled upon something . . . terribly wonderful . . . wonderfully terrible . . . The dramatic readings of "My Inner Life" by manwithoutabody on Youtube. And when i found out he had dramatic readings of "My Immortal"? OH. OH MY GOD. It was OVER . . . for my IQ points. So i need some time to recover from that tomfoolery, because god as much as it was funny it was damaging to my soul. I'm not sure if i regret it or not, which lets me know i've lost some of my soul already. In addition, i have to find Clash in the Land of Snow, rewatch it, analyze it, break it down, and then recreate it to fit my story.**

**So . . . I'll see you guys in February! YAY! Don't worry . . . i'll make it up to you, i promise!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-One_

_So I Heard About Your Promotion Uzumaki Naruto!_

Kakashi and Obito watched the back-and-forth between Rin and Minato-sensei with bated breath. They'd never seen their sensei so heated— had never seen Rin so rebellious.

"How could you even think that was safe— you were only thirteen Rin?" Minato shouted, glaring blue eyes paled to icy chips of fury. On the couch behind him sat the Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kushina with varying levels of disapproval and shock on their face.

Rin sniffed, looking away from Minato to glare at the TV screen. "I was an adult at twelve once I got this headband— by my thirteenth year; I had patched up enough ninja to get me some clout at the hospital. So yeah, I thought going to _a concert_ wasn't that big a deal!"

"Being recognized as an adult, and actually being one are two entire different things. And don't you take that tone with me!" Minato snapped.

"You are being ridiculous!" Rin pleaded. Minato stiffened, and with measured, careful intent, Minato leaned over enough that Rin suddenly hunched her shoulders at the feeling of her sensei looming over her. After all, Namikaze Minato was a tall man, and even with his lean build he seemed to encompass a lot of space with a powerful aura.

"What's ridiculous is your stubborn refusal to see that as your sensei, and someone who cares about you, your health, and your safety _I have a say_, damn it. From now on—"

"You are my sensei, but you don't get to choose how I spend my free time," Rin quietly refuted. "From now on I'll talk with you about it, but I have final say— _I mean I won't do it again!_" Rin screeched, diving into Kakashi's and Obito's arms when Minato growled at her audacity and reached for her.

"Damn straight you won't." Minato bit out impatiently, still striding forward until Kushina bounced up from her seat and placed firm hands on his shoulders. Despite his tense posture Minato allowed himself to be led back to the couch, sitting next to Jiraiya and Tsunade whilst Kushina planted herself in his lap to keep him seated . . . and calm.

Jiraiya waited for someone to break the awkward pause made by the previous fight, but when no one stepped up to the task he clapped his hand together. "Well . . . I don't think we'll be going to bed anytime soon. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty keyed up, so why not take that energy and use it to read the next chapter!" he suggested, looking around.

"That sounds like an excellent idea!" Kushina maintained firmly. "As a matter of fact . . . Kakashi, why don't you read?"

"That sounds great actually." Kakashi chimed, scooping up the book and quickly flipping to the next chapter. "Ah, here we are . . ."

**The inauguration of Tsunade was done with lots of fanfare, but rather quickly all in all. Though the people were glad to see another Hokage, and a powerful one at that, there was still much to do to get Konoha back up to shape. Iruka-sensei had it explained it over ramen to Naruto as them needing to go on as normally as possible. Meaning, the scarred chuunin explained, to take missions with the same regularity as before, in order to appear as if they were still a strong front to the rest of the Elemental Nations.**

"But if they know we got attacked then how is that going to work?" Obito pointed out a flaw.

"Looks can be deceiving." Minato replied lightly, slowly getting over his anger.

**Naruto understood that perfectly, indeed he was glad for it— the holidays were coming up soon, as was Kakashi-sensei's birthday, lots of other friends' birthdays . . . honestly he needed the steady cash flow. **

**Things were starting to look up— Tsunade had healed Kakashi from his coma as soon as she arrived to Konoha . . . mainly because Naruto dragged her there, but since she was heading to the hospital at some point in the day anyway he figured why not start there? Sasuke had yet to ask him about the Kyuubi but he was waiting patiently, after all Sasuke needed to sort through his own issues. So Team Seven was a little strained and frayed around the edges but it was still cool between them all. **

**Konohamaru had finally calmed down some from Sarutobi's death, but Naruto and Iruka still thought it best that he be distracted and stay with people as much as possible. So, Naruto had become an unofficial den mother (Iruka's words, and Naruto repaid the man with an blue and black everything classroom that he couldn't be traced back to him) to Konohamaru and his little crew. If it wasn't playing ninja, then Naruto was subtly training their observation and stealth skills with games and pranks around the village. **

**Of course, it had nothing to do with hearing those little brats say at the end of every playtime, "Naruto nii-chan is the best!"**

**No, his ego was kept strictly out of it. **

**So, a week after Tsunade's inauguration, when he was given the order to appear before the Hokage, he just assumed Team Seven was being taken off of repairs duty and being sent back out on the field. When he only saw Shikamaru and Shino waiting at the reception area, however, he was rather confused.**

"**I don't recall doing anything worth liability for . . ." Naruto muttered, leaning against the wall next to Shikamaru. **

"**Don't play dumb you know what this is for." Shikamaru said in as close to a snarl as Naruto ever heard the boy make. He grinned in a decidedly foxy way, enjoying Shikamaru's troubled form.**

"**I merely wanted to play humble Shika. Aw, does the lazy Nara not want to get a promotion?" Naruto simpered, lower lip trembling. Shikamaru growled and cuffed the younger boy, who merely laughed it off. **

Kushina gasped, delighted and nearly vibrated with energy in her seat— which was still Minato's lap. "Oh! My baby made the cut thee first time around— look, Minato, he's a _chuunin_!"

". . . Wonderful, honey." Minato's half strangled voice rasped out, resisting the urge to put his hands on her— whether to stop her or _help_ her, he wasn't sure. And if Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't stop looking like they were dying of laughter . . .

"Congratulations to Naru-chan, yeah!" Kakashi, Obito and Rin cheered.

"**Enter." Tsunade's voice came through the door, so they trooped in. Naruto bit back a smile to see the woman guiltily putting away a sake bottle under Shizune's stern eyes, desk and assorted flat surfaces overflowing with paperwork that Naruto had the urge to make paper cranes out of . . . who knows how many wishes he'd get from this pile? **

"**Uzumaki Naruto," the sharp voice that called out his name made his eyes guiltily snap back to a stern faced Tsunade who he realized was looking at all three of them. "Nara Shikamaru, and Aburame Shino . . ." she continued. There was a pause, before a small smile brightened Tsunade's face.**

"**Congratulations— your exemplary performances in the Chuunin Exams, as well as the commendable actions you in part with your other genin colleagues and senseis during the invasion, have earned you three the promotion to Chuunin. Here are your standard chuunin vests, wear them with pride— or not, the choice is up to you, really." Tsunade congratulated them, holding out three chuunin vests for them to take. Each boy stepped up and took it, bowing deeply to their Hokage. **

"Wear it!" Kushina and Minato insisted.

"Oh, please." Jiraiya and Tsunade scoffed.

"**Thank you, Hokage-sama." They intoned as one. Tsunade dipped her head in acknowledgement, before briskly handing out orders again.**

"**Naruto, I have your assignment right here so you stay behind. Shino and Shikamaru, you have the choice to be a general Chuunin who is assigned to whatever is available at a specific time, or you may head down to the Administration Office and get a position in an available squad of your choice. I hear Ibiki in interrogation is always eager for new recruits . . ." chuckling at the slight, nearly imperceptible paling of the two boy's faces, she sent them off and when the door shut behind them she totally switched gears.**

**Tsunade's breath whooshed out of her as she slumped to the desk, hands dangling over the opposite edge of her desk awkwardly as her arms covered piles of paper. "Naru-chan!" she whined. "What the hell is all this?!"**

"Way to stay in control, hime." Jiraiya snorted.

"**Paperwork, Nade-hime." Naruto answered pertly which got a giggle from Shizune, looking speculatively at his chuunin vest— he decided he wouldn't wear it until he found a way to look . . . cool in it. His attempt at humor was not appreciated by Tsunade, if her glare was any indication. **

"What the hell does he mean, look cool in it?! I look cool in it, and he's my carbon copy isn't he?" Minato muttered, looking vaguely insulted.

"**Naruto, you're assignment is office ninja," she spoke louder over his groan of 'lame!', "and you are my personal office nin unless I see fit to let you off for missions outside the village. You knew sensei's filing system code pretty well right? It's changed some since I was last here— I distinctly remember the banana trees correlating to the different corps in the village, but instead it's what ivory lilies ought to be!" **

"He's still got that nutty code system?" Tsunade groaned, a hand flopping over her eyes.

"**I'm telling you now, I don't know the higher clearance stuff, but I could figure it out . . . old man seriously underestimated mine and Katsu's Cryptanalysis skills. Wait a minute, what the hell is all this paper then?!" Naruto demanded.**

"**The paperwork that piled up from the time there was no Hokage up until today." Tsunade whined. At Naruto's bloodless gape of horror she nodded and said, "So get to work!" **

**Naruto and Tsunade worked tirelessly from eight in the morning until nine at night to sort, file, sign and review every paper in the office for two weeks straight. On the last day, when there were only eight piles of paper left, Naruto paused and turned to stare at his father's picture on the wall. Tsunade looked up, curious to see what he'd say.**

**Naruto sighed and shook his head. "By Kami if you put up with this long-winded, needlessly verbose bullshit every day even for just a year you were braver than anybody knew." **

"Thank you son," Minato said sincerely, a truly aggrieved look on his face. "At least someone will know . . ."

**Tsunade laughed. "And what about sensei?"**

"**He did this for decades— and then came back? The man was just straight up insane." Naruto replied seriously, and Tsunade laughed harder. She got up and knocked him on the back— Naruto coughed, surprised by the action and glared at her. A delicate princess, Tsunade was not— more like a warrior princess.**

"**Well brat, let's finish this all up and get ready for the party tonight." She chirped.**

"**What party?" Naruto asked, eyes wide and unknowing. **

"**The party to celebrate you making Chuunin!" Tsunade scoffed, flipping him neatly in the forehead. **

**The party in question, he found out when walking through the door that night was a party thought up by Kotetsu and Izumo, and brought to fruition by Katsu. **

"So Naruto is good friends with those two then?" Kushina mused.

**Banners and balloons took up the ceiling and walls, confetti strewn about on the tables filled with food drinks, and more. Music blasted from the system on a table by the corner, and Naruto bopped his head to the beat as he ventured over to a table with three small cakes. He had his own cake, as did—**

"**Ah, you're inviting Shikamaru and Shino?" Naruto asked, interested in their personalized cakes. Shikamaru would enjoy the sky blue and white icing cake he thought, whilst he was puzzled over the jewel-like decorations on Shino's black cake.**

"**Yeah, since they're your friends— I invited the other rookies too, they should be here soon." Katsu affirmed with a nod. Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked over at the already considerable crowd— Hinata, Kotetsu, Izumo, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, Iruka and Anko. He was shocked to see the jounin sensei in casual civilian clothes; he was so sure they were the type to stay in uniform all throughout (and he just couldn't get over how strange it was to see Kakashi without his hitai-ate to keep his hair defying gravity, or to see Anko in something that wasn't totally provocative . . . much). He assumed the senseis of the other teams would arrive as well. Naruto shook his head and smiled at Katsu.**

"You own casual clothing?" Rin gaped, turning to Kakashi.

"Yes— your stunned expression is motivating, truly." Kakashi responded dryly.

"**This is the best, hime, thanks." He said with full sincerity. Katsu smirked and shook her head.**

"**Don't thank me— thank Testu and Izu, they're the ones who told me about this so I could plan the party. It takes a while to do all this; otherwise we would have celebrated the day of." Katsu told him. They turned when they heard the door open and footsteps troop in. **

"**Alright people, now the party can start!" Ino whooped, skipping along as she dragged an irritated looking Shikamaru by his collar. Sakura and Chouji followed in as well, followed by Asuma— Kurenai sticking close to his side while trying to look like she hadn't been with him earlier— and Kiba, Sasuke, and Shino. **

"**Oh joy oh bliss." Naruto remarked, patting Shikamaru on the back with a consoling expression. "Come on people, grab a bite and then in an hour we Chuunin newbies are going to give a speech!"**

"**Speech, speech!" The cheer was shouted. They were quick to follow Naruto's orders and ate, exclaiming over the food ("Yeah, who knew Anko nee-chan was so good in the kitchen?" Katsu laughed, having roped the woman in along with Shizune to help cook). When they weren't eating they were laughing and talking, or gaping at the easy ways of their senseis whom they normally couldn't imagine in a party setting. **

**The time came for a speech. Naruto slapped Shikamaru on the back, propelling the boy forward to stand in front of the seated crowd. "Go on, buddy!" Naruto encouraged, raising his glass. Shikamaru glared at his blonde friend, before turning and addressing the group dully.**

"**No thanks to all of you who had a hand in promoting me so damn early. How totally troublesome, it's such a drag, and I really **_**really**_** cannot wait to torture— I mean order— I mean work with my fellows who are still genin." Shikamaru took a gulp of his iced tea, and then moved back to stand with Naruto and Shino. Surprisingly, his speech got quite the response, his sensei even looking at him with pride.**

"How unexpectedly long and involved for a Nara." Obito remarked, smirking.

"Kid's got the right attitude— he'll go far." Jiraiya assured with a grin.

"**The boy already knows the chain of command, good work Asuma!" Izumo cried out, grinning largely.**

"**You're up . . . uh," Naruto was about to pull Shino to the front, but then the boy looked at him. Just looked.**

"**Okay then," he sighed, stepping up. "To the ones, who cheered for me, thanks a lot. For the ones who bet on me—" he speared Asuma and Kurenai a look— "I want my fair cut, and to the rest of you . . . better luck next time. If any of my cute little kohai's wants some advice on how to be chuunin material, feel free to ask me . . . on bended knee. Great Success!" he toasted, grinning at the mock jeers from his genin friends, especially the venomous glare directed to him from Sasuke. **

**Ino came up and smacked him on the arm once they all got up to either talk or go out to the back porch and sit . . . and talk. Kiba tried taunting him, but Naruto's pointed words of sarcasm either left the feral boy in a muddle or enraged him quicker than anything. Naruto was having a good time, though Katsu had wandered off to speak in the corner with Hinata, Tsunade, Shizune, Anko and Kurenai— so he was surprised when Sasuke came up to him with an unusually serious face.**

"**Ah, I see you want to have that conversation now?" Naruto assumed, sipping at his drink. Sasuke nodded, so he directed him outside to the back porch.**

"Seriously, he wants to have such a serious conversation when everyone is having fun?" Obito whined, hitting his forehead gently with his fist.

"**Let's talk out here then." Naruto said, leaning against the railing. Sasuke took up a spot against the post, and the both of them looked out over the lake, the moon now high up in the sky and glittering in ripples on the lake's surface.**

"**Hey, what are you doing out here Naruto, party too much for you?" Asuma laughed.**

"**No, just talking to Sasuke about something." Naruto denied, smiling as he turned to Sasuke. "So ask away?" he prompted the silent, sullen boy.**

"**How are you so strong? Was it that . . . thing you did in the Forest?" Sasuke asked intently, referring to the fight with Orochimaru.**

"**If you'll recall, most of the fight was done with my own strength, and only when you felt that sudden change did I switch to another . . . source of reference, if you will." Naruto pointedly told the boy, not going to tolerate any smear on his own strength. "I got this strong by training endlessly, Sasuke, by using more than just traditional methods like sparring and such. Calligraphy? Your fingers grow nimble enough to not only use most blades and handheld weapons, but the practice of precise finger movements makes for better accuracy. Same goes for learning instruments, as well as conditioning your ear to hear fine-tuned noises."**

"Bet he made that up just for anyone who would ask about his hobbies." Kakashi snorted.

**Sasuke scowled— before, such things he would have scoffed at but if what the blonde was saying was really true then he had neglected areas of training in the name of **_**power**_**, as opposed to **_**finesse**_**. And he was beginning to see the difference. **

"**What was that change in the forest then?" he stubbornly pushed on. "For a moment I saw this flicker of red chakra . . . and your eyes turned red . . . you changed. What was that?" he got louder as he went on, and though no one from inside came out to investigate, he had certainly caught the attention of the ones out on the porch with him. Asuma and Kakashi looked in their direction briefly before returning to their drinks; waiting for a signal should they be needed. Izumo and Kotetsu looked straight at them though, looking faintly nervous.**

**Naruto sighed loudly, head tipping back. "Okay, Sasuke . . . what I'm about to tell you is still an S-class secret, despite nearly every adult knowing about it anyway. The only ones who didn't know were the kids, and even then! Well . . . what do you recall of the Fourth's victory over the Kyuubi?"**

_**It was rigged? **_**Kyuubi piped up innocently. **_**Bastard had backup— aka the Shinigami?**_

Minato flipped the finger at the book, and then yelped when Kushina reached over and nearly broke it tugging backwards. "What the hell?" he asked, looking at her.

"That seal on Naruto— you called on the Shinigami to make it, Minato the price for calling the death god . . . !" she stopped, unable to go on.

"The price is more often than not a soul. The user's soul." Jiraiya answered.

"Oh." Minato said dumbly, unable to think of anything else to say. What could he say? He would doom himself to eternity in the Shinigami's care to save his son . . . and he wasn't exactly unhappy about it. It was his son, his village— he'd do that much. But his soul? Yeesh.

"I'm sure there was a specific reason for using that seal," Minato said, looking deep into Kushina's eyes and begging her to understand. "A seal so powerful can only help our son in the future."

_**No one asked you, sore loser, **_**Naruto snorted, ignoring Kyuubi's howls and ranting as Sasuke impatiently answered, "The Fourth Hokage killed Kyuubi on October tenth, at the cost of his life. What about it?"**

"**Bijuu are masses of chakra. Chakra is, essentially, energy. And according to the first law of Thermodynamics, energy cannot be created nor destroyed . . . merely transformed." Naruto listed these few facts before getting to the heart of the matter. **

"**Which means . . . you can't kill a bijuu?" Sasuke asked, quick mind processing the facts and connecting them to . . . "So where is it then?"**

"**Inside of me, sealed away." Naruto answered simply, blue eyes never wavering from Sasuke's face, gauging the reactions. **

**Sasuke's eyes widened. No wonder the dobe was so strong, he thought with bitter jealousy coursing through him. Why was he allowed to have such power, when he just squandered it being so . . . content with average?! **

"If you knew the price he paid every day for that power, you wouldn't be so quick to get your greedy little hands on it." Rin sniffed, squishing a pillow to her abdomen.

"And who's really squandering their potential here buddy?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow.

"**So you're the Kyuubi then?" Sasuke asked bluntly. Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Kakashi beat him to it.**

"**No. It's like sealing a kunai in a scroll and calling the scroll the kunai, see?" Kakashi's lazy tone had an edge to it that made both boys straighten up and face the older man. **

"**Isn't it that the Kyuubi is what makes him so strong?!" Sasuke demanded, glaring hotly at the surprised look on Naruto's face.**

"**Did you just hear what I said?!" Naruto demanded, before groaning. "Look . . ."**

**Naruto took a tail of Kyuubi's chakra and allowed it to flow through him, filling him with a rush not unlike a shot of espresso straight to the heart, as he had taken to likening it. The effect was quick— his features changed, the others able to pick up on the feral additions, as well as the evil, suffocating feeling of that destructive chakra from twelve years ago. They couldn't help the sudden tensing of their bodies, though the older ones were able to quickly relax themselves again, seeing Naruto in complete control of himself.**

"Risky stuff just to prove a point." Kakashi murmurs.

"**Do you see the difference?" Naruto asked, rough voice shaking Sasuke out of his stupor— being so close while Naruto unleashed that chakra had left him as frozen and scared as when he faced Zabuza. Sasuke nodded, and then paused. He closed his eyes and blew out a breath.**

"The, 'I'm trying to let go of the monumental chip on my shoulder and genuinely try to understand you as a human being' breath." Kakashi and Obito said completely in sync, bringing laughter out of the others.

"**Is that why none of the villagers really like you?" He asked quietly.**

"**That . . . and the pranks. But mostly . . . that." Naruto agreed, a small smile on his face.**

**Sasuke nodded, thinking it over. Naruto may have access to such power . . . but he didn't even use it. Sasuke could sort of understand why now, remembering the cursed seal given to him by Orochimaru. And if the task of carrying such a burden made him hated by the villagers . . . **

"You're getting warmer." Obito sang, nodding his head proudly.

"**Is that what you meant about Gaara not being a monster?" Sasuke asked. When Naruto nodded, he admitted to a feeling of shame ghosting along his nerves. **

"**His seal wasn't able to take away the complete influence of the bijuu . . . but he remained strong and held onto himself, though not without damage. Now though, I hope he's a little better off." Naruto answered. **

"**But then why are you hated? You're nothing like Gaara, you don't try to kill people!" Sasuke blurted out, and he was surprised when Naruto just gave him a sunny smile.**

"He smiles because he's happy you can still defend him." Rin said softly, almost silently.

"**People can't help it. They're just . . . in pain." The blonde said simply. Sasuke nodded, and it occurred to him now that his words from before were probably . . . in poor taste. He would have **_**tried**_** to force out an apology— but when he looked into Naruto's eyes he saw acceptance and forgiveness, mixed with good humor already. Naruto didn't need an apology— no, it was more that he didn't need words from Sasuke. And, Sasuke reflected before shoving the thought away, they never really had.**

**A large hand on Naruto's shoulders suddenly startled the boys. They looked up to see Kakashi, eye smile taking on a wicked glint as he looked at the two boys. "Well, now that you two have settled that— it's time for the after party!" **

"You willingly consent to partying?" Minato asked, and if he didn't have an amazing amount of self-control he'd be gawking at the scowling, grumbling boy.

**Naruto glanced at the wickedly grinning Asuma and eternal chuunin duo with trepidation. "What after party?"**

"**The one I planned with some help from Katsu-chan. Now, come along! Sasuke you're still too young— and a genin. It's not safe for you." Kakashi ruffled the Uchiha's hair in mock sympathy, and gained a stinging slap to his hand for his troubles. Sniffling, the jounin mumbled about mean genin and harsh judgment, before turning around and raising his voice.**

"**Katsuhime-chan, we're heading off to the after party!" he said.**

"**Okay, just don't make me have to come and get you all from a dumpster or something!" Katsu called back. With an affirmative answer, Kakashi started ushering Naruto on, leaving the house and eventually the property. Naruto looked suspiciously at the others trailing behind him, and turned his head back to look at Kakashi.**

"**Where are we going Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked suspiciously.**

"**You know, you don't really have to call me sensei anymore, we're pretty much equals now." Kakashi said lightly.**

"**Answer the question then, onii-san." Naruto said, stressing the new title. Kakashi looked at him with a raised brow, blinking at the new nickname.**

"Ha!" Kushina laughed. "I knew it'd end up like that between you two!"

"Onii-san? He probably never even knew I guarded him during my time in ANBU." Kakashi argued, looking somehow both unsettled and pleased at the same time.

"**Nii-san? Oh, that's precious . . . where'd you get that for Kakashi?" Asuma snickered.**

"**I remember Inu-nii, the ANBU who was there damn near every day . . . and unless Kakashi has a cousin or something with that hair running around Konoha, it could only have been Kakashi nii-san." Naruto answered, grinning at Kakashi. Kakashi couldn't help but grin back, and decided to answer Naruto.**

"Right, the hair." Kakashi repeated, nodding his head— it made perfect sense after all.

"**Well then, for your information, we're going to the Blackout." Kakashi told him. His brow furrowed when Naruto's eyes nearly popped out his head, and he gave him a look like he had suddenly started speaking Latin.**

Everyone else was giving him that look too, and Kakashi himself was slumped forward and hitting his head against the coffee table. "Stupid, stupid, stupid . . ." he muttered over and over.

"You took my baby boy to a strip club?" Kushina's quiet, even voice sent shivers racking up and down Kakashi's spine. He whined, but made no move to either speak or defend himself.

"**What?" Kakashi asked.**

"**Do you know what the Blackout is?" Naruto asked, bypassing the question.**

"**Yeah, it might have burned down around the time of the Kyuubi attack, but I'm sure it's still the same club as before." Kakashi assured him, thinking Naruto was just a little iffy about going to a club. But then, that didn't explain the sudden sphinx smile Naruto had on his face, or the dangerously glittering eyes that sent a shiver of trepidation down Kakashi's spine.**

"You forgot that that Blackout was a strip club." Minato didn't ask, he just plain knew. Kakashi nodded miserably, whimpering.

"**Never mind then . . . I've actually been to the Blackout before, so I must say thank you nii-san. I'm sure we are all . . . going to have a great time." Naruto said, almost promised them. Kakashi wasn't quite sure about the reaction he received from Naruto about the Blackout, mainly because he himself had forgotten much about the club— just that it was a club . . . not what kind.**

"Yeah, didn't he and Katsu party before with the dancers at the Blackout, at that bar in the red district?" Obito recalled.

"So really, it seems more like he'll be treating you than you treating him." Jiraiya chuckled, enjoying the situation far too much.

**The memories came back to Kakashi when he and the rest of them were sitting in the Blackout's most lavish, prestigious VIP area seating watching a lovely newcomer— so said Naruto, and he didn't want to think too hard on why Naruto was so familiar with this place— named Kana try out a live performance for the first time. Around them lounged other, very beautiful women that were the personal VIP waitresses, all at their back and call.**

**Yes, Kakashi did indeed recall just now that the Blackout was a **_**strip**_** club.**

**Naruto was cuddled up against two impressive brunettes who seemed entirely fascinated with the whisker marks on his cheeks. **

"Hussies!" Kushina grunted in a strangled voice, looking half aggrieved and half furious.

"**Geez, Kimi nee-chan, I told you to quit it with the scars." Naruto grumbled, his grumblings soon cut short by the other brunette ghosting her fingertips along the other cheek and getting a loud purr from the boy. **

"**I thought you were with me Aya nee-chan!" Naruto cried in mock outrage, fighting the feeling of contentment that welled up inside him.**

"**I can't help it!" Aya squealed, gently ruffling the younger boy's hair. "It's so cute how sensitive your whiskers are! And you purr just like a cat, and you get this adorable look on your face . . ." **

"So those whiskers aren't for show?" Rin murmured in surprise.

"So they're sensitive . . . oh, I wonder how?" Jiraiya giggled perversely, hand twitching for his notepad. But even he wasn't foolish enough to pull out his research notes while Tsunade and Kushina looked like furious mama bears.

"**A man's face of pleasure is adorable to you?" Kotetsu couldn't help but say, entirely entranced with the bob-cut blue-haired girl feeding him grapes. **

**Naruto snorted, but allowed the older women to keep playing with him as he turned to laugh at the utterly absorbed looks on the rest of the group's faces. "So Kakashi, I'm guessing you didn't know this joint was a strip club?"**

"**Mhm." Kakashi grunted, never looking away from the stage. **

"Well Kakashi . . . your true self is coming out now!" Minato declared, teasing the boy who had is head firmly buried in his arms.

"So I like strippers. Forgive me for being the rare few men who do." Kakashi said sarcastically.

"**How did we even get access to the VIP lounge anyway?" Izumo asked absently, obediently placing a wad of rolled bills in between the breasts of Kana when she bent over him with a coy smile.**

"**That's because you were with our baby here!" The passing strawberry blonde waitress named Aika chirped, winking with a leer brazen enough to bring a blush to the man's cheeks. Aika snaked an arm around Naruto's neck and gave him a loud, wet kiss on his cheek. Naruto quickly returned it and Aika sauntered away, giggling. **

"He's there so much he gets automatic VIP access? At twelve?!" Obito's voice got higher and higher with each word, his disbelief palpable.

"No, no, no!" Kushina shouted, shaking her head wildly. "Never, not this time, no!"

"**I'd ask just why you're so familiar with this place but . . ." Asuma trailed off, watching Kana's grand finale on the pole. "I won't ask, if you won't tell Kurenai." He quickly thanked Kimi who refilled his glass of wine. **

"**Deal." Naruto chirped absently, busy being snuggled and glomped by various goddesses in mortal form.**

Tsunade and Kushina shrieked like vengeful banshees. "Ahh! Don't touch him you little tramps!"

Minato, throwing caution to the wind shouted, "That's the way Namikaze's do it son! GO, GO!"

"**Heh, but if just newbie over here gets you, wait until you see Asami nee-chan. No offense Kana-chan!"**

"**None taken. Congrats Naruto." Kana chirped, bouncing away to the backstage and seemingly ignorant of all the men watching her **_**bounce**_**. **

**Aya nodded. "Now there's a pro."**

"**Speak of the devil . . ." Naruto chuckled, looking up when the lights dimmed and a slow, pulsing club beat started. Asami, the black haired beauty with a mole on the corner of her mouth that drove men wild, slinked out in barely anything, dancing around the stage to the great enjoyment of nearly every male in the building.**

**Naruto watched with merely the pride of a younger brother, coupled with some appreciation as a man— until he noticed something very interesting. "Onii-san . . . did you just open your sharingan eye?"**

"Kakashi?!" Rin squawked, rounding on the unapologetically grinning boy with a death glare.

"**I want to remember this **_**forever**_**." Kakashi's fervent voice made him choke on both laughter and his drink, watching the older man nearly burn Asami with his gaze as she showed why she was sometimes referred to as **_**"The Illusionist."**_

Minato and Jiraiya slapped the boy on the back. "Yeah, that's the way Kakashi!"

"**Is that even possible?" Asuma muttered, taking a gulp and missing some in is utter fascination. Naruto nearly broke into hysterics when Asami tossed her top onto his head, and he clutched at it with a reverent expression. **

**At the end Asami was given a standing ovation (or stand and stumble over stupid drunk), and nearly every male glared at Naruto with intense hatred when Asami promptly hopped off the stage and captured him in a crushing hug, nearly suffocating him between her pillow soft breasts.**

"Kushina, calm down!" Minato pleaded, practically pinning her underneath him to keep her from trashing the room in a rage. Jiraiya was similarly trying to hold Tsunade's fists to keep her from aiding Kushina.

"Lucky little bastard." Kakashi and Obito muttered.

_**I'm enjoying my imprisonment inside you more and more, kit! **_**Kyuubi cackled gleefully, but Naruto skillfully pushed away the fox's voice. **

"**Aw, my sweet little brother is a big, bad chuunin now!" Asami wailed, rubbing her cheek on his soft blonde hair. "Now you won't have time to visit your bestest big sister ever! Uwaah!"**

"**I'll come visit nee-chan," Naruto gasped having finally found his way out of her ample flesh. Asami giggled and yipped happily, nuzzling him and totally oblivious to the threats everyone mouth to the unnaturally lucky boy. Naruto just flipped them all off with a smug grin.**

"**You know, it's weird Ero-sennin isn't here . . ." Naruto murmured thoughtfully, eating a proffered strawberry from the pretty Kikyo nee-chan.**

"**Who?" Aya asked, blinking.**

"**Eh, Jiraiya?" Naruto clarified.**

"**Oh! Jiraiya-sama doesn't come here often, but when he does he's an awfully generous tipper, so we always give him private dances as soon as he gets in. He should be about done with—"**

Now Jiraiya was trying to keep Tsunade's fists of fury away from him, squealing like a little girl as he did so.

"**Well, well my young godson what's this about you having **_**tenure**_** here?" The sage in question's boisterous voice made the girls squeak in surprise and cling to the nearest man flesh. **

"**The nee-chan were really nice to me when I stumbled into the Red Light District when I was five . . . gave me candy, and they would let me stay here when the orphanage kicked me out sometimes if jiji wasn't around for me to ask to stay with him." Naruto said fondly, nuzzling the closest nee-chan in thanks.**

"Now that's the perfect example of not looking a gift horse in the mouth." Obito instructed, Kakashi laughing as he agreed.

"**Kid, did I ever tell you that you're everything I ever wanted in a student?" Jiraiya asked, reclining next to the group and winking at Kimi when she poured him a drink.**

"What about me?" Minato asked.

"**What about the Yondaime?" Naruto asked, amused.**

"**Oh sure he was brilliant! But that guy wouldn't even think of so much as goosing one of these lovely ladies— only had eyes for that redhead of his. But you, you're not afraid to play a little. And therein lays my criteria for a perfect student."**

"**So in other words, your ideal student would also be ideal research material?" Naruto drawled.**

Minato snorted, kicking the older man's flailing leg as Tsunade broke free and started to pummel him. Kakashi waited until the girlish screams of pain and pleas for mercy died down to barely audible groans of agony before continuing reading.

"**Oh yeah." Jiraiya mutter, though whether in answer to Naruto's question or just a general statement of approval for Asami's second turn on the pole, Naruto wasn't quite sure. He merely shrugged, and returned to being pampered by the many milling dancers who were familiar with the sunny boy. **

**So, the next morning when Tsunade asked him how the after party was, he just grinned and said, "Awesome."**

**Tsunade smiled. "Good, good. Jiraiya didn't try to corrupt you and take you to a strip club or anything right?"**

_**Not Jiraiya— and does it count if I was already 'corrupted'? **_**Naruto thought, but he answered with a prompt, "Of course not Nade-hime! So, what are we doing today?"**

"**Well, much as I'd like you to make my life significantly easier, I can manage here today. So, I've got here, a nice little solo C-rank." Tsunade said, tossing the mission scroll to him.**

Congratulations on your first solo mission!" Kushina and Minato hailed, the others providing back up applause and cheering.

"**Ooh!" Naruto awed, hand reaching to open it. He read the mission objective, and raised an eyebrow in consideration. He noticed the seal on the bottom of it, where his objective probably lied.**

"**I'm taking a scroll to Nami . . . there's no time limit on this. Shall I prepare for a week?" Naruto asked, looking up at Tsunade.**

**Tsunade smiled in approval for a brief moment, before her face cleared over and she thought about it. "I don't really expect it to take that long . . . by yourself you should be able to get there by nightfall, yes?" **

"**Yes." Naruto agreed, thinking about it. His resistance seals were indeed up to level three— the first two days he felt like he was walking through butter or soap— but if he could get Jiraiya to let him lighten up to level one, he could certainly make that. **

"**Then you should only be there for four days. Do you accept this mission Uzumaki?" Tsunade asker seriously.**

"**Yes, Hokage-sama." Naruto answered respectfully, arms down at his sides and eyes locked on the honey orbs opposite him.**

"**Then, leave as soon as you can. Dismissed." Tsunade ordered. Naruto bowed deferentially, then walked out. Before he disappeared from view, he turned and said, "I'll get you a souvenir, then, Nade-chan?"**

"**Some saltwater taffy please?" Tsunade asked. Naruto chuckled and agreed, then headed out. He walked home quickly, eager to start his first solo out of village mission since making Chuunin. Katsu was outside the house, sitting on the porch and leisurely enjoying an ice cream come. Naruto chuckled and hopped up the steps, plunking down right next to her.**

"**I got a solo C-rank mission to Nami." Naruto informed her.**

"**I got a new job at the cozy little tea shop in the corner nook of the Market." Katsu replied, eyes shining brightly.**

"**Congratulations!" they told each other, high-fiving above their heads. **

"**So when do you start?" Naruto asked leaning over and taking a long lick from her ice cream cone. **_**Cookie dough, yum**_**, he thought with relish. **

Obito pressed a fist to his mouth, face red from suppressed laughter.

"What?" Rin asked. Kakashi got it first though, and he punched Obito's shoulder while saying, "Ew, dude— they're twelve."

"**Tomorrow— the owner is an old woman who is just the funniest thing. She's so . . . eccentric. You'll like her!" Katsu promised. "When do you leave?"**

"**Soon as possible, so I should be packing up actually." Naruto confessed, getting up and moving into the house.**

"**Shall I make you a bento then?" Katsu asked loudly to his ascending form as he headed for their room.**

"**Please, hime?" Naruto agreed gratefully, pulling out two spare jumpsuits. He briefly debated over his chuunin vest, but left it there. He sealed them up in a scroll, took a small bag just in case, and left the room. Walking down to the kitchen, he picked up an apple from the fruit bowl when Katsu asked him a question.**

"**You won't wear your chuunin vest?" **

"**Don't really need to . . . I don't know, when I tried it on I look weird in it. Or, more to the point . . . I look too much like my father in it. No point in this whole hiding in plain sight thing if I go and magnify the close physical resemblance we have." Naruto answered with a shrug.**

"Well that's a better reason than not looking cool." Minato conceded.

"**If by close physical resemblance you mean you're practically a clone, then yes . . ." Katsu murmured in a sly voice, and Naruto nodded with a roll of his eyes. He watched her whip up something with deft movements and quick timing. Soon enough he was looking at the orange cloth covered bento she held proudly in front of him.**

"**I'll figure out something with your jumpsuits so you can wear the vest, shouldn't be too hard. I hope your first mission is a success." She said happily, and he took the bento with a grateful nod. **

"**I'll be back in four days hime. Hope everything works out at that new shop, take me there when I come back!" Naruto insisted, and with a wave goodbye he was out the door. He paused just above the first step when he saw Jiraiya waiting at the gate. Naruto grinned and rushed down, jumping over the fence and facing Jiraiya with excitement.**

"**So, my first solo mission eh?" Naruto prompted, the two walking along the main road into town.**

"**Don't get too cocky buddy, the real test comes with working in other teams besides your old genin one." Jiraiya snorted, ruffling his hair.**

**Naruto frowned— yeah, he hadn't really thought about it. "Well, it's not like they'll sabotage the mission just because I'm there right? But, they might make trouble for me, is that what you're implying?"**

"**All I'm saying is be prepared. I like you kid, so I'm going to give you some tailor made advice. Don't give them an opportunity to say you're an arrogant brat, or that you think you're better than anyone. Being who you are, your teammates might not trust you right away, or even like you. So just keep your head down, follow orders— but at the same time, don't be a complete tool— and don't show off." Jiraiya instructed, dark eyes looking at Naruto seriously.**

"Good advice, sensei." Minato said grimly.

"He shouldn't even have to do all that." Kushina muttered darkly, snorting.

"**I won't." Naruto promised, a firm nod indicating his agreement. Jiraiya smirked.**

"**Well kid, I'm off for a few months— got things to do for our glorious village, after all!" Jiraiya declared in a grandiose fashion.**

"**Ah, is that so Ero-sennin? Don't take up too much of your budget at just the brothels." Naruto cautioned him mockingly, side stepping the hand that was meant to swipe at him.**

"BURN." Obito bleated, pointing briefly at Jiraiya before settling down just as quickly.

"**Disrespectful brat!" Jiraiya growled, but soon subsided with a huff. They were at the Konoha gates now.**

"**Hey Ero-sennin I got to get to Nami by nightfall, can I lighten the seals?" Naruto asked.**

"**I guess that'll be fine, but fix them as soon as you get there." Jiraiya ordered, pleased when Naruto nodded immediately. **

"**Okay brat this is where we part ways." Jiraiya said as a form of farewell, and then he leapt off into the trees, going where Naruto could only imagine. Naruto sighed, shaking his head at the man, and continued on his way as well with a wave to the ever-present Chuunin guards Kotetsu and Izumo. **

_**You could speed things up even more by using my chakra, and you'll be training by using it too, **_**Kyuubi suggested, the slight husky quality of his voice letting Naruto know he had just woken up.**

_**You sleep an awful lot Kyuubi, **_**Naruto observed wryly.**

_**What else is there to do? **_**The Kyuubi shot back acerbically.**

_**Just saying, perhaps you could spend some time talking to me or . . . playing a game? **_**Naruto backtracked, not meaning to offend the Kyuubi. **

_**You just want another story! **_**Kyuubi guessed, and when Naruto winced it went on in a superior tone, **_**think you can trick this fox brat? Not likely— now get to training; it's been a little over a month since the first tail. I must admit I'm a little disappointed, here I am thinking with your determined attitude you'd have gotten it by now, **_**he taunted.**

**Naruto didn't deign that with a response, merely pulled upon the chakra as told, and pumping the chakra to his legs he soared off. He was pleased to note that unlike before, where he'd chip at the bark or even take a strip of a branch off, now no damage befell any tree he travelled to. **

"Ah, he's getting better at controlling it." Tsunade observed.

_**Don't get cocky too quickly, just stay the course and you should be to Nami by the star's first light, **_**Kyuubi advised gruffly. **

"**Hell yeah!" Naruto grinned, and with a snarl of excitement Naruto was suddenly at best a blur should anyone who was on the road look into the forests after a faint sound. **

**He made it to The Great Naruto Bridge, and with a laugh, Naruto didn't even pause as he leapt off his last branch and touched down upon the concrete. Still keeping the same gait he travelled down the bridge, marveling at the fact that he remembered it in its incomplete state, and now it was this grand structure. **

**Naruto made it Nami no Kuni by twilight, and twenty minutes after that he finally reached the town. He redid his resistance seals and brought the one tail back into himself, looking around the town with interest. It was nighttime now, so he really couldn't gauge how much the town changed. Certainly the buildings looked newer, and the stench of depression and defeat that had burned his nostrils all those months ago had basically evaporated. He needed to get to the town hall, and if he recalled correctly it was to the east of the market place. . .**

**As Naruto walked he quietly greeted the few townsfolk he walked past, people heading home from long days of work. He saw the confused looks he garnered from people, knew that they were trying to recall who he was— it didn't really matter to him, but it was funny to see people do double takes for reasons other than the fact that he was a jinchuuriki. **

**When he arrived to the Town hall he took scope of it. A large building made of wood and stone in varying earthy shades from sand to deep maple browns. Stretching up to the sky was a bell tower, the brass bell large and gleaming as it stood silent until a town emergency stirred it to call. He was surprised to see someone standing at the top of the steps to the Town hall, as if they were waiting for him. Naruto's eyes widened, he knew that person!**

"**Tazuna?!" Naruto shouted out, and indeed it was the bridge builder from his first A-rank mission! Tazuna chuckled and waved, hands suspiciously free of any sake bottles.**

"**Hey brat! I hear you got a promotion, good for you!" Tazuna greeted Naruto when the boy climbed the steps, patting him on the back.**

"Looks like someone rigged him an easy mission." Kakashi murmured, glancing slyly at Tsunade.

"**Thanks," Naruto said. They both walked into the building, going down hallways and bypassing a large auditorium to get to the Mayor's office on the second floor. "So what are you doing here Tazuna-san? And how are Inari-chan and Tsunami-san?"**

"**I'm here to escort you to my house, where you'll be staying for the duration of your stay. As for the daughter and grandchild . . . they're happy." Tazuna said simply, but that's really all he needed to say. Naruto was happy they were happy, especially after the heartache of their pasts. **

**Naruto meets the mayor, a decent looking older man with a tanned, weather-beaten face that suits him and large hands rough with calluses. Naruto gives him the scroll, and is surprised to find out it's not only a thank you letter for the payment of the A-rank, but a treaty with Nami. It is because of that treaty precisely, that Naruto was given this mission.**

"Oh, I see," Minato realizes. "There's a better chance they'll agree to the treaty if its packaged with a familiar hero of Nami, and as Kakashi is still sensei to the other two and Naruto is the only one available—"

"That, and they named the bridge after _Naruto_, not Team Seven." Obito interjected.

**When the mayor draws him into a discussion about the treaty, and the way it would work out to benefit Konoha (from the mayor's predictions and from Naruto's own opinions based on the facts), Naruto gets a strange feeling about all this.**

**It is only that night, after a tearful Inari hugs him with all the force the small body can muster, after Tsunami fixes a large, delicious dinner just for his return, and after Inari sets up a futon right next to Naruto's—that he realizes what that feeling was. Naruto had been an ambassador for Konoha. **

**Ambassador is something usually left to jounin or people specifically hired to do that— sequestered in their offices with dusty tomes and carefully pinned maps filled with notes, preparing for just such an event. And he, recent chuunin Uzumaki Naruto had been tasked with convincing the mayor to agree to the treaty.**

"Someone's feeling a little proud, aren't they?" Rin teased softly, missing the exasperated fondness in her sensei's eye when he glanced at her.

**Naruto smiles and burrows his head into the pillow, drifting off to sleep. Inari was taking him fishing tomorrow after all, and he still had to make sure the mayor was completely on board for this treaty.**

**Two days later, Naruto was spending his last lunch with the bridge builder's family. That morning, the mayor had signed the treaty with his sensible, sturdy signature and gave Naruto a firm handshake with a confident and assured smile. Konoha, the mayor assured him, would always be a friend to the people of Nami no Kuni.**

"As long as Konoha is a friend to Naruto." Minato's hushed voice spells out the hidden words, and they make perfect sense to the others.

"**Do you really have to leave so soon?" Inari asked, big dark eyes like a lost puppy, imploring him to stay.**

**Naruto chuckled, ruffling the boy's hair. "Yeah, I've got work to do, you know?"**

"**Then you've done all you needed to do?" Tsunami asked, handing him the recipe for the chocolate cake she made last night that he swore he'd recreate if it was the last thing he did.**

"**Yes, thank you for showing me such hospitality, Tsunami-san." Naruto thanked the older woman again. Tsunami shot him a beaming smile and hugged him gently.**

"**Be safe Naruto." She told him earnestly, and with a nod they stepped away and Naruto was tackled by Inari.**

"**Let's meet again sometime Naruto nii-san!" Inari declared, smiling widely.**

"**For sure!" Naruto promised with a grin. He turned to Tazuna.**

"**See you around Tazuna-san?" **

**Tazuna snorted. "Where there's a bridge needs building, the super bridge builder Tazuna will be! Here brat, a little going away present." The man handed Naruto a bottle of sake, which Naruto was pleased to note was imported from Tsuki no Kuni, known for their unusual distillation processes using the moon cycle.**

"Come on, Kushina, he has to be the same lush this time around!" Tsunade implored, looking hopefully at Kushina. Kushina sniffs but doesn't say a word for or against it.

"**Father, giving him alcohol?!" Tsunami scolded, glaring at the man.**

"**Heh, thanks. I have to go now, thank you all. See you later!" Naruto bid them farewell with a cheery grin, and then he left. He didn't run like when he was arriving to Nami, and instead kept a reasonable pace all the way to the bridge. It was nightfall by the time he hit the bridge, but he didn't feel tired— in fact, under the crescent moon he felt totally energized!**

_**Some demons find strength under the moonlight. However, I am not such a demon . . . I remember in my travels the theories humans would come up with to explain the phenomena that occurs under the moon, the full moon to be exact. They believed that, like the tides of the ocean, the moon pulled out our blood and the slight variations in blood flow affected us, affected our moods and behaviors. Not just humans or demons, but every living thing with the red life flowing through them. **_**Kyuubi told him, and Naruto was very interested in the implications of such a theory. **

"That's a pretty myth to tell in a fairy circle, but such science is dodgy to investigate so most reputable doctors wash their hands of it," Tsunade sniffed with a shake of her head. Minato looked entirely to fascinated, so Kushina squeezed his bicep with a meaningful glance, and the blonde man subsided with a noticeable pout.

**The two discussed it until the moon was nearly overhead Naruto and the clear, crisp night threatened to take his slumber by force. Naruto was off the bridge by now, but thought it best to make camp in the forest— he didn't want to deal with the extra log-in time the skeleton crew made you go through. He made camp in a small copse of trees near a pond, and slept peacefully in his sleeping bag, the feel of the dark forest around him soothing rather than foreboding. **

_**Rise, kit, morning calls for your attention! **_**Kyuubi's voice woke him that morning. Naruto grimaced softly, but did as told and managed to unglue his eyes, blinking rapidly from the brightness of his surroundings. Naruto grunted, rising up to stretch as he lazily surveyed his surroundings. **

_**Konoha's a stone's throw a way, so I might as well wait to eat! **_**Naruto decided, rolling up his gear and then placing it back into his sealing scroll. Naruto wasn't that far away from the main road, but it would be faster to tree hop— he leapt up into the trees and carried on, intent on rewarding himself with an extra-large bowl of beef ramen. The morning air, crisp and refreshing helped him wake up a little more as he kept on, and he breathed deeply of the damp earth, dewy grass and ancient bark that his advanced senses afforded him.**

**When he arrived at the gate he jumped from his tree and straight into the main road, crouching just a bit before straightening. Izumo and Kotetsu smiled, their guard duty now not as bad as always, seeing their young friend return with his usual broad grin. **

"Are those guys just the eternal gate keepers or what?" Kakashi asked with a chuckle.

"**Was your first mission successful Naruto?" Kotetsu asked, briefly checking his papers before handing them back.**

"**Yeah, it was pretty good. I got to go guys, see you later." Naruto said with a wave, and he headed straight to Ichiraku Ramen. As always, Teuchi and Ayame manned the stand, whipping up culinary delight in the form of noodles and broth, the smells enticing Naruto.**

"Please do not go all sensually descriptive on us, please." Obito whimpered low enough for just Kakashi to hear, who nearly choked on a surprise laugh.

"**I think I'll start off with two bowls of beef ramen, and three bowls of shrimp!" Naruto declared with a foxy grin, sliding onto a stool. "Morning Teuchi-san, Ayama nee-chan!" he added when they turned to him with smiles on their faces.**

"Just to start?" Tsunade snorted.

"Perfectly reasonable place to start." Kushina agreed with a serious nod.

"**Hey Naruto!" Ayame chirped, a bowl of beef already in hand. She placed it in front of Naruto with a grin, handing him chopsticks. "I knew you were coming when tou-san suddenly started mumbling about payday."**

"**Ha!" Naruto barked, breaking open the chopsticks. "Well who am I to complain if the service is this fast?"**

"**So how was your mission mister Chuunin?" Teuchi teased, placing another bowl of beef ramen down.**

"**It was great! Real easy start to my chuunin career, and it was back at Nami. I stayed with the last client's family, and they were really nice to me." Naruto told them between slurps of noodles. Naruto sighed blissfully as the delicious ramen filled him up— ramen was an every meal kind of food, but there was just something special about having it for breakfast!**

"Start your day off savory, yeah!" Obito cheered sarcastically.

**Naruto finished his ramen and paid for the final total of ten bowls, thanking the father-daughter duo for yet another delicious meal. Hunger sated, he made his way to the Hokage tower, intent on getting this back to Tsunade and then going on his own way for some training.**

**He walked up the tower, nodding in acknowledgment to some nins or even exchanging a small smile with a few. After his performance in the Suna Invasion, stories had been spread around of the rookie genin's accomplishments along with (as he had planned) his "mastery" of the nine tails' chakra to defeat the raging jinchuuriki Gaara.**

**Sure, that was only a very sparse summary with lots of important factors missing but . . . he wouldn't be getting to upset over it. **

"Not as long as that reputation's helping you rise in the village right?" Jiraiya presumed slyly.

**He knocked on the Hokage's door. "Enter!" Tsunade's strong voice beckoned him, and so he entered the room, neatly dodging the paperweight that would have hit him dead in the forehead. His venerable Hokage was tearing apart her desk, searching for something with an almost desperate fervor to her actions.**

"**Missing something?" Naruto asked dryly, walking forward to lean his right hip on the desk.**

"**Shizune's taken all my sake— I keep telling her that's what'll get me working, but she insists I'll get too drunk to be of any use! I wonder if she forgets who the legendary medic around here is." Tsunade grumbled.**

"No, she remembers." Jiraiya snorts.

"**Oh she knows very well who you are . . . which is why she took the sake." When Tsunade stiffened and glared at him, he backed down with his hands up in surrender. "Don't fret Nade-chan! Look what I got for us to share!" he opened his pack and brought out the Mitsu sake, and Tsunade hummed in appreciation as she took the bottle and examined it.**

"**Ooh, twelve years old? Good stuff—" she put the bottle down and rummaged around in her desk drawers for some sake cups. She pulled out two green glazed cups and handed Naruto one, pouring their drinks.**

"**Damn, this does taste good." Naruto muttered in surprise around the rim of his cup, and Tsunade hummed in agreement.**

"**Alright, Uzumaki-san, report on your mission." Tsunade ordered, pouring them another drink. Naruto grinned and nodded, taking two steps back and straightening up to his full height, face serious and unsmiling.**

"**The mission was a success Hokage-sama— upon leaving the village I arrived at Nami no Kuni by dusk, and was able to meet the mayor for a little while before he retired for the evening. He sends his regards for your gracious attitude about the late payment, and his agreement to sign the treaty." Naruto reported succinctly, taking a gulp of sake at the end. **

"Like a BOSS." Obito and Rin whispered reverently, amusing the rest.

"**Very good . . . the scroll?" Tsunade inquired as she stretched out her hand, and Naruto gave her the scroll. Tsunade thanked him, asked him a few more questions about the mission, and then dismissed him with a reminder to be in the office for duty the next day.**

"**Ah, one more thing!" Naruto remembered, smiling at Tsunade. He opened his pack once more and retrieved a red and white striped bag tied with a lovely bow. "Here is your souvenir."**

**Tsunade grinned, eagerly grabbing the bag. She opened it and gasped, immediately diving her hand in and bringing out a candy that she popped in her mouth. "Mm, saltwater taffy!" She sighed blissfully, eyes closing as she enjoyed the taste.**

Jiraiya couldn't resist. "If I role play as saltwater taffy, will you—"

Tsunade couldn't resist punching him off the couch.

"**Nade-chan, do you know how I can find out my elemental affinity?" Naruto asked.**

**Tsunade took some time answering as the taffy nearly glued her jaws together, but she managed to get out, "Go to the ninja supply store, and ask for some chakra paper. Thanks for the taffy Naruto, it's so good!"**

"**Heh, welcome Nade. See you tomorrow!" Naruto waved goodbye and jogged out the tower, intent on getting to the Higurashi Weapons Store. **

**TenTen looked up in surprise when the door opened to her shop— business had been rather slow as of late. She blinked in surprise when Naruto stepped through, but quickly shook herself and greeted him.**

"**Hey Naruto, been some time. What brings you here?" TenTen asked, and Naruto smiled at the older girl.**

"**Hey TenTen, what's up? I'm just here for some chakra paper if you've got it." Naruto replied.**

"**Oh, I've been helping out a lot in the store since Lee is still . . . well, luckily Hokage-sama is a legendary medic, she's personally taken an interest in his case. Still, I'm a little worried for him, Hokage-sama said that there was a 58% chance it could be a success however." TenTen told him as she walked through the store, looking for chakra paper. She found it next to the chakra weapons, and with a small noise of accomplishment she grabbed the little package and returned to the front of the store.**

"**There's still a chance . . . so is Lee going through with it?" Naruto asked, watching TenTen return behind the counter and ring up his purchase. He suspected Lee would though, and who wouldn't? Even 50% with a medic like Tsunade was a hell of a good chance.**

"Why thank you," Tsunade murmured modestly, a pleased smile on her lovely face.

"**Of course! There would be no other option for Lee," TenTen snorted with a small, sort of sad smile. "Your total is 2400 ryo."**

**Naruto whistled. "Pricey, but I guess it'll be worth it." He took the necessary amount from his wallet, and realized that he his purse was nearly empty. Looks like he'd have to make a stop to the bank. **

"**Thanks, and come again anytime Naruto." TenTen said, handing him the package of chakra papers. **

"**Will do, later TenTen." Naruto said goodbye and then walked out the store, deciding to head to training ground seven. Maybe he'd find Kakashi there at least, if not Sasuke and Sakura. He hadn't seen them since the party after all. **

**He moved through the town like a ghost, not many people paying attention to him and him not bothering to look around at anyone. Naruto wasted no time, very interested in what his affinity would be.**

_**You'll most likely have two, if not three affinities. **_**The Kyuubi mentioned casually.**

"Two is rare even for jounin, so where the hell does that third one come in?" Kushina ased.

**Naruto quirked an eyebrow. **_**Two or three?**_

_**Indeed . . . one of those affinities is going to come from me. Though I'm sure it will only show itself significantly when you're using my chakra. Wait until we get to the training ground, I'll show you what I mean then, **_**Kyuubi instructed, knowing Naruto had many questions about that. Naruto clamped his mouth shut, despite his curiosity, and just concentrated on getting to the training ground. If it required Kyuubi's chakra, he had better wait to visit his team until later, otherwise he might disturb them. **

**When he arrived at the training ground he made a beeline for the bridge where they had often waited for Kakashi. Thankfully, no one was there so Naruto hopped on the handrail and sat turned around so he could look down at the still pond beneath the bridge. He held the package in his hand and read the instructions.**

"**Take one piece of chakra paper and apply chakra to it . . . well, duh, was I going to eat it? Okay . . . if it burns it's fire— you don't say? If it becomes wet it's water . . . ugh, blah blah . . if it's wind it will split in half? Okay then . . ." Finished reading the obvious instructions Naruto opened the pack and took out one piece of chakra paper. Holding it between his thumb and pointer finger, he applied chakra to the paper— and was rather surprised when it split into two even parts, the top edges of each half dampening a little.**

"**Wind then? That's rare for Fire Country, isn't it? And a minor water affinity, probably from that training from earlier." Naruto murmured to himself, crumpling up the paper and putting it in his pocket. **

_**Now use my chakra and check the strength of its affinity, **_**Kyuubi told him, bringing the boy from his musings. Naruto's control on the tail of chakra was no so good, he didn't even have to put much thought into bringing it up. Taking another piece of chakra carefully— he didn't want to inadvertently rip it to shreds— he held the paper aloft and gently pushed some of the Kyuubi's chakra into it.**

**And promptly screamed when his hand was suddenly engulfed in flames.**

"**HOLY SHIT?!" He squawked, flinging the paper away from his and waving his hand in the air furiously, trying to somehow fling the flames off of him. **_**Get off, get off! **_**He thought frantically. And lo— the flames did cease.**

"Where was your cool attitude then brat?!" Kakashi guffawed, setting the others off with his boisterous laughter.

"Oh Kami I can just imagine it . . . ooh, it hurts. He probably had Minato-sensei's face when he realized my obaa-san was flirting with him!" Obito wheezed between rib-busting laughter, fresh peels escaping when he spotted Minato's betrayed moue and Kushina's trembling form.

**Naruto was left, panting from the shock with only the sound of Kyuubi's cackles and howls to serve as a reminder of what just happened. He swallowed, closing his eyes to reign in his temper— far more explosive than normal in this form. **

"**That's funny to you?" he asked quietly, voice deceptively calm. Kyuubi didn't answer, but he didn't need to— his wheezes were answer enough. With a gruff snort, Naruto pushed away from the bridge and stomped into the field, flinging himself down by a tree. Naruto waited for Kyuubi to get a hold of himself, plucking blades of grass and tearing them in two parts, just like his chakra did that paper.**

"Aw, he's pouting." Kushina gasped, slowly winding down from her hysterics.

**He could hear Kyuubi practically gulping for air. **_**That . . . oh, by Inari, that was goo— ha! Oh man . . . that was great. I haven't heard a man scream like that since your father accidently ate all your mother's instant ramen. **_

Obito, Kakashi and Rin would have been calm again had they not heard _that_— and so they were helpless to their laughter and cramping stomachs.

**Naruto snorted, not letting Kyuubi's inadvertent teaser with a story of his parents soften him.**

_**Oh, don't be too mad at me, **_**Kyuubi teases, **_**because I had something nice to say you know?**_

"**And what's that?" Naruto grumbles, still plucking at the springy grass beneath him.**

_**Congratulations on mastering the first tail. Your reward comes in a month's time. **_**Kyuubi said, amusement coloring his tone. Naruto's brow furrowed— how had he mastered . . . ? Then he looked at his hand— saw what he was doing— he was picking blades of grass and not one of them had practically disintegrated at his touch. He'd learned to control himself with the first tail! Naruto whooped, jumping up and doing a couple backflips to let out his feelings. **

"Congratulations!" Rin and Kakashi whoop, Obito mock weeping into his arms muttering about how proud he was.

_**Yes**_**, Naruto thought, **_**things are going to be rather fun from now on.**_

**A week later, Naruto had his first team mission— his first failed mission as well— and he wondered how he could be so fucking stupid.**

"You can't win them all sochi-kun." Kushina said wisely.

**Tsunade sat behind her desk, glaring at the entire team. He wasn't familiar with any of them, only knew they were all older than him, and hadn't had time even on the mission to get to know them. The team captain was a twenty eight year-old chuunin by the name of Ayukawa Shin— a perpetually mean-mugging man with slicked back brown hair of average height. His two teammates were Hidaka Ami— blue haired and grey eyed, far more powerful than her petite frame suggests— and Igarashi Takashi— short, spiky black hair and a small goatee, his usual smug demeanor now gone under Tsunade's glare— made perfect nervous contrasts to his nonchalant air. **

"**Ayukawa!" Tsunade barked, and the man in question flinched, before regaining himself and his professional demeanor.**

"**Yes, Hokage-sama." He grunted, not confident enough under the blonde woman's steely gaze to try his usual swagger. **

"Damn straight." Tsunade snorted disdainfully, tossing her head.

"**Mind explaining to me why not only did the client deem this mission a failure and actually sent you all back here after three days . . . but the good sir also had the decency to write me a letter on exactly why you all failed, and who exactly I should retrain for unprofessional, uncouth behavior?" Tsunade asked testily.**

The group flinched as one. "Wow, I've never had someone do that, even if we did end up not completing a mission." Jiraiya muttered with a shiver.

"What the hell happened?" Minato wondered as well, eyes squinted in confusion.

**Ayukawa sensed an opening, a way to get himself out of trouble, and jumped on it like a dog in heat. "Hokage-sama, the only reason our mission was unsuccessful was because of the client's understandable intolerance of the petty and immature squabbling of a certain member of this team."**

"**Notice my betrayed expression. Observe my sorrow at this injustice." Naruto whispered low enough for only his teammates to hear. Takashi snorted, turning it into a coughing fit when Tsunade and Ayukawa looked at him questioningly, while Ami just rolled her eyes.**

"Well I guess we know who was acting _immature_ and _petty_." Rin said sarcastically, air quoting.

"Well I did— or rather, future me did warn him." Jiraiya sighed.

"**And who was the member?" Tsunade asked with a considering expression.**

"**Uzumaki Naruto, Hokage-sama," Ayukawa stated, spitting out Naruto's name like a fowl curse. "His attention seeking ways and inability to get with the program and realize he wasn't the boss on this mission set both his team and the client off. He refused to listen to orders and continually argued with every word said to him. Inexperience can only excuse such behavior for so long . . . it is a wonder he got promoted."**

"OBJECTION!" Kushina howled, interrupting the reading. Turning to Kakashi she declares, "Your honor I declare bullshit in that logic."

"His logic _is_ bullshit. It's a wonder how he isn't dead yet. Anybody could see that huge ass ego head full of hot air from a mile off." Kakashi snorted.

"Harsh," Rin shot. "But not untrue." She added slyly, sharing a grin with her teammates.

**Tsunade nodded thoughtfully, hooded eyes never leaving Ayukawa's face. "Uzumaki-san," she spoke sharply, and Naruto found himself straightening up instinctually. "Do you have anything to say for yourself? Any differences in opinion you wish to state?"**

**Naruto took a few moments to work out his statement, knowing by the look on Tsunade's face that she was close to throwing those huge tomes behind her desk at them."Hokage-sama, all I can say with absolute truth and sincerity is that I believe I acted professionally, and sought to complete the mission to the best of my abilities. It is my regret that problems within the team dynamic resulted in our client losing confidence in our abilities." **

"Slick, but it was still a dangerous move," Tsunade critiqued. "If I'm in a mood, suave words like that could only piss me off worse than I already am."

**Ayukawa snorted quietly under his breath. Naruto, fed up with the uppity little bastard, blinked slowly— brought up the Kyuubi's chakra— and then opened his eyes, tilting his head so only Ayukawa could see his scarlet red eyes. Just as quickly as he opened them he shut them again, and when he opened his eyes they were once more blue. Ayukawa had seen his eyes though, and couldn't stifle the tremor of fear that ran through his body. The man quickly turned around and faced the front again, pale faced and wide-eyed. **

"Ha! Punk bitch." Obito snorted, dodging the half-hearted reprimanding slap from Minato.

**Tsunade's eyebrows raised at the strange reaction, but then she looked at Naruto— who, despite his stoic face, could not stamp out the wicked gleam in his eye— and she closed her eyes with a sigh, not wanting to know. She opened her eyes again, and addressed the team.**

"**Well, I would ask you two for your opinions, but . . . the letter your client gave me is pretty much clear evidence." She explained, inwardly scoffing at Ayukawa's blatantly smug expression. Her next words wiped it clean off of his face. **

"**The client is very clear in expressing his shock at the blatant bullying shown by the team leader to Uzumaki-san . . . especially as Uzumaki-san, and I quote," she cleared her throat, picking up the letter and reading verbatim: "Was far too mild mannered and kind a young man to respond to such childish antics, even as his supposed teammates were watching on in silence. Indeed, the captain didn't even care when I voiced my back pains to him, too busy scorning Uzumaki-san— who I might add was kind enough to give me a piggyback ride."**

"Justice!" Obito hissed, hands raising to the air and slowly clenching into fists. "How sweet it is . . ."

**Tsunade placed the paper down slowly, eyes locked on the sweating Ayukawa like a tigress on her prey. "A very different story from what you have told me, Ayukawa. I'll deal with you two, Hidaki and Igarashi at a later date. I understand your desire not to be insubordinate, but that was blatant ignorance you two showed. Everyone except for Ayukawa . . . dismissed!"**

**They couldn't get out of there fast enough. As soon as the door closed a roar of sound could be heard behind the closed wood door, and the three chuunin eyed it nervously.**

"**Well . . . see you guys when I see you." Naruto said awkwardly, giving a short wave to Ami and Takashi. He walked away, quite alright with the fact that they probably didn't like him very much since he would never see them again in all likelihood.**

"**Wait." Ami called softly, and Naruto stopped in his tracks, looking over his shoulder.**

"**Yeah?" he asked, waiting for her to continue.**

**Ami and Takashi looked at each other, deliberating. It was Takashi who spoke up this time. "We just wanted to say that we're sorry . . . about not trying to help you."**

**Naruto shrugged. "It's not like you two know me or anything . . . what's the benefit in stepping in front of a tyrannical leader just for some wet behind the ears kid?" he waved again and walked on, and despite his uncaring attitude, he had to admit he didn't expect them to say anything about it.**

**His next team mission the next week was just as bad, but for an entirely different reason.**

"What the hell is wrong with your son? I thought he had devil's luck!" Tsunade ground out in exasperation.

**Katsu jumped, whipping around when Naruto burst into the house, face drawn and he looked like a man on the brink. Iruka sat next to her, being on his lunch break, and stared blankly at his former student.**

"**What the hell?!" Katsu gasped, hand flying up to her throat in surprise.**

"**Oh . . ." Naruto breathed, blinking rapidly as he looked at her. "You're home? But it's like . . . one o'clock in the afternoon right? Shouldn't you be at work?"**

"**I'm a part timer, I've got a three or four day schedule. So I'm off today. Is . . . something wrong?" Katsu inquired nervously.**

**Naruto groaned, stumbling to the couch and dropping like a stone next to her, head dropping harshly on the back of the couch. "Oh Kami . . . the mission was a total **_**nightmare**_**."**

"**Did your team give you a hard time again?" Katsu asked in concern, leaning forward to get a better look at his upturned face. **

"**No, actually . . . I had Shikamaru with me, and Ami from my last mission was there, and there was a marked improvement with her . . . no. It was the client."**

"Oh, good," Minato sighed. "I'd hate to think our ninja were just _that_ ignorant."

"**The client?"**

"**Some entitled, spoiled little brat . . . no. She wasn't little! She was sixteen! And she is a cougar in the making!" Naruto nearly screeched, head popping up to whip around and stare at her with a crazed look. **

"Oh!" Rin shouted in realization, then dissolving into laughter as understanding downed on the other's faces.

"Oh Minato, look how you've cursed our poor son." Kushina laughed, lightly hitting Minato's shoulder.

"Hey, it's my coloring but it's your cute face." Minato denied stubbornly.

"**Oh . . ." Iruka drawled in realization, suppressing his laughter. "Someone had an admirer."**

"**Do you know why I was chosen for that mission? Tsunade chose me for just. One. Reason." Naruto hissed.**

"Tsunade you're whoring the kid out now?" Jiraiya asked in amazement, laughing at the expression on Tsunade's face.

"**What?" Katsu asked, her lips curling in amusement.**

"**The client— that spoiled little merchant's daughter— wanted only strong, handsome men. And apparently, the two other males on the team didn't make the cut, but I sure did!" Naruto babbled, now pacing the length of the living room. **

"You shouldn't be so upset, that's a compliment really!" Rin insisted.

Minato snorted. "Rin, you've seen enough of those clients to know how annoying they can be for the entire team." Rin was slightly surprised he was talking to her considering how mad he'd been earlier, but she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Rin smiled. "Yeah, but man it was funny to see you squirm sensei." The two shared a smile, those gestures and that small little reaction letting the other know they were good.

**Katsu and Iruka laughed at his plight, which wasn't all that serious to them but to Naruto . . . **

**He shivered, rubbing his arms like he was genuinely cold. "She was so . . . hands-on! I feel impure . . ." Suddenly he stopped and stood stalk still, his face as if coming to a realization.**

"**Naruto?" Katsu asked, head tilting.**

"**YOU!" Naruto roared, spinning around to point at her. Katsu startled, nervously climbing to her feet, unknowingly angling her body to run if needed— because Naruto looked bat shit right about now. **

"**Me?" Katsu asked nervously.**

"**You!" Naruto nodded, looking oddly feverish. "Cleanse me with your touch!" and with a snarl, he leapt forward and pounced on a screaming Katsu, sending them both tumbling over the edge of the couch. **

"WHOO! Go, my student, GO!" Jiraiya screamed, fist pumping excitedly. Tsunade snarled and clawed at him, dragging him down so her fists could set him straight.

"Aw, just like his daddy." Minato cooed with a wicked grin. Kushina shrieked in embarrassment, fighting against his restraining hands and kicking him with all her mustered force.

"Naruto, _do not_ be an attacker pervert! Your okaa-chan _forbids it!_" Kushina hollered to the book.

"He cannot hear you." Kakashi said seriously.

**Naruto apparently forgot the presence of Iruka, and indeed Iruka forgot himself for a few moments as he was too shocked to move. Then Katsu's squeals and Naruto's cackles prompted him to move, and lecture, Naruto to the other side of the room while a blushing Katsu scurried on to the other side. **

**So after giving Tsunade the cold shoulder for all of two days before he fell under the power of her sparkly-eyed pout, Naruto was enjoying a day off and planning on going out to find Kakashi. Then, looking at his best friend who was curled up on the couch, he had an even better idea.**

"**Hime!" he chirped, crouching down to see her face. "Let's go out on a date."**

**Katsu looked up from her idle sketching; smiling at Naruto's excited face. "Where should we go?"**

"**The movies? There's a couple new ones out." He answered.**

**Katsu mulled this over, getting up and tapping her fingers on her knees. "Okay." She decided, rising up to stretch. "Should we change?" she asked, looking down at her own shorts and off the shoulder long sleeve.**

**Naruto snorted. "We're not trying to impress anybody, and besides it's just a midday movie." He himself was just wearing khaki cargos and a dark blue long sleeve, rolled up to his elbows. Laughing Katsu conceded his point.**

"**Okay, let me just get Kakashi's present. If we see him I can wish him happy birthday and give it to him quickly." **

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The room cheered, and unknown to them a strawberry blush came over the youth's pale cheeks— and he once again thanked the mask he wore over his face.

"Thanks." He said awkwardly.

**Naruto said, dashing up the stairs and to their room, where Kakashi's present lay on their nightstand. Grabbing it and his wallet, Naruto headed down and they left the house. It didn't take them long to get to the movie theatre, and when they got there they (or at least Naruto) were pleasantly surprised to see Sakura and Sasuke in front as well.**

"**Hey guys!" Naruto greeted, saluting them. Sasuke flickered his eyes to Naruto, letting go of his annoyed grimace for just one second to smooth it out into a respectful nod of placidity, before returning to his ire at the fact that he **_**never wanted to be here in the first place.**_

Progress," Rin sighed. "How pretty it looks."

"**Naruto!" Sakura cried out in surprise, smiling at him and Katsu. Katsu responded with a polite smile and a wave, asking, "What movie are you guys going to see?"**

"**Um . . . we were thinking of going to see the new Princess Gale movie." Sakura said, looking back at the ticket booth, before her eyes lit up like pale green fire and her gaze zeroed in on the bright couple standing before her. "Why don't we watch it together?"**

**Naruto glanced at Katsu, who just shrugged with a noncommittal sound. He took that as a yes then . . . right? "Sure, let's go."**

"**Great! Come on, Sasuke-kun, it'll be fun!" Sakura chirped, grabbing onto the pale boy's arm and practically dragging him to the ticket booth. Katsu giggled and followed along, Naruto bringing up the rear of their little group.**

"**I didn't think she'd treat her true love like that." Katsu whispered conspiratorially to Naruto, taking stock of the firm grip Sakura had on Sasuke, and the firm edge to her smile. **

"Not quite fan girl, and yet not quite serious hand for courting." Rin murmured, lips twitching with amusement.

"**She's gotten a lot better it seemed, from that Chuunin Exam." Naruto whispered back, stepping up to pay for his and Katsu's tickets. **

**The movie wasn't packed, nor was it a small smattering of crowd but they were able to find seats next to each other. Sitting together, with two extra-large tubs of popcorn to share and cold sodas for all they watched the new Princess Gale movie— the movies were rather popular and Naruto recalled seeing the first two or three movies on television a couple years after they had been released for the public.**

**He enjoyed it, and he enjoyed being with his old team again, and slipping almost seamlessly into the dynamic they once shared before he had been promoted. More than anything though, he enjoyed the subtle teasing Katsu would send Sasuke's way, and the small twitches the older boy would make, Sakura then asking him what was wrong since she couldn't hear Katsu. **

**When the movie was done and over with they exited the dark theatre, hands raised to help acclimate their eyes to the bright sunshine outside. Naruto smiled and looked at Katsu. "Was that fun?" **

"**Yeah, I enjoyed the movie." Katsu reported with a firm nod. "How about you guys?" she asked Sakura and Sasuke, leaning around Naruto to see them. Sakura nodded happily, and Sasuke just made his customary grunt. Naruto laughed, shoving the boy's shoulder, grinning wickedly when it was heartily returned. Sakura looked vaguely worried, thinking it would turn into another fight.**

"You have much to learn my dear," Rin sighed, glancing at Kakashi and Obito.

"I know what you mean." Tsunade sighed, flicking a tired glance to Jiraiya.

**Katsu shook her head with a fond smile and walked ahead. A sound— thump— and then the crying of a small child . . . a little girl? She turned her head, and not fifteen feet from her was a little girl sitting on the ground with her legs slayed out in front of her, one knee scuffed up and fat tears sliding down her red suffused cheeks. Naruto glanced at her as she walked away but didn't ask about it. Katsu let a small smile quirk the side of her lips as she walked over to the toddler in the pale yellow dress. She didn't notice the strange patterns in the crowd ahead of her, the faint cries of "watch it!" and "get out of the way!" **

**Naruto chuckled at a shot made by Sasuke, turning around to include Katsu, "Hime, come on!" he called, and Katsu turned. **

"**Hold on, I have to get this kid!" she called back, and crouched down, gathering the girl in her arms. "Come on sweetie, let's clean up that owie and we'll find your parents okay?" she cooed, and the girl nodded shyly, head ducking to press into her shoulder. She chuckled and made to stand, when a noise caught her attention. She turned her head to see the crowd of people looking oddly at something behind them. She stood slowly, brow furrowing. There was something coming . . . an odd staccato sound?**

"**Katsu!" Naruto cried, and she felt herself jerked out of the way and suddenly in Naruto's arms as he pushed them out of the way . . . of what?**

**Of the speeding horse that everyone else had to jump out of the way of, apparently. When Naruto steadied them on the other side of the road, she blinked in surprise at the fading figure of a woman wearing an expensive looking kimono on a horse, uncaring as she nearly killed the people in front of her, the civilians narrowly dodging out of the way of the stampeding animal.**

"What a bitch." Kushina growled, eyes narrowed.

"**Bitch." Naruto growled angrily, looking at the retreating figure.**

"God that kills me every time it happens." Minato chuckled, looking at his girlfriend.

**He took a deep breath and blew it out, before deciding that going after the rude woman would just be a waste of time— his **_**off time**_**. Let someone else deal with it, he thought. He turned to Katsu and looked over the toddler in her arms.**

"**Is the chiisa na hime alright?" Naruto asked in his most courteous voice, tipping his head to the little girl. The girl nodded minutely, teary eyes blinking up at him. "Say, hime-chi, do you know where your okaa-chan and otou-san are?"**

"**Chiyo!" A woman screamed, and Naruto heard pounding footsteps coming toward them.**

"**Found them." Katsu supplied helpfully, and he pushed her shoulder lightly. Taking the girl from her arms he turned around ready to present the unharmed child— mostly unharmed, he corrected himself, seeing her scraped knee— when he saw just who the parents were and he couldn't help but be shocked.**

"**Momo-sensei?!" he called, and the woman stopped in surprise when she saw him and Katsu. She smiled widely and strode forward, capturing the two of them in an embrace.**

"Who?" Obito asked, confused.

"Remember? Their tea ceremony sensei from chapter . . . ooh, I think four?" Kushina reminded him. "The one who hugged Naruto, and he was all surprised and happy . . ."

"**It's so good to see you two! And thank you so much for helping my daughter. I was so scared when I saw that woman come through here on that horse!" Momo said passionately, gently taking her daughter from Naruto's hands and looking her over. "Aw, does your knee hurt baby?" she cooed to her daughter, who was already rubbing away her tears, not sad anymore with her mother around.**

"**No, kaa-san." Chiyo piped up, and Momo smiled. A man who appeared to be her husband stood next to them and put his arm around the two. He looked up and smiled at Naruto and Katsu.**

"**I've heard a lot about you from my wife when you two were taking lessons. It's nice to meet you— I'm Kaito." He greeted, smiling widely at the two. Naruto and Katsu smiled back, chirping a greeting back.**

"**It's nice to meet you as well." Katsu agreed. Naruto made to say something, but a familiar scent made him pause and look up to the surrounding roofs. When he saw the shock of silver hair and the lazy beckoning wave, he sighed, and looked back at the group with a resigned expression.**

"**It appears I have to go now. See you in a little Katsu?" **

"**Actually, I'd like to catch up with my old students if that's not too much trouble. Katsu, would you mind accompanying us to the park? We were taking Chiyo there to play with her friends." Momo interrupts, looking questioningly at Katsu.**

"**Yeah, sure!" Katsu agrees readily. Naruto nods, and then he jumps off to follow Kakashi.**

"**Happy birthday nii-san." Naruto says to start when he catches up to Kakashi.**

"**Why thank you, it feel rather strange knowing I made it to twenty-six." Kakashi jokes. **

"Your sense of humor can be nearly as dark as mine sometimes." Obito mentions, smirking at Kakashi.

"I can only imagine what I've seen and done . . . it's not too strange." Kakashi reminds him.

**He perks up with interest when Naruto unravels a scroll, and from his seal, takes out a gift-wrapped box. He chuckles at the red and silver color scheme, and takes it with interest.**

"Aw, you two are such a cute big brother and little brother match-up." Kushina says softly, smiling at Kakashi, whose blush can now be seen all over his face.

"**Well open it!" Naruto urges with a grin, and Kakashi does. When he opens up the top, he at first does a double take at what lays inside. His incredulous, 'are you serious?' gaze wanders to Naruto, who just winks cheekily at him. With a huff of silent laughter, Kakashi reaches in and picks up the chain of his new pocket watch, lifting it up until the round, silver watch with a delicately antique look dangles in front of him.**

"Now you have no excuse to be late." Minato teases him.

"Or a prop to make your lateness even worse." Obito suggests innocently.

"Nice." Kakashi approves, high-fiving Obito.

"**Open it." Naruto suggests with relish. Kakashi shoots him a look, but opens up the clock to see an inscription on the inner lid: **_**Hm? Did you say something? **_

**Kakashi can't help but tip his head back and laugh. "Thanks Naruto, I love it." He tells the younger boy with a grin, placing the watch back in the box and tucking the small thing in his vest pocket. Naruto laughs, eyes shining at Kakashi's rueful look.**

"**So what did you want to say?" Naruto asks, leaping to the ground alongside Kakashi, walking into the Hokage Tower.**

"**Well, Team Seven has a mission, and though we could get a replacement third team member I'd like you to come along." Kakashi explains, walking up to the Hokage Tower.**

"**And the mission is . . . ?" Naruto trails off, looking expectantly at Kakashi.**

"**Protecting the actress Fujikaze Yuki as she films a new movie in Yuki no Kuni." Kakashi promptly states, and Naruto is hit with a sense of foreboding at the lack of teasing in Kakashi's voice.**

**He understands why when he sees the same woman that nearly killed Momo-sensei's daughter and Katsu, unconscious on the couch of the Hokage's office. And, it hits him that she plays Princess Gale. Tsunade is busy waving away the apologies of an elder man about "Yuki's terrible behavior to those poor children, all they wanted was her autograph," and Naruto got an even worse feeling. This spoiled, mean spirited bratty princess was his next client?**

"What, she didn't want to give out her autograph?" Tsunade scoffs.

"Tough, she shouldn't get nasty with children." Kushina sniffs.

"**Say brat, how's about doing me and your old sensei a favor?" Tsunade chuckles sheepishly when she catches sight of him, and Naruto rubs the back of his head with a disgruntled expression on his face.**

"And come back next time, for chapter twenty-two!" Kakashi concludes, smiling as he gently closed the book.

"Well, Yuki no Kuni . . . I've only been there once but it was a lovely enough place. The royal family certainly wasn't too bad." Kushina mused, going back into memories of her chuunin days.

"Well, let's hope there isn't too much trouble this time." Rin says with a firm nod.

"Well, we won't know until the next chapter— and before then we all need to get some sleep." Minato says with a firm look to his team. They nod reluctantly, getting up and bidding the others goodnight. Eventually they all do, and Kushina and Minato drift off to sleep with Naruto's foxy grin and eyes sparkling with mischief in their dreams.

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**And, see you guys next month! Over the course of that month i'm sure any and all reviews i recieve will be thoroughly and liesurely enjoyed by myyself on lazy afternoons after a hard day's work.**

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad~3**


	22. Chapter 22

**HELLO All! Well, though my month rest wasn't particularly the most relaxing, it was good enough for me to get my thoughts in order. Who knew second semester of college was so gosh darn tiring? Ha. Gosh Darn. ANYWAY- Happy Valentines Day! From me to all you wonderful readers, I give you a super special gift.**

**A TWO chapter update. **

**That's right. Not one, but two! Chapters 22 and 23 are up and ready for your viewing pleasure! BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! See how long the scroll bar is? That's because at the end of this rendition of The Land of Snow, there is a special bonus! Remember the movie, how it came with that bonus OVA? Well, surprise! My version of the Sports Festival! If it sucks, be honest, I didn't have much to work with. Cuz honestly that shit was just . . . urg. **

**At any rate, please enjoy this new chapter! And please read the author's note at the top of chapter twenty-three for some important information. Oh, btw, musicalShelley? Listen, nobody copied the story. xxHinaAngelxx is the one who had the original idea, i just asked to borrow it and then twisted it way out of her domain into my own. Nobody is copying anyone. Thanks for caring though.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

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_Chapter Twenty-Two_

_On to the Land of Snow, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

"Ooh, how exciting is this?!" Rin squealed, dancing in her seat as they all settled around in the living room. Minato and Kushina chuckled, looking at each other with fondness and excitement.

"So who reads?" Kushina asked, though she looked to Minato.

"Yeah, Minato-sensei, read!" Obito and Rin urged, seeing Kushina stare at him. Minato sighed as if put upon, but he quickly snatched up the book much to the others amusement.

"Okay, on to the Land of Snow everyone!" Minato cheered, opening the book.

**Naruto relished in the ocean spray cleansing his senses, the breeze catching at his clothes as they still sailed through tropical waters. He knew to savor this, for eventually the tropical seas would shift into arctic waters, and you did not want that frost caressing your face.**

"**Naruto, aren't you interested in the set?" Sakura asked, and azure eyes opened slowly as he turned around, leaning his elbows against the ship as he took in the set. The cast and crew were all hard at work preparing the scene for "Princess Gale's shocking surprise." **

**His head lolled to the side, to address Sakura. "Nope."**

"Show some excitement sochi, each new experience should be treasured!" Kushina pouted at her son's lackluster attitude.

**As Sakura huffed, Sasuke put in his two cents, speaking to Kakashi. "So, how is this a mission?"**

"**Like I said before, we're guarding Yuki through her filming of the movie. As a matter of fact, you should be quite pleased with this Sasuke— after all, it's an A-rank." Kakashi told the genin, eyes roving the pages of his little orange book with a lazy interest.**

"Just for a celebrity?" Obito gaped.

"I think a little more than a celebrity." Jiraiya mutters.

"**I don't see how babysitting a pampered little actress is an A-rank." Sasuke said skeptically. **

"**Please, with that attitude of hers she's undoubtedly rubbed a lot of people the wrong way." Naruto snorted, closing his eyes again as his head tipped back to let the sun's rays warm his face.**

"**Though it's not the way I would put it, what Naruto says has a kernel of truth," Kakashi tries to redirect, nudging Naruto in the ribs. "Famous people are targeted all the time. We never know who might try to harm our client, so we must always be on guard."**

**Whatever else was going to be said was swallowed by the team of ninja when the door to Yuki's private quarters burst open, the actress herself looking around wildly.**

"**You have got to be kidding me!" She wailed, sinking to her knees in defeat as she realized exactly where she was. Her faithful retainer Sandayuu gently rouses her onto her feet and brings her back into the room as the wardrobe department converges on her to prep her for her scene. **

"**She had no idea she was on this ship?" Naruto asked with raised eyebrows, a small smile growing.**

"**Nope . . ." Sasuke answered, popping the 'p.' **

"**Why are you smiling?" Kakashi asked, eyeing the content looking blonde.**

"**Because her pain amuses me, -ttebayo." Naruto answers sweetly, and Kakashi just shakes his head at him.**

"He really must not like her." Rin murmurs with a wondering look.

"**But that thing you did with the Sharingan . . . I had no idea you could put people in a trance with it." Naruto adds, glancing up at the older man.**

"**I didn't know that either." Sasuke grumbled, irritated at not knowing about his own family's doujutsu powers. All of them.**

"**Well, it's thanks to you for finding her Naruto. You put a scent marker on her or something?" Kakashi teased. Naruto responded with a neat flip of his middle finger.**

**They return to watching the crew bustle about, creating a wreckage as if they are on some feudal lord's land, the man who has apparently fallen in battle lying limp among the debris. The incredibly bored looking Yuki has finished her makeup and is now getting ready to do her scene. **

"**Okay everyone I want to get this in one take!" The director shouts, and his crew shouts an enthusiastic "YES!" **

"**How can she possibly look distraught if she looks so bored?" Sakura wonders, hands on her hips as her head cocks to the side.**

"Hips? I remember what she looked like from the few times I've seen her, those are not what I call hips." Rin mutters, and Obito has to nearly stuff his fist into his mouth to keep from laughing.

"**Oh, I don't know . . . maybe she'll just . . . **_**act**_** like she's distraught." Naruto provides his answer with casual mocking, easily batting away the fist meant for his cranium as he chuckles.**

**They watch, impressed as Yuki seems to do a complete one-eighty and become a shaking, distraught princess who does indeed seem genuinely heartbroken. Even Naruto casts aside his dislike of the bratty princess to credit her considerable acting skill. **

"**Well, she's actually . . ." he starts to admit.**

"**Cut! Sorry . . . Sandayuu, I need my eye drops to cry!" Yuki suddenly breaks from her character, and Sandayuu starts, quickly rushing over to place the drops in her eyes. Tow in each eye, and she's ready to be the sobbing mess the script calls for.**

"I thought actors could cry on command." Kushina snorts.

"Assuming they have some humanity in them." Kakashi comments idly, eyes glinting wickedly when snorts of laughter erupt from the others.

"**Come on, the drops are spilling over, let's do this!" She beckons, balancing her head as she tries to keep the tears in check, waiting for the call of the director. **

"**Oh, brother . . ." Naruto hears the director mutter, and he completely agrees with those sentiments.**

"**. . . a complete fraud." He finishes his earlier trailed off statement. By the agitated, disbelieving looks on his team's faces, they agree with him.**

_**If you've got so much time to critique an actress on her personal habits, how about you shape up yours? **_**The Kyuubi suggested with a hint of snide. Naruto knew what the fox meant, so with a sigh he dug a leaf out of his weapons pouch and got to work trying to cut the damn thing.**

"**Oh, so you have wind affinity?" Kakashi asked, noticing his efforts and grumbles under his breath.**

"**Yeah." Naruto muttered, briefly glancing away to look at Kakashi before returning to glaring at the leaf.**

"**How did you find that out?" Sasuke asked, looking condescendingly at his little leaf.**

"**I'll tell you two after the mission." Naruto promised, a clear dismissal as he turned back to the leaf. Sasuke snorted and turned away, and Sakura was still looking at the filming process with a sort of bemusement.**

**The team vacillates between respect for her acting skills and exasperation at her otherwise dominantly bratty personality through the rest of the trip to Snow Country. When the others had to start wearing their cloaks, they weren't close enough yet that Naruto needed to, running on a higher temperature.**

"That's an Uzumaki thing or a jinchuuriki thing?" Rin asks curiously.

"It's all Kyuubi." Kushina answers.

_**Another opportunity for training, **_**Kyuubi informs him.**

_**And how might that be? **_**Naruto asks.**

_**It is an advanced technique for ningen to take their chakra and circulate it throughout their body during the colder months, both warming themselves and working on their control. You will do the same, but with my chakra. Be careful, too much and you'll catch your death of fever, **_**Naruto could just feel the Kyuubi's mocking grin as it said those words.**

"Ooh, that's high chuunin level stuff." Minato observes, impressed.

_**Duly noted, **_**Naruto answered, before working on just that. He reached inside himself, grasping onto the immediate almost hot rush that lead to the Kyuubi's chakra. Once he had it in his grasp, he carefully separated a ribbon of it away— he figured he'd need just that to warm his body— and spread it throughout his body, at first concentrating on circulating it, and then slowly putting his mind to other tasks as the circulation became second nature. It was a lot, he discovered, like water walking.**

_**Learning quick, as always, Naruto, **_**and before he could analyze the suspicious emotion in Kyuubi's voice that sounded very much like fondness, he was suddenly hit from the side by a human sloth, clinging to him with abandon. **

"Damn its gets harder and harder to not think Kyuubi's a fluffy fox the more nice he gets." Rin sighed, blushing cutely as she put her hands on her cheeks, smiling in a sappy manner.

"Giant. Demon. Fox." Kakashi slowly enunciates each word, hand on Rin's shoulder.

"**Yes, Sakura, I think you're a nice girl . . . but you must know I'm a taken man." Naruto grunts, breathing shallow and fast to return some air to his crushed lungs.**

"**Shut up, you are the hottest thing here right now." Sakura mutters, pressing her cheek to his shoulder— even with the cloak there was a distinctly uncomfortable chill, and his body practically radiated heat. "Sasuke-kun, get over here! He feels so good."**

"Wow, that sounds all sorts of wrong." Obito whistles, looking away in pretend discomfort as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"**On that note, if you come near me Sasuke I'm breaking my foot off in your ass." Naruto adds in loftily. Sakura snorts and waddles to the side, forcing him to move as well, and she forces their stiff bodies to the floor and leaning against the crates. **

"**I'm feeling more appreciated than ever before for all the wrong reasons." Naruto murmurs to Kakashi, craning his head back to see the taller man reclining against the crates.**

"**Welcome to the ninja corps kid." Kakashi salutes mockingly, smirking at him— Naruto can tell because the look in his obsidian eye just screams smug, and Naruto has the sudden urge to tear that eyeball out. **

"You know I have no depth perception, why are you so mean?" Kakashi whines.

"**What the hell did you do Naruto you're like a furnace?" Sasuke mutters in puzzlement, sitting so close to Naruto's side their shoulders pressed together with every intake of breath from either boy. He resisted the urge to get any closer, but honestly the warmth radiating from Naruto was like a kotatsu turned up to max heat, and it felt incredibly comfortable. **

"If even Sasuke is lulled by it, Naruto must really be putting out a lot of heat . . . but that's to be expected for a first time try at this. Luckily he is who he is, otherwise any other kid would catch a fever." Tsunade analyzed.

"**Ah, well it's the other chakra." Naruto tells him, and Sakura perks up in confusion when Sasuke just makes a noise of recognition. Other chakra? What other chakra? She asks as much.**

"**Oh right, I didn't tell you yet because . . . well, I forgot." Naruto recalled sheepishly. "Whatever, it's much more fun if you figure it out for yourself. Here's your first clue! What's large, demonic, and goes with my birthday?"**

"She was kunoichi of the year for some reason Naru-chan." Rin chides.

"**I don't see what the Kyuubi has to do with you." Sakura says bluntly, her sharp mind easily able to pick up on the ridiculously obvious 'clue' given by Naruto.**

"**You will . . . eventually." Naruto explains vaguely, garnering an annoyed growl from Sakura. **

"**You know kiddies, it's about time for you to head to sleep." Kakashi reminded them. Indeed, the team just noticed that the dark grey sky was now taking on tinges of indigo and black to signal the night behind it. **

"**Eh?! But it's so cold in there . . ." Sakura moaned piteously, eyes tearing up at the thought of leaving the heat source she had now.**

"**Well, you'd have to talk to Naruto about that." Kakashi placates, doing an excellent job of not showing any amusement at the look of pure hatred Naruto was leveling at him right now.**

"**Just get your futons and put them next to mine. Except for you Kakashi— freeze, you bastard. **_**Freeze**_**." Naruto growled.**

"You two are totally brothers, it's crazy." Obito snorts.

**The next morning, Kakashi and Naruto were the first ones up, so they stroll to the deck and talk about his resistance seals ("I can't believe he cut off my ability to lighten them!" Naruto fumes. "So you have no control of them right now? Jiraiya-sama is training you properly then.")— and therefore, the first ones to notice the new obstacle in their course. **

"**That can be a country on its own, it seems like." Naruto remarks, as the two looked at the giant floating iceberg— nearly an island of its own— that blocked their path.**

"**Well, it's rather scenic." Kakashi commented. **

"**Yeah . . ." Naruto agreed.**

"You two are just annoyingly apathetic on purpose aren't you?" Tsunade remarks dryly.

"It's our thing— or it will be." Kakashi modestly admits, shrugging.

"**What the hell?!" a panicked voice from behind them made them turn around to gaze with interest at the director's assistant— an orange-haired youth who was currently sporting saucer eyes and a face of doom. He turned around, nearly skidding on the now frost-slick floor of the ship and scrambled away screaming for the director.**

"**Energetic this morning, eh?" Kakashi noticed.**

"**Far too much energy for this sort of weather." Naruto mumbles.**

**The director, however, is a man of opportunity and great cinematic vision. Rather than bemoan the sudden iceberg as his crew was doing, the director instead sees the perfect backdrop for his next scene. He commands the ship to land on it, and once they are on it he quickly sets the people to work. Make-up, lighting, sound— everything, because this is the great opportunity, and he is not about to waste it.**

**Team Seven is in the background again, watching a scene that has more action than the previous location allowed. Princess Gale and her comrades now face off against the antagonist, an old man in headdress and robes that look far too heavy for anyone to be properly dastardly in— and there is suddenly a change in script.**

**A large explosion blasts away part of a cliff of ice in the background, and the old man— remarkably not breaking character— exclaims, "What the hell is this?"**

"I'm guessing that's not part of the scene." Jiraiya mutters grimly.

"And here we go . . . sochi-kun in yet another adventure." Kushina sighs, head tipping back in aggravation— could her baby boy just not be a danger magnet?

"**What the hell are you doing?" The director yells, when he sees Kakashi suddenly in the shot, standing in front of the actors as he zeroes in on the cliff. **

"**Everyone, get back!" he orders, not taking his gaze away from the cloud of smoke and debris.**

**From out of that same cloud, the first person was revealed as it blew away in the wind. A man with lavender hair and green eyes, wearing a strange hitai-ate that was almost like ear mufflers, and a thick body suit in white and blue, one sleeveless part revealing the thick-knit dark grey sweater underneath. He is Rouga Nadare. "Welcome to Snow Country," he greeted. **

"**You are . . ." Kakashi breathed, eyes wide— but there was not time for nostalgic moments, as he sensed the second person. His eyes cut to the left, a pink-purple haired woman standing on a spire of ice. While she wore a Chinese style dress it was much the same as the man's suit— one sleeve thick-knit dark grey sweater and the rest of the dress white and blue, with light green pants underneath. **

"**I welcome you to Snow Country Yuki-hime. Did you bring the hexagonal crystal?" she inquired, arrogant eyes looking down at the princess as if she were a queen. **

"Hexagonal crystal . . . now that sounds familiar . . ." Minato murmurs, eyes looking far away as he tries to recall.

"The royal family," Kushina blurts. "The royal family of Snow Country were also protectors of a hexagonal crystal, but its unsure what it does." She continues quietly.

_**Oh. Shit. **_**Kakashi cursed mentally as he turned wide eyes to a woman who suddenly looked very familiar to him. "Yuki-hime?!"**

"My _ex-girlfriend_?!" Obito gasps out, voice deepening to mimic Kakashi.

"Oh, you're _so_ clever!" Kakashi gasps out, punching Obito's shoulder.

"**Oh, there's our three! Bad things always come in threes." Naruto groaned out as he pointed to a mass of snow heaving up and then crumbling away to reveal their third opponent far from the camp to the right. **

**A large, hulking man in a jumpsuit with armor, and a strange mechanical right hand— and despite the stupid-looking face Naruto doubted he'd be easy to trick into defeat. "As expected of Hatake Kakashi," the man commented, "I can't get any closer to you than here." **

"So you've met them before Kakashi." Minato notes. "Meaning you are familiar with their styles of fighting, if I know you well, and so this shouldn't be too difficult for you if your team cooperates."

"Yes, well, my luck is rarely ever that good." Kakashi mumbles.

"**Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura," the three kids immediately took notice of Kakashi's serious, almost harsh tone. "Protect the princess. Everyone, get back to the ship!"**

"**You heard the man, go! Diamond formation around Yuki, and you better be quick." Naruto barked the orders and Sasuke and Sakura immediately jumped to it. As they gathered around the princess and her co-actors, they took notice of how their sensei seemed to be familiar with the lavender-haired man— and just how seriously the fight started out. **

"**Let's retreat to the boat shall we?" Naruto wasn't making a suggestion, so the others were prompt in following his orders, slowly and carefully backing away to safer distances. This was not to be however, when the woman and the large man started moving towards them.**

"**Sakura hang back and make sure these three are alright! Sasuke, with me!" Naruto shouted, and the two leapt forward to engage the approaching enemies. **

**The large man was snowboarding towards them, so Naruto engaged him in a game of cat-and-mouse, seeing if weapons would work to slow him down— which they weren't. At the same time Sasuke was entertaining the woman, fire against ice— and the ice was doing pretty well against Sasuke's fire. Naruto bared his teeth at his opponent, flitting forward and darting back to keep the man in a contained area, unable to help his teammate or get to Yuki.**

"**Yuki-san!" he heard Sakura shout sternly, and he chanced a look back to see Yuki falling to her knees, face set in either shock or horror— neither good for the current situation if she froze like that.**

"Don't take your eyes off the enemy for a second!" It took a moment for them to realize everyone had shouted that out sternly.

"Oh, Kami, we're turning into his parents." Kakashi chortled, the others following soon after when they realized it.

"**Eyes on the fight!" The giant roared, and Naruto was quick to leap back as the man finally disengaged from his board to battle in taijutsu. Naruto flipped back and used his considerable flexibility to keep out of reach of that wide range the man had. Flipping, twisting— after the first few hits and jabs Naruto quickly realized he wasn't going to be hurting this guy in simple hand to hand combat, especially that metal arm— Naruto was nearly boneless in his actions. When the man suddenly pulled a feint, extending his right arm, which Naruto knew to be a ploy, he was still unable to avoid the unbelievably fast metal arm as it twisted in on itself and shot forward to plant into his stomach.**

"**Guwah!" Naruto was sent flying back, skidding and crashing into the hard ice, nearly being buried in it.**

**Kakashi turned around sharply— his students were in danger. **

"HA!" Minato laughed, head going back in full amusement. "So you've finally got it Kakashi— you'll understand just what you guys put me through."

"Ugh, reading this I don't think I want to know." Kakashi groaned.

"**Naruto!" he left his fight with the other man and quickly ran to his kids' aid, fingers forming rapid seals. "Suiton: Water Dragon Blast no Jutsu!" **

**The dragon roared its fury, heading straight for the large man who dodged out of the way just in the nick of time. Kakashi got there just as Naruto was getting up, and the two stood back to back.**

"**Kakashi-nii, there's something weird about that armor!" Naruto said, eyes focusing on the opponents at hand.**

"**That's Snow Country's armor designed specifically for ninjas." Kakashi explained. "It's chakra armor."**

"**Sounds delightful, and a real interesting topic— but that's for later. Any plans?" Naruto pressed.**

"**These guys are more powerful than before." Kakashi said instead, and Naruto knew it was more to himself than anything. **

_**The flashbacks are just flying today, **_**Naruto snorted.**

_**Hmph, my fire is more than enough to do away with them! **_**Kyuubi snorted.**

_**Yeah, if they've got chakra armor I don't want to consider what they'll do to get your chakra for their armor so . . . **_**Naruto cut off the connection— he was in the middle of battle after all!**

"**Oh so you remembered?" Naruto and Kakashi turned to see the jounin's previous opponent addressing them. "This armor increases my chakra and strengthens my jutsu. It creates a wall of chakra around the body, and even nullifies your chakra while sending it back to you. No matter what attack you use, if its chakra it doesn't work."**

"Well isn't that fan-fucking-tastic." Kakashi sings mockingly, spirit fingers on high.

"Hatake Kakashi, watch your language." Minato warns him.

**The man smirked eerily at them, AND then performed a set of hand seals. "Hyouton: Piercing Dragon Fierce Tiger!" **

**Kakashi wasted no time with his counter, "Suiton: Water Dragon Blast!" **

"You think the water will chip at the ice or something? Think rationally boy!" Tsunade scolded.

"I hope I remember this sound advice in another thirteen years." Kakashi snorted.

**The two collided head on, but it was the ice tiger who won, forcing Naruto and Kakashi to separate as they leapt out of harm's way. As Naruto leapt off to the side he glimpsed his earlier opponent, the giant oaf, speeding towards Yuki. The man lifted his giant robotic arm and from the hand came a string or ropes that wound tight around Yuki, intending to snap her to him, when Sakura came in time to cut the ropes.**

**Naruto touched down on the ground and immediately kicked up snow in his dash to intercept the man from tackling his small teammate. Before the man could touch Sakura Naruto threw himself forward and tackled the man's side, sending the man flying off. He didn't fall though; Naruto knew he wouldn't, so he braced himself for another assault, eyes glaring holes into the larger man.**

"**You brat!" The man shouted, shooting forward to swat the little blonde brat into a particularly hard mountain side of ice— but he was stopped?!**

"**Nani?!" The man grunted, struggling as he sent his other fist forward, only to have that stopped too by the boy's other fist! Impossible! This brat couldn't weigh more than his snowboard, and he was easily pushing him back? How?! He felt the brat's chakra, and noticed a twinge of something . . . strange. Something far more interesting than just the average chakra. But it was too small for him to get a proper read!**

_**Keh, I'm weaker than I thought! **_**Naruto thought disgustedly as he was forced to call upon the Kyuubi's chakra just to keep his ground.**

_**Be reasonable kit, this man is a hulking behemoth that even 'grown' men like Kakashi-brat couldn't out muscle . . . at times like this, it's very useful indeed to call out my chakra ne? **_**Kyuubi said slyly.**

_**Yes, yes, you're a genius . . . but do me a favor and remind me to set up a few training sessions with Rock Lee— I've seriously got to work on my power, **_**Naruto replied distractedly, the man putting his all in pushing forward and Naruto responding in kind.**

"If you've got my build then power isn't really your strongest suit . . . you're more inclined to speed and agility." Minato said with a little ruefulness in his tone.

"Even with your slim build, you Minato are quite strong. It's just the way your muscles developed, the fibers I mean. They'll always be deceptively slim." Tsunade corrected him.

"**Yuki-san! Get away, run to the boat now!" he heard Sakura shout sternly, and he was relieved, until nearly ten seconds had passed and he heard no noises to indicate Yuki had even moved from her position.**

"**Your highness!" Sandayuu shouts out, and for some reason Naruto is suddenly pulled into an epiphany. **

_**He keeps calling her princess and your highness, as if she isn't just acting . . . and these people all want her for something . . . could it be? Is she really a princess? Then, what does that crystal have to do with anything? Perhaps . . . all these answers lie in Snow Country, but she doesn't want to find those answers, does she? **_**Naruto quickly analyzed.**

"Seems like she might be the princess of Snow." Minato postulates.

"A lost princess? Why is she an actress, I would think the royal family would search for her." Kushina points out.

"**Your highness we must go!" Saindayu pleads.**

"**No." it was faint, but there was no mistaking the emotion. Naruto would have felt a smidgeon of sympathy for her if he wasn't currently engaged in a battle for her life. **

"**What the hell are you talking about?! Get. On. The boat!" Naruto snapped, chancing a glance over his shoulder. **

"Eyes on enemy, how many times must you get beaten to learn that?" Jiraiya sighed.

"**Princess if you stay here any longer your life will be—" Saindayu tries to be stern, but he is cut off by a suddenly hysterical Yuki.**

"**I don't care if I die! I'm never going back to Yuki no Kuni!" Yuki shouts, anguish and pain in her voice. Naruto isn't quite ready to give her his sympathetic ear.**

"**Quit being selfish and—" before he can finish his rebuke he is bodily lifted and thrown to the side, landing in not-at-all-as-soft-as-it-looks snow with a heavy grunt, the wind knocked out of him. Wheezing he struggles up, and sees the man's robot hand shoot towards Sakura, crushing her in its grip and throwing her behind him where she lands with a guttural grunt, dazed and in pain. **

"**Sakura!" Naruto shouts, swaying a little as he tries to regain his breath, though he focuses on Yuki, who is now unconscious and being shaken in Sandayuu's worried grip.**

**Kakashi pauses in his fight with the smug Rouga, irritated. This wasn't his ANBU mission, where by himself he didn't have to mother with his other members, capable as he— he was a jounin sensei now, with three young lives lying in his hands, and despite the way his senses rankled at leaving a fight his students . . . and the mission, were priority. He headed for his students, who were outmatched against the impressive foes with even more impressive weapons.**

"You are a great sensei Kakashi-kun." Kushina's soft voice and lovely smile sets Kakashi's cheeks blazing, and he worries they'll be able to feel the heat off his cheeks if not see it.

"You're blushing aren't you." Obito doesn't ask, and he doesn't need to see the cherry rush, instead looking at the way Kakashi's nose is crinkled, and his eyes soften slightly in vulnerability.

"**I told you, I'm your opponent!" Rouga says languidly. "Hyouton: One Horned Whale!" **

"**Shit!" Kakashi cursed, as the ice under his feet suddenly collapsed and it was only years of experience honing his reflexes that let him make the leap— haphazard and aided by his enemy's jutsu as it was— that allowed him to keep his life for another day. A giant whale made of ice leapt up into the air majestically, and as it descended back into the water the island of ice and snow suddenly lost a good chunk of surface area.**

"**I see, that's quite a powerful jutsu." Kakashi commented idly from where he'd landed. "Then, I'll get serious!" Kakashi turned, and his opponent was graced with the bloody gaze of his sharingan eye.**

"**Naruto, gather everyone and run!" he ordered the boy. Naruto shouted out his assent and ran to get Sakura and Sasuke, motioning Sandayuu to pick up Yuki.**

**Kakashi was now free to focus on his fight. "Hyouton: One Horned Whale!" and behind him, the white whale broke ice and sailed up into the sky.**

"**As usual, you copied it." Rouga said in what could be mistaken as exasperated amusement between two old friends, but the cold grin dissuaded such thoughts. "But you can't defeat me with the same jutsu!" and then his own ice whale broke out and rose up to do battle with Kakashi's. **

"**Beat you? Sorry, but I won't meet your expectations." Kakashi said lazily, but there was a razor edge that made the other man's eyes widened. **

"**Nani?" He said, head jerking up to see the ice whales collide. But instead of meeting head on, Kakashi's whale actually hit the underside of the other whale, pushing it back and sending them crashing into the ice cliffs behind them. The crash resulted in an avalanche, which caught up the entire ice island, the entire thing sinking into the waters. **

"Very good Kakashi, the best win is living for another day, eh?" Jiraiya compliments the boy, who dips his head in acknowledgment.

"**Cut!" The director yelled over the cutting winds from the released jutsu. The boat was steadily picking up speed form the forceful winds, carrying them away from the debris of the island and to Yuki no Kuni. **

"**Wow we just filmed a great movie." One of the crew said, the others nodding in agreement.**

"**Nii-san . . ." Naruto groaned, splayed out on the deck next to his team.**

"**Yeah, Naruto?" Kakashi answered, adjusting his hitai-ate over his Sharingan eye.**

"**You requested me for this mission? Why?"**

"**. . . I just didn't want to be bored."**

"Kakashi!" Kushina and Minato snapped.

"Like I knew this would happen!" Kakashi was quick to snap back.

"**Nii-san."**

"**Yeah?"**

"**I hate you."**

"**I deserve your hatred."**

**The next morning dawned pale and cold, the norm for Yuki no Kuni. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were still asleep from the previous day's activities, and as it was rather early Kakashi felt like letting them sleep until they reached the harbor. Stretching languidly, Kakashi rose from his futon and dressed. His feet were soft footfalls on the deck as he navigated through the halls to Yuki's room— he had something to confirm.**

**He slipped silently into her room, glancing briefly at her sleeping form. With her face erased of the usual indifference and tense lines, it was much easier to recall the little girl she had been ten years ago. He spotted what it was he wanted to see— the necklace that carried a long, thin hexagonal crystal— the treasure of Yuki no Kuni.**

"**So it's been that long huh . . ." he glanced again at Yuki, the little chibi he'd rescued from a burning castle nearly ten years ago now a young woman and an accomplished actress. "Geez I'm old." He sighed, placing the necklace back down and turning to look at the door. **

"You've just turned 26— that's too young to feel so old Kashi." Minato chuckled.

**Two minutes later it opened slowly, and Sandayuu was looking at him.**

"**We've reached the harbor." He told Kakashi softly. "And the genin are now awake, though a little drowsy."**

**They walked out together, and Kakashi decided he might as well start the conversation a little early. "Sandayuu-san, you knew all along right?" **

"**Yes."**

"**So you knew how'd she react if she were to return here?" Kakashi pressed.**

"**It was the only way to get her back to Yuki." Sandayuu sighed, looking up into sky were soft bits of snow drifted down. The crew was all splayed out, trucks and crates covering a large expanse of land as the director decided simply to ignore whatever else was going on— no matter what, he'd make this movie!**

**Team Seven and Sandayuu had taken up an empty room so that the old man could come clean about his deception.**

"**Well, I figured that . . ." Naruto sighed, after being told Yuki was actually royalty.**

"**What do you mean you figured that? She's an actress that plays a princess not a real princess!" Sakura argued.**

"**The A-rank mission, the way Sandayuu treats her like an actual princess, the way those enemies were after her? Those were nins, what would they need with an actress?" Naruto countered.**

"**Yuki is just an alias. She is really Kazahana Koyuki, the heiress of Yuki no Kuni." Kakashi told them, lazy tone and posture back now that he'd been fully healed with his night's rest. **

"**The last time I saw her she was really young," Sandayuu revealed, the Konoha nins all giving him their undivided attention. "It's not surprising she doesn't remember me. I used to serve her father, Kazahana Sousetsu-sama. At that time, Snow was a small, peaceful country. The king loved the princess very much, but ten years ago . . ."**

**Sandayuu broke off, fists clenching in his lap. He took a deep breath and began again. "But ten years ago, that incident . . . ! Sousetsu-sama's younger brother Dotou hired some ninja, revolted and took over the country. He burnt down the castle, and we thought the princess had died."**

"And so the mystery is cleared!" Obito exclaims.

"Not yet— what's the crystal have to do with this?" Rin countered.

**Kakashi stepped in this time. "I was given the mission to stop that— but I couldn't win against them at that time so I had to run away. I had no choice."**

"**I found the princess when she was on stage." Sandayuu picked up the tale. "I was overjoyed . . . that she had survived!" he sobbed out between gritted teeth, tears making a steady trail against his face. Naruto winced, feeling sympathy for the devoted retainer. **

"**It would have been better if I died that day." The uninterested voice of Yu— Koyuki, Naruto reminded himself— grated on Naruto's nerves. They turned to see Koyuki leaning against the doorway. **

"Self-pity isn't going to garner any sympathy brat." Tsunade huffed.

"**Sandayuu-san, please continue." Naruto said curtly, pointedly turning away from Koyuki.**

"**So all this time you were using us?" The orange-haired crew member said incredulously.**

"**No. Well . . . I'm sorry but it was for Snow Country." Sandayuu said sheepishly. Sandayuu suddenly got up from his seat and stumbled around the table, dropping to his knees in a low bow in front of Koyuki.**

"**Please, help us defeat Datou and become the new queen of Yuki no Kuni!"Sandayuu pleaded, forehead nearly touching the ground. "I will protect you with my life! So please help the people of Yuki!"**

"**No." Koyuki said bluntly.**

"Ouch." They all muttered.

"**What?" Sandayuu choked out, head slowly rising to look at the cold 'queen.' **

"**Are you stupid? There's no way you can defeat Datou! The people's problems are none of my business. Just give up already." Koyuki's voice was loud and agitated, her face creased with annoyance.**

**The casual way in which she dismissed Sandayuu's tears and heartfelt plea made Naruto angry enough to speak up against the spoiled brat. "Hey, **_**brat!" **_**Naruto snapped, standing up and addressing Yuki with anger flaring in his bright blue eyes. **

"She's older than you." Obito pointed out helpfully.

"**Sandayuu is here pouring his heart out! Don't just say "give up" so easily— those are words I absolutely hate! This man is risking his life to make that dream come true. If you dismiss his dream so casually I will never forgive you!" He growled out, staring down the superior look on Koyuki's face.**

"Way to tell her sochi-kun!" Kushina cheers, fist shooting up into the air.

"Spoken . . ." Obito pauses and Rin perks up, knowing her queue. They both lean forward and wave their arms around.

"Like a _BOSS_!" They whoop.

"**Naruto-dono . . ." Sandayuu whispers in shock, not expecting the boy he'd essentially lied to, to take up his side.**

"**I'm a ninja, not a samurai." Naruto corrected with a smile to Sandayuu, referring to the –dono suffix that is more common with samurai. **

"**Unfortunately, there is only one option. You have to fight if you want to live." Kakashi said, and while his words made no sense to most, Naruto and the other ninja understood it perfectly.**

"**Okay, the mission continues! Princess Fuun will go to Yuki and defeat the evil commander!" Naruto joked with a grin.**

"**Don't be ridiculous!" Koyuki's angry shout cut across the room. "Reality isn't like the movies . . . there is no happy ending anywhere in this world!"**

"**There is if you put the effort into it!" The director shouted back, making Koyuki rock back in shock.**

"I wonder about that . . ." Jiraiya whispered so low only he heard himself speak.

"**For a mission like this, we should go back to the village and get some more people." Kakashi sighed, hands in his pockets.**

"**There's no need. We are enough for this mission." Sasuke dismissed the idea, eyes closed and arms crossed. That flying woman wouldn't beat him again, and with Naruto at least he was sure they'd finish this mission successfully. **

"**So it's decided! We will keep filming!" The director declared, already imagining the acclaim this film would receive for casting a real life princess and chronicling an epic story of a hero.**

"**We'll make it a story with a happy ending!" The other film crew member swore, fist raised. Koyuki just stared at them all coldly, not believing a single word for a second. **

"So cold, so negative . . ." Rin hums under her breath, a shiver passing through her.

"Cold?" Obito asks in concern.

"No, not really. Sixth sense?" Rin offers with a shrug, not entirely sure herself.

**The film crews were quick to pack up, everything and everyone crowding into trucks so that they could travel easily up the mountain. The snow continued to fall, but it wouldn't impede travel. Team Seven stationed themselves accordingly, keeping a wary eye out for the shinobi from the day before. A short break was taken for everyone to stretch their legs or handle their business with nature. Sandayuu pointed to the cave, motioning for Kakashi.**

"**On the other side of this cave is a large village. After we finish filming here, we are planning to visit." He informed the copycat ninja, smiling at the thought. "Everyone is waiting for the princess's arrival, more than you can possibly know."**

**They got back into the trucks and the driving commenced again, headlights on high and cutting through the darkness of the frozen cavern. **

**Team Seven were sitting in a trailer at the back of a truck, the trailer warm and lighted so that they could remain comfortable for all their trouble.**

"**I can't see the exit." Naruto grumbled, looking out the window. He was a fresh air and open spaces kind of guy, the mindscape being his only exception. **

"**This used to be a railway long ago." Sandayuu informed him. "Though the tracks are covered in ice." Naruto was the only one who looked genuinely excited at the mention of a railway— he'd only ever seen one in books!**

**Eventually the trucks left the cave for the outside world, and the brightness of the snow covered land compared to the dark cave was nearly blinding.**

**There was just one problem. Koyuki had run off again.**

"Just where exactly are you going to go?!" Tsunade scoffed at the princess' stupidity.

**Team Seven were quick to react, immediately leaping off to the mountain side and heading for the forests, confident that's where she'd go— to try and traverse that cave was not something the selfish girl would do. **

**Kakashi gave his orders as they leap around the rocks and ice nimbly. "Split up and search for her! When you find her, use the radios and make contact immediately."**

"**Understood!" his team barked, and they all split off into different directions. Naruto however, paused, landing on a cliff overlooking the great forest. He gazed down at the trees where he knew Koyuki was scrambling around in disdain. Sighing, he wondered if he'd have to find her before she caught frostbite . . . Kakashi didn't say to bring her back perfectly whole.**

"Don't be like that Naru-chan." Kushina scolded.

_**That's a decidedly mean thought kit . . . how amusing! **_**Kyuubi chuckled darkly.**

_**It's no fun being good all the time, ne, Kyuubi? **_**Naruto responded, chuckling as he carefully made his way down the mountain side, leaping off into the trees. He jumped down onto the ground and ran, his nose twitching as he picked up the scents in the air, searching for Koyuki's own smell.**

"There's a difference between playful temper and pure meanness son." Minato's voice is soft, but the words carry heavy weight.

_**No . . . a little variety is needed every now and then. It's the spice of life, after all . . . I see you're getting better at controlling the chakra through your body, your temperature isn't nearly as high as the first time. **_**Kyuubi observed.**

**Naruto grinned, happy the Kyuubi had taken the time to point out he had noticed— because there was no doubt the demon had noticed— but he paused, having caught onto Koyuki's trail. "Found you!" he sang quietly, humming under his breath as he jogged to catch her. He found the princess on the ground, blankly staring at the snow.**

"**Have you had your fill of theatrics or do you plan on escaping again Koyuki?" Naruto asked, a disdainful look on his features as he watched her get up. She looked at him, not answering, and he sighed in slight aggravation. He walked over to her and turned around, crouching.**

"**Hop on." He invited, looking at her over his shoulder. She paused for a few moments, but she did so with nary a sound. Naruto masked a frown— rather than her spiteful silences, this was almost like the silence of one who'd given up. He wasn't sure which was worse . . . at least before there was a **_**spark**_** of life to her.**

**He remembers he has to contact everyone. A hand leaves Koyuki's leg and comes up to touch upon the radio in his ear. "I've got Koyuki, so I'll head through the cave. You guys just meet me back in the camp."**

"**See you at camp then Naruto. Sakura, Sasuke, quickly now." Kakashi's voice comes through in a lazily cheerful chirp, and then there is silence again. Just crunching footfalls in snow and puffs of breath in the cold. He belatedly realizes that Koyuki has pressed herself closer to him— even if he's not a walking furnace anymore; the warmth radiating from him is palpable. He knows it's probably an unconscious reaction on her part, so he won't tease her for it— he takes the time to finally ease up on his disapproval of her, and wonder just how hard it is for her to be back here. **

"It's easy to just hate someone for their actions . . . but it's infinitely harder to put aside that initial judgment and try to understand someone." Jiraiya puts in, noticing the thoughtful look on the younger ones' faces.

**They enter the dark cave and Naruto continues walking, and the silence between the two is not as cold as the cave itself.**

"**Why is it always you who finds me?" Koyuki abruptly breaks the silence, and Naruto flickers his gaze to her briefly in surprise before looking ahead once again.**

"**This is the mission I was assigned, and it helps greatly that I'm being paid quite a bit to do this. So no matter where you go, for as long as this mission continues I shall always find you." Naruto answers simply, and lets her know without saying so that this is a promise. **

"**Go back. I'll only act in front of the camera— nothing else." She says blankly.**

"**I won't ask for more." Naruto replies softly. He hears her breath hitch, can hear the unspoken question so he feels safe enough to add just a little more. "I'm all for making your own fate. If you truly think that you should not return to be queen than believe it with all your heart— not with all your fear."**

"Boss comment." Obito stage whispers, chuckles briefly accompanying it.

**A sound in the darkness. Naruto pauses and both he and Koyuki turn to the direction of the sound. It sounded like . . . a whistle? Another sound, this one coming closer. A crackling— Naruto's eyes dart down and his mouth opens a little in astonishment. Tracks! Somehow, the tracks Sandayuu told of earlier were defrosting in record time. How . . . why?! They defrost under his feet and continue on, and he is hit with a sudden nervousness. He feels the tracks with his senses— chakra?! Chakra has melted the ice around the tracks? Who could do that? **

"Doesn't matter. I think it's best if you go now." Kakashi speaks up quietly, but there's tension in his voice.

"**I think it's time to go. Now." Naruto whispers and he feels Koyuki's nod on his shoulder. He takes a few steps back and is about to turn. A growing disturbance just around the bend of the long icy hallways makes him pause unwillingly, dread running through him. A light starts to grow, become stronger.**

"**T-Train!" Koyuki stutters out. **

"Run kid!" Obito urges.

"It's fine— no really, once he takes off the resistance seals—" Jiraiya begins to say.

Kushina cuts him off with a snarl. "You baka! It said earlier in the chapter that you cut Naruto off from changing them!"

"_Run_ kid." Jiraiya says simply, after gaping at the blatant bad luck.

"**Aw, shit, it's them!" Naruto grunts, and without any further delay he whips around and starts to run. **

"**The train is heading straight for us!" Koyuki yelps, and he glances back to see the iron behemoth chugging down the tracks, the speed at which such a large thing could move astounds him. He turns back around, and releases his seals.**

**Or tries too at any rate.**

"**Wh-what the . . . !" Naruto gasps, mind racing. Why can't he undo the resistance seals?! What . . . that's right— oh no, of all the times for Jiraiya to actually train him properly! A memory comes floating back from when he read up further on resistance seals. If someone else's chakra was keyed into it— and Jiraiya's was— then after a certain level only they could undo it unless another chakra was recognized. Had he hit that level already?! He had **_**just hit**_** level five! Damn it, and he couldn't use Kyuubi's chakra to lighten it or he'd automatically jump to level six and go even slower. Not. An. Option. **

"**Shit!" Naruto hissed. He runs faster, legs pumping furiously.**

"**We'll be run over!" Koyuki cries.**

"**We will not!" Naruto insists. **_**Kami, I really hope not! **_**He prays fervently, running faster, because the train isn't coasting, it's **_**only getting faster**_**. At the level he was at now his speed was just barely chuunin level— if he remembered correctly from his books, trains could go **_**much faster**_** than that. **

"Go, go go!" Kushina chants, hands running the hem of her dress as her knees rise up to press against her chest.

"Why son? Why can't you just be normal?" Minato mutters, palm of his right hand pressed tightly to his forehead.

**He'd just have to outrun the train then. No way were they getting flattened. **

"You say that like it's easy!" Rin whimpers, hands wringing together.

"**It's impossible!" Koyuki insists. **

"**It is not! I won't give up!" Naruto snaps, concentrating. Left right left right, please just left right . . . ! He hears the train, a roaring in his sensitive ears, and he knows if he looks back all he will see is the blaring headlight and the grill of the train. It's so close! He's **_**too close!**_

"Ooh, somebody, something . . . help my baby." Kushina frets lowly, knuckles pressing to her lips as she burrows into Minato's side. Minato wraps her arms around her and hold tight, marveling in dismay at the luck that seemed to follow Naruto on nearly every mission.

"**It's definitely impossible!" Koyuki argues.**

**This stupid—! Naruto snarls out, "Not if I drop your ungrateful, heavy ass then at least I can make it out of here!"**

**The train lets out a whistle again, and by the way the cave suddenly got lighter he knew the train just got closer. He's barely in front of it now . . . his legs are starting to feel sore; he's never run **_**so fast**_** for so long before! **

"Oh please don't trip!" Rin and Tsunade gasp.

"**Even if you do this it's pointless! It's over!" Koyuki cries. Naruto bites back the vitriol he could send back to the whimpering, cowardly girl, and instead tries for some home team cheering.**

"**I won't let it end!" He swore. "I won't give up! Even if you do, I'll just try enough for the both of us!" Naruto grits his teeth and pushes himself— he goes **_**faster**_**. If an onlooker were to watch him, his legs would start to blur. He was pushing himself far more than he'd ever done. And he wasn't stopping there— that train wouldn't stop, well then neither would he damn it!**

"Go musuko go!" Minato chants, leaning forward ever so slightly in his seat.

"Come on kid, do the impossible, just like you always do." Jiraiya adds in, grinning at the gutsy attitude of his godson.

**A primal growl rumbled out of his throat, and he went **_**faster**_**. Koyuki looked down at this boy, just barely five feet, sprinting like a snow leopard that had caught sight of the last caribou. How? How was it possible for anyone, let alone a kid, to go this fast?! But as she glanced back, her heart skipped a beat— the train that they had started to pull away from was now gaining again!**

**Naruto must have sensed this too since he pushed himself further, harder, faster— he was **_**so**_** going to beat Jiraiya when he caught the bastard next because Kami his legs burned fiercely and the muscles screamed and he was pretty sure he had run into and then outran two pulled hamstrings— and he was practically flying down the tracks, feet barely touching the floor anymore. They turned the corner— there! The end of the tunnel was just there . . . keep going, keep going! The light form outside grew brighter and brighter—**

**They were out. Naruto took two more steps and then hurled himself and Koyuki off the tracks, just in time not to be made into splatters on the front of the train. The train barreled past with a whistle as they rolled to a stop in the snow. The deliciously cold snow that bit with icy reproach at his burning muscles but he was too tired to get up again. Naruto panted harshly, and then one pant turned to a breathless laugh . . . and then he was laughing joyfully, the endorphins rushing and his heart pumping madly— he felt so **_**alive**_**! What a thrill! **

"Yeah sochi-kun!" Kushina screams, the loudest of all the cheers I relief and happiness.

"Geebus . . . what the hell is wrong with this kid's life . . ." Obito pants from the sudden release of tension in his body once Naruto finally made it out.

_**He never wanted to do that again. **_

"You are never becoming a ninja." Kushina whispers sinking back into the cushions of her seat with a weary sigh.

_**Excellent, kit! **_**Kyuubi laughs, and Naruto's laughter increases.**

**He stopped laughing quickly— he hadn't regained his breath quite yet— when he noticed the sudden stillness in the air. He pushed himself up on his elbows, and then too his hands sitting back in the snow. Next to him Koyuki got up to all fours, and they both stared suspiciously at the train that had abruptly halted, the last of its cargo nearly past the bend. **

**They didn't have to wait long. "It's been some time Koyuki." A deep voice greets the princess, but the mechanical echo over it distorts the voice.**

**Koyuki stiffens. "Kazahana Dotou." She gasps.**

"**So, it's been ten years? Let me see your face." Dotou is a tall, imposing man in a draping cloak, long hair pulled from his face in an aristocratic manner. But his face is no such thing, hard and cruel. Koyuki is frozen in the stare that is yards away, yet it feels to her like he's right in front of her. So she is surprised when she suddenly is looking at dark yellow cloth, Naruto's back to her as he stands between her and Dotou. **

**Naruto's cool gaze doesn't back down from Dotou's stare. Dotou begins to speak, but his train is suddenly rammed with large logs. Everyone below looks up to see men standing above bedecked in samurai armor. Naruto is horrified when he sees Sandayuu standing amongst them, a katana held aloft. These fools! He laments. Samurai— not young fresh ones, but older men no longer accustomed to battle— against ninja like these Snow ninja? It would be slaughter! What could he do? **

"Nothing, for once don't skew the mission parameters and just focus on you and Koyuki. Only!" Kakashi snaps in a put upon manner.

**Sandayuu's voice booms over the mountain side. "Everyone, our princess Koyuki is watching us! Victory will be ours!" the cheers of the men are resounding.**

**Kazahana Dotou. Do you know how long I've waited for this? I am Asabasan Sandayuu, representative of the fiftieth brigade . . . Now, we will avenge the death of Kazahan Sousetsu-sama from a decade ago! And we will take it out on you!"**

"**YEAH!" The men are eager, driven to avenge their beloved, fallen leader. Naruto is not so optimistic— **_**pretty words, but can they sharpen your blades and shield you from attacks? **_

**Naruto and Koyuki watch— he in horror, she in a daze— as the men start to run down the mountain, katanas drawn.**

"**No wait stop!" Naruto roars, desperately hoping for someone to hear him over the din of their own roars. "SANDAYUU! STOP THEM!" **

"Oh Naru-chan . . ." Kushina murmurs, wishing her child wouldn't have to see this. "Sometimes you just can't save everyone you wish to."

**A clicking sound, makes Naruto turn his head to the train. Something is opening on the sides. He knows that whatever it is could not possible be good, so he tries to catch their attention again, arms like windmills and voice desperate. From the train, the sides are revealed to be miniature cannons, thousands of them all lined up right where the men are running. **

**From the cannons thousands upon thousands of kunai shoot out at high speeds. The targets are dead on, and as they hit the bodies of numerous warriors fly back in sprays of blood with cries of pain, death instant or quickly approaching. Koyuki and he watch with wide eyes and faces frozen in shock as they can do nothing but watch good men fall with kunai-riddled bodies. **

"This was inevitable . . . but they died proudly." Jiraiya speaks up in a somber tone.

"What pride? They didn't even dent his train . . . didn't lay a single hand on Dotou or his subordinates. What use is that? They died in vain, it seems like." Kakashi argues.

"They made the first step in achieving their dream, even if it won't be them to do it. Their courage would be the first step, and they died ready to fight for what they believed in. There is pride in that. There is honor." Minato rebukes gently, and Kakashi's head dips a little under the soft scolding.

**To the last man they fall, still and bloodied, the snow underneath them churned from footprints, the impact of their bodies, and blood. So much blood. Naruto can hear Dotou laughing, but he can't move away from the scene of carnage that once was brave, living, breathing men. He grits his teeth and growls in frustration, horror morphing to anger. Wait— his eyes widen as one single man rises up . . . he recognizes Sandayuu, bleeding and panting but still alive.**

"**Sandayuu . . ." Koyuki mutters, looking at the man. Naruto stiffens when another volley of kunai head for the man. He fears that this will be the man's last stand— but a fuuma shuriken saves the man at the last minute, deflecting the smaller weapons. Sandayuu still falls however, but all does not seem lost. Sasuke flits between snow mounds for cover, a dark wraith amongst the muddled white as he flicks kunai and explosive tags to the train. An explosion from above further ahead prompts Naruto to look up, seeing a flash of pink before it hides behind the snowy mountain top— Sakura. Though her intent to bury the train in an avalanche was game, the train suddenly roars to life and moves on, not even the surprise explosion from below— Kakashi most likely— nearly taking out the other half of the train. A sudden burst of steam from the massive locomotors prevents its fall, and the enemy escapes. **

**Naruto releases a breath he didn't even know he was holding in, a certain loosening of his muscles flowing through his body as he registers his teammates and the sudden security now afforded with the fleeing enemies. He turns to Koyuki. "You alright?" he asks, but he doesn't receive an answer. Koyuki just gets up and clutches the purple coat around herself, slowly meandering off to the side. **

**Naruto frowns but lets her be, watching the camera crew— had they been watching this whole time? Naruto is afraid to ask if they were filming it, he might just get angry enough to break the cameras— go around looking for some survivors. As far as it looks though, there are none except for Sandayuu, who is surrounded by the director, the orange-haired assistant, Kakashi, and Sasuke. Sakura has made her way to Naruto's side, the both of them watching the scene with grim sadness.**

"**It's so cruel." Sakura says softly. Naruto neither confirms nor denies it . . . he understands a little of how the world works. Was this truly cruelty? If Datou was a savior, and these men the enemy . . . would it still be cruelty? Wasn't this merely a cycle?**

"But he wasn't so there's no need to ask that." Obito says stubbornly.

"There is always a need to ask that." Tsunade barks, making sure Obito looks her in the eye as she continues. "That's the whole point of looking at it from another perspective. It's how we come to understand people, and to counteract needless hatred. Don't ever hesitate to put yourself in another's shoes, even if that person is the one whom you hate the most. Naruto is right to wonder, because this world isn't black and white— especially not the ninja world. Indeed there's rarely any white at all really, just lighter shades of grey . . . and knowing to ask that so early on in his career will have its pros and cons, but at least he'll be making informed decisions."

"Even if you get so caught up in what if's and alternate theories that it blinds you to the simple truths that are sometimes under your nose?" Obito retorts. He is surprised when Tsunade's eyes softens, expecting her to throw the coffee table at him.

"That's the price of understanding sometimes. Or rather, that's the pitfall of it. Remember that pitfall, and it may just be easier to spot truth in the lies." Tsunade advises.

"Excellent, Obito." It is Minato's warm approval, not Tsunade's rare gentleness that ignites the blush on Obito's cheeks.

_**And that, more than anything kit . . . is why I have put my faith in you, **_**Kyuubi's oddly gentle voice soothes away the worrisome thought and Naruto presses his lips together to hide a smile— if the others saw it, it would lead to some questionable looks, if not outright questions. **

"**That's the result of their persistence." Naruto and Sakura turn to look behind them, Koyuki's voice even colder than the temperatures. **

"**If they had just given up and not tried to go up against Datou, this wouldn't have happened." Koyuki continues, and the slight scorn on her features seems like a slap in the face to Naruto. After what they had done for her father . . . after that mad dash through the tunnel . . . **

"**As a man I am loathe to hurt a female in any manner . . . and yet, I cannot see you as a woman worth such kindness." Naruto's comment is spoken in an idle, careless tone that belies the cutting intent and the glare that's the colder than her words. Koyuki flinches back slightly, her cheeks flushing just barely— but just enough for Naruto to know he'd won that exchange. Content that she would be silent for a while, he turns back, ignoring the reproachful call of his name by Sakura. The group is carefully carrying Sandayuu to their direction, and he wants the old man to die peacefully, without worry of hearing his beloved princess' disgraceful words. **

"Ouchie." Kushina and Tsunade mutter in unison, snapping their fingers.

**They set the stretcher down, Sandayuu's face strained and yet somehow calm, like he's accepted that he would die. He turns his head and calls for Koyuki. "Your Highness . . ."**

**Koyuki walks forward and Sandayuu continues, his voice rough and everyone can tell how difficult it is for him to continue speaking. **

"**I'm very sorry . . . to have put you in this. It's because you were around that I . . . and everyone else could continue to hope. From birth, until now . . . you have always been our princess. That's what I believe you are. So please believe in yourself, and . . . please . . . don't cry . . ." Those last words are a rough whisper, a gasp on a shuddering breath. And after that . . . the life passes from Sandayuu, and he has finally passed on, free of his pain. **

**A pause. "You really are stupid Sandayuu. I cannot cry because you have the eye drops." **

"Her hearts is as frozen as the land itself." Kakashi muses, shaking his head.

**She rises from her crouch, and Naruto cannot help but feel a sort of twisted respect for this selfish girl— at least, she is true to herself and will keep on her selfish path without wavering. That tenacity . . . or perhaps it's pure resolve— if applied to being a better person Koyuki could truly be the shining light Sandayuu wished her to be. But, Naruto thinks, perhaps she's better off being a selfish girl.**

"You sure are strange little dude." Obito comments, eyebrows furrowed but a smile on his face.

"**You should be satisfied." Koyuki speaks again, and Naruto listens to her words with a disgusted fascination— the norm, he is finding, when listening to Koyuki. "Let's go home. If you stay in this country any longer, you won't be able to return safely." **

_**Ah! **_**Naruto realizes. **_**She's just a bigger Inari, who's had more time to be scared and grow selfish. **_**"Where will you return to?" Naruto asks her retreating form, and watches her pause, turn to look at him.**

"**You're home country is here isn't it? We can go home Koyuki, but you can't. So shouldn't you fight Datou and take back your home?" he continues, and is mildly pleased to see her face harden in displeasure.**

"**You don't know anything." Her voice is cutting, but Naruto doesn't mind it in the slightest. "There is no spring in this country. It's a place where your tears will freeze and your heart will turn to stone!" **

"**But you're able to change that right?" Sakura broke in, unable to stay silent after seeing the land tainted with the blood of poor, brave men. "At least . . . Sandayuu believed that."**

"**Stop talking nonsense!" Koyuki barks, and starts a rapid walk back to the trucks.**

**Naruto sighs. "Oi, leave the theatrics for the camera. At least wrap up the movie and then we can go home!" he runs after her, and Koyuki turns around to snap at him, to tell her just which side he picks because he's too confusing— but then Naruto looks over her shoulder and his eyes widen in surprise. Koyuki turns around and adopts a similar expression.**

**Rising up slowly in the air is a large blimp, pure black, and there's no mistaking who it is— Datou's. **

**It climb in the air, and from an open door at the passenger car a nin stands with some sort of contraption that looks familiar to Naruto . . . the nin presses something and suddenly a part of it shoots toward Koyuki— Naruto gasps, it's like the clawed hand of the giant nin from the last fight! Before he can react it grabs Koyuki, and she's sent flying back to the blimp, a surprised gasp escaping her. Before the Konoha team can think of a way to get her back, kunai comes flying down at them, a strange blue-green stone attached to the hilt.**

"**Oh shit!" Kakashi curses, and the team knows that's their cue to leap for cover. The kunai hits the ground where they used to be, and upon making contact with the ground, icicles over twenty feet long, branched like antlers sprout up with clear intent to impale someone, anyone on their icy limbs. Trucks are lifted into the air as they're pierced, but thankfully no one is hurt.**

**Sasuke lands on an icicle and quickly scans the group, searching for any injuries . . . or casualties. But wait— his eyes widen— where is . . .**

"**Sakura!" he calls. "Where is Naruto?" **

"Oh don't tell me!" Tsunade and Jiraiya groan, exasperation clear in their expressions.

**Sakura balks for a moment before a crazy thought hits her. "Is he . . . !" she cries, turning to the steadily shrinking image of the blimp as it sails away from them.**

**Indeed, our young hero has hitched a ride on the blimp, a rope attached to a kunai acting as his only anchor as he is left dangling in the air. Naruto doesn't look even the slightest bit wary of being so high up in the air, or perturbed that his only tether is a rope and a kunai. "I think . . . I'll need some help . . ." he mutters to himself softly. **

"No! Really?!" Rin's sarcasm is deep and scathing.

"**Kage bushin no jutsu!" he whispers, and immediately a score of clones are clinging to the rope, the railings . . . "Perfect!" Naruto beams.**

"**Okay, boss, let's search this stupid balloon!" A clone says with a grin, and every Naruto starts chuckling, a wicked grin on their lips. It's easy work for a street kid like Naruto to pick the lock, and his kage bushin divvy up into teams without being told as they search for the kidnapped princess. A clone from one of the teams disperses, and they all know that Koyuki is being held in the main steering room. He turns to a clone and whispers instructions.**

"**This must be handled with finesse . . . so one of you go in there and play, the rest of us will . . . ah, find a convenient escape route." Naruto whispers.**

"**But boss, shouldn't it be you to go in there? They'll undoubtedly try to subdue us, and not nicely. If we pop, the whole thing is over!" the clone argues. Naruto thinks this over and the clone is right.**

"**Okay, everyone else pull back and be silent. Be quick. And for the love of kami, be very quick, if I have to listen to Koyuki go on about me giving up I don't know what I'll do!" Naruto growls, and the snickering clone dispels himself to let everyone else know. Naruto creates a replacement clone and then quickly runs to the passenger car. He arrives just as Dotou says something about overpowering the five great shinobi villages.**

"That's a nice idea but . . . what about the other ninja? These guys are far better than the ones you've dealt with before. They're like . . . three Zabuza's." Kakashi points out.

"**Like I'll let you do something like that!" Naruto shouts, alerting them all to is presence. **

"**You!" Koyuki and Dotou shout, in surprise and disgruntlement respectively.**

"**How did you get in here?" Dotou demands.**

"**Heh! Never underestimate a ninja!" Naruto calls out with a smirk. So, it's predictably ironic when he is immediately caught and bound in ninja wire, the beefy nin from before landing a blow to his back and sending him crashing to the ground. **_**Man, if I really was the type to have rushed in here without a plan . . . this would be embarrassing! **_**Naruto thinks to himself, pushing back his amusement.**

_**Focus kit, the megalomaniac is speaking, **_**Kyuubi mockingly chides him, and biting back a grin Naruto listens to Dotou. **

**Dotou isn't saying anything yet however, and a ding from behind Naruto grabs his attention. An elevator door opens, and inside are Naruto's kage bushin struggling and protesting, the woman Sasuke had been fighting standing with one hand on her hip by them. Well that plan worked out well. **

"Called it." Kakashi pointed out tiredly amongst the groans if the others.

**Naruto hides a wince, and forces himself to count them all up to quell his initial urge to panic. **

"**Sorry boss, but the kid is quite troublesome." Ryouga kneels by Dotou's side, facing straight ahead.**

"**The kid has an enormous amount of chakra." The beefy nin notes. "Should we use that new equipment?"**

"**Yes, we have an interesting guinea pig." Dotou answers with an oily, pleased tone. The long-haired man (when will I know his name, Naruto wonders) grabs something and walks toward him with it. It separates into two cogs, a sort of electricity sparking from them. The large nin grabs Naruto by his shoulder and hauls him up on his knees so the man can attach whatever that is to him. Rouga rears his arm back and jabs the device into Naruto's stomach, driving the breath from him. The strange technology sticks— thick cable wires shoot from it and needles at the end sink into Naruto— and he immediately is engulfed in sharp, shooting pains like he's being electrified. He screams in pain, exhaustion starting to settle in him. **

_**Draining . . . my chakra?! **_**He manages to lower his screams down to shouts of pain, but for a chakra monster like him, such things are indeed painful. He hears Koyuki stutter out,**

"**What?"**

"**It's a chakra control device. The ultimate technique for sucking out chakra. It also creates an impenetrable wall around him— he won't be able to take it off or to destroy it. There's no way." Datou sounds proud of this invention, but Koyuki doesn't turn to see his face. **

"I hope you have some skills outside areas involving chakra Naruto." Jiraiya mumbles, displeased with the situation the brat managed to land himself in.

**She can't tear her eyes from Naruto's pained grimace, and watches as he finally falls from exhaustion, the clones behind him all popping out of existence as his drained reserves resonate within them. One by one they pop out, and Naruto is hit with a rush of memories, but he's too tired to fully take them in. Did the ones who managed to escape and continue searching for an exit pop too? He hopes not . . . damn, he's so tired . . . **

"**You're not a real ninja," Rouga sneers. "Just a little brat."**

**Naruto glares at the ninja, but says nothing, slowly but surely sinking into the darkness that creeps along the edges of his vision. Naruto passes out, unable to continue on. **

**When Naruto awakes again, he is in a dark, dank prison and he is freezing and sore. The cloak is gone, and he can't access any chakra at all let alone Kyuubi's to warm him . . . he is strung up in iron shackles by his wrists, ankles also bound as he dangles above the floor. "Ah . . ." he sighs. "I severely misjudged the enemy. It's still all nii-san's fault though.**

"How the fuck so?!" Kakashi squawks.

"Kakashi!" Minato snaps.

**If I had known things like this would happen, I would have trained more in Nawanuke no Jutsu, dattebayo. Ropes are my areas of expertise, but shackles and chains . . . ?"**

_**Let that be a lesson to you, then, **_**Kyuubi says promptly, and Naruto withholds a growl at the rather obvious statement. **

"He only says that out of worry sochi." Kushina makes a guess, though she is sure it is true. She would probably say something similar in such a situation.

"**Well, that's why . . ." Naruto grunts, straining as he lifts his feet close enough to reach with his mouth. His teeth caught at the tongue of his black boots, and he pulled away to reveal a file, and a bobby pin. "I have contingency plans." Naruto chirps with a grin. Suddenly there's a squeak of an old iron door close to him, and he hears footsteps coming his way. He pushes the file into his mouth and feigns sleep. He hears a door open across from him, and then close. Footsteps walk away again (is it just one? No, sounds like more . . . two then), and he opens his eyes to see Koyuki sitting down in the cell across the gap from him with her knees to her chest. She turns and meets his gaze.**

"**Well deserved." Is the first thing that comes out of her mouth, but Naruto isn't mad. He smirks instead.**

"Bitch." Kushina grumbles.

"**You too." He returns easily. **

"Burn!" Obito and Kakashi chirp.

"**I guess so." Koyuki replies softly, face turning away again to stare at the floor. Naruto, despite his dislike of her, finds something rather odd and a little uncomfortable about the look of hopelessness on her face, so he distracts her whilst he works on his restraints.**

"**Is there really no spring here in Yuki no Kuni?" he asks her. Koyuki is silent for a moment or two, but then tells him of an old memory from her childhood. Where her father tells her to never give up and believe in the future, for spring will surely come.**

"Maybe it was a metaphor? You give up too quickly." Rin sighs.

"**But he lied. My father is dead, and I decided to give up hope. There is no spring in this country. I just lied, to everyone— even myself." And yet, despite her attempt at a nonchalant tone, he can detect a faint undertone of sadness, like she had been hoping to be proved wrong. **

"She was only a little girl after all, who loved her father above all," Kakashi observes, head leaning against his propped up arm. "It's not so hard to believe."

**Naruto looks up to make sure he's cutting effectively. It certainly won't be a quick and easy task but when has anything ever been easy for him— **

**The file slips from his fingers, caught against a rough bump in the chain. Naruto lets his head fall back, cursing his own stupidity. "Fuck." He exhales the word slowly.**

"What is wrong with your luck at the most crucial of times?!" Tsunade cries in disbelief, hand rising to her head.

"It's like he becomes _you_ for a moment!" Obito continues, stifling his laughter as best as he can under Tsunade's narrow eyed glare.

"**See?" Koyuki says. "It's better if you just give up."**

**Naruto snorts. "I'm sure if you give up it'll be quite a relief." He lifts his head to see Koyuki, and her head is turning now to look at him. "No one will bother you. No one will pay any attention to you. That may be better than being hated or hurt, but that . . . was perhaps the most painful thing of all. No one will even acknowledge that you're alive! I hated it! I can't imagine how someone who has a choice in the matter would choose to live like that! You're not even human then, do you know that? If they'll recognize a dog before you, that's lower than low." **

"Exactly right musuko." Minato whispers to himself, proud of his motivational son.

**Naruto exhales sharply, preparing himself. **_**Nothing for it, I guess . . . **_**He channels his chakra to his wrists, straining them. The effect is immediate, with hot bolts of pain shooting through his body, but he only lets a sharp shout escape him before he concentrates. "I've had a taste of recognition! I have people I **_**love**_** . . . and nothing is going to stop me from seeing them again, especially some two-bit dictator!" **

"You better _believe it_!" Kushina rallies.

**Koyuki has sprung to her feet now, he doesn't know when, and she's looking at him with something like concern or horror. "Stop it!" She cries. She can see how much it hurts him to keep going. Why doesn't he just let himself breathe— just stop hurting?!**

"**Hey little hime . . . I'll prove . . . that they weren't wrong!" Naruto snarls, and with one last howl of pain— he's free! He drops to the ground with a jarring thud, but he doesn't let a little thing like **_**oh-my-kami-what-is-this-pain **_**stop him. He's up and staggering forward. "Okay . . . let's . . . wait." He stops himself from touching the bars, suspicious. The enemy just wouldn't make it that easy right? **

"**Let's see . . ." he murmurs, searching the ground. He picks up his file and aims it carefully, flat side up. He chucks it at a bar, and upon contact every bar lights up with electricity crackling and brilliant. He shields his eyes, sighing once the volts die down. "As I expected . . . ah, hime, please wait a little longer . . . uh?" He feels something happening with his chakra detector. **_**Oh**_**, he laments, **_**please don't tell me it reacts to electricity.**_

"**GAH!" He screams once he's again zapped with bolts, these more powerful than before. He collapses, his nerves fried and unusable for the time being. "Um, scratch that . . . just, give me some time . . . about an hour?"**

"My poor baby . . . you just go through all sorts of pain for the littlest things." Kushina sighs, shaking her head.

"And he was cautious too, but he still got zapped." Obito grumbles.

"**An hour?!" Koyuki yelps, before sighing. She looks up at Naruto again, his unnaturally still form, but she knows he's not dead. He couldn't prove anything if he was dead, she thought with determination. She can wait for him, and while she waits . . . maybe she can think of something to help after all. She sits down and waits idly for an opportunity.**

**That opportunity comes fifteen minutes later. An echoing boom is heard, from somewhere far in the building. Koyuki's head jerks up, wondering what it could be. She waits another five minutes before two snow ninja race into the prison corridors, and they stop by Naruto's cell.**

"**Since when did this kid . . . ?!" One of them shouts. They open the door, tearing off some sort of tag on it. One of them takes the keys to transport the "unconscious" kid to another cell for holding. What he gets instead is iron to the face as Naruto whips him with shackles. The nins are made quick work of, and Naruto is the one left standing in the cell as he swings the keys around his finger. He notices Koyuki looking at him with shock and grins. **

"Woo! That's how we do it! That's how team seven does it!" The team seven of the past whoops, clapping twice and fist pumping.

"**Never underestimate a ninja." He quips with a grin, and is pleasantly surprised to see Koyuki return his cheer with a small smile of her own. He leaps over to her cell and quickly unlocks the door, beckoning for her to take his hand. Once she does they are off and running down the hall to the elevator. They go up as far the elevator allows, Naruto checking that the coast is clear before he leads her on again. Before they can get very far a wire shoots up and attaches to the ceiling above them, the accompanying snow nin following shortly after.**

"**Hello fresh meat!" Naruto snarls with a savage grin, running forward to make quick work of this ninja as well. **

"**Wait, wait Naruto! It's me!" the nin rips off his clothes to reveal Kakashi beneath.**

"Rips off his clothes . . . huh?" Rin repeats, pressing her lips firmly together, though the sparkle in her eyes betrays her glee.

"You didn't know about my part-time job as a male stripper?" Kakashi asks, and Rin breaks, head whipping back as she guffaws.

"**Onii-san?" Naruto gawks catching his ninja pouch as Kakashi throws it to him. So they had hid it away from him . . . and here he thought they'd destroyed it.**

"**Yeah, sorry for taking so long. I see you kept the princess safe though." Kakashi notes.**

"**Yes. You switched the crystal for a fake on didn't you?" Koyuki says, her eyes narrowing in displeasure.**

"**Sorry, I thought they would be after it so . . ." Kakashi explains vaguely, taking the crystal from his pocket and handing it back to her. She clutches it in her hand, but there isn't much time to think about it, as another explosion sounds closer to them, and Sakura and Sasuke run into the room. "We couldn't hold that area for much longer!" Sakura reports, smiling at Naruto.**

"**Yo!" Naruto greets casually, smirking at them. Koyuki beckons them to follow her, and they do, running out of the prison sector and through more halls, finally stopping in a large room. Naruto's brow furrows, and he shares a look with Kakashi. This is rather strange . . . **

**A light turns on, revealing a figure sitting on the dais elevated high above them. Naruto's eyes widen— **_**Datou! **_

**Datou rises from his throne and walks a couple steps forward. "Well done, Koyuki."**

"**What?!" Kakashi turns to Koyuki, who turns away from them all and runs to the steps, heading towards Datou. "Wait!" Kakashi tries to grab at Koyuki, but he is blocked by the snow ninja team from before. Koyuki has reached Datou now, and without preamble she places the hexagonal crystal in his hand. **

"That bitch!" Kushina and Tsunade howl, faces red and outraged.

"Now hold on, she's no shinobi," Minato cuts off their tirade early. "There must be something else here."

**She turns to Team Seven, her voice loud and clear. "Everyone here seems to forget that I am an actress!" they can only watch on in disbelief, not wanting to believe Koyuki would betray not just them— but her entire country! **

**Datou chuckles. "Yes, Koyuki acted out that entire scene, just to trick you all."**

**Naruto grits his teeth, staring only at Koyuki. **_**Please, Koyuki . . . I know that wasn't an act, it couldn't have been! Are you trying to do something else?!**_

**Koyuki is staring back at him, a hooded expression on her face, eyes dark and shuttered. "That's right . . . I am an actress. Which means . . ." She pulls something out from her coat pocket— a tanto! She unsheathst he short blade and rushes Datou, sinking the blade into his side. "That I can trick you!" she grunts, pushing the blade in as deep as she can.**

"And the plot thickens!" Obito roars in a dramatic voice, fist shaking into the air.

"Even if that's a nice gesture, Datou is more than he seems I bet . . . she would have been better off leaving this to the professional ninja." Kushina notes with a frown.

"But it's a nice gesture all the same! It's really symbolic of her turning of a new leaf." Rin objects, wanting to look at the positive, more romantic side.

"**You . . . !" Datou growls, angry about Koyuki's surprise attack. One hand moves to Koyuki's throat, pushing her back and choking her. Koyuki drops her hands from the tanto and uses both hands to scrabble at Datou's large hand squeezing her throat.**

"**Princess!" Naruto shouts, stepping forward.**

"**I knew this already, Naruto . . ." Koyuki whispers. "That coming back here is when I would die. That's why . . ." She grits her teeth and steps forward, hands back on the tanto again as she drives it in as far as she can.**

"**Stop it! Princess!" Naruto shouts again, making to rush forward but he is held back by Kakashi, who is still glaring at the ninja blocking them. Would they be able to bypass these ninjas in time to save Koyuki?**

"**It's . . . all thanks to you . . . Naruto." Koyuki adds, glaring at Datou in defiance. **

"**I liked you better as the selfish brat! You can't die princess, just run!" Naruto shouts.**

**If she hears him, she doesn't show it. With one last push, she and Datou are sent over the edge that she had been inching towards, falling to the ground in a heap. "Princess!" Naruto shouts, running past the snow nin— who, for some strange reason— don't even react to their fallen boss and heading straight for Koyuki's still body. He reaches forward and— WHAM! He's sent flying back with a hard punch to the jaw coming from the large fist of Datou.**

"**Hm! This toy-like katana would not hurt me." Datou sniffs disdainfully, shrugging off his robes to reveal armor similar to what the snow ninja wear. "This is the newest advanced model of chakra armor!" he boasts. **

"Lame!" Obito shouts.

"Cheap!" Rin follows.

"Shut up!" Kakashi mocks their tone.

**Naruto opens his mouth to argue, but it snaps shut when Koyuki stirs. She coughs, air rushing back to her lungs, and Datou reaches over to pick her up. Naruto growls but doesn't move. Without chakra he is only left with his hand to hand abilities, and compared to Datou's chakra armor and overwhelming stature, he isn't sure he'd fare well in a fight against the man. Koyuki struggles in Datou's hold, fists beating against Datou's legs— but it might as well be a puff of air against Datou for all he reacts. He just looks down at her and smirks.**

"**Come Koyuki, let's go to the place beyond the rainbow." He invites her. When the ceiling begins to collapse and fall around them, Naruto figures Datou must have planned for such a dramatic flair. A wire shoots out from behind Datou and he is sent up, Koyuki carried along with him.**

"**Oh no you don't." Naruto swings a kunai on a rope a couple times, and then flings it up to the retreating pair. Koyuki immediately stretches out her arm, grasping onto the rope and letting it wind around her arm so Naruto can follow them. Naruto braces himself and holds onto the rope tightly as he is shot through the air after them. What the rest of them do down below he's not sure, though he hopes the others got out safely. For now, his focus is on rescuing the princess.**

"You think Datou is going to let you tag along?! Baka!" Kushina snaps, glaring at the book, lower lip trembling faintly.

_**Something I've been wanting to do since a little kid, actually. Just like in the movies, **_**the young blonde reflects with a wry grin, squinting his eyes to keep dust and debris out. Datou has unfurled a pair of mechanical wings on his back and he flies high into the air with them. Naruto is now, unlike with the blimp earlier, distinctly aware that he is clinging to life by a thread, and hopes Koyuki can hold on. That's the least of his problems when Datou glances down and sees him swinging through the air behind them. Datou smirks— Naruto feels a chill go down his spine— **

**And he flies past Naruto, cutting the rope.**

"Gah, shit!" Obito curses, flinching back as if he were the one falling from the sky.

"Why?! I'll _never_ get grandkids at this point!" Kushina wails.

"I'll never let him out the _village_ at this point." Minato tacks on, clutching his lover to him tightly.

_**. . . This is going to **_**really **_**hurt. **_**Is the only thing Naruto can think as he falls through the air. He sees Koyuki looking back at him as she is flown away, hair streaming in her face.**

"**Naruto!" she screams, but he is unable to answer, the free fall seeming to have taken away his voice.**

_**Tuck and roll, kit . . . this is going to hurt! **_**Kyuubi advises grimly, and Naruto manages to curl his body up and brace for impact just as he hits the first tree with a sickening crack. Three more trees fall and he tumbles to the earth. He blacks out for a maximum of ten seconds, mind wiped of all thought but the jarring sensation of his landing.**

**The first thing he thinks is: **_**Oh fuck yes I'm alive!**_

**The second thing is: **_**Oh Kami it hurts why am I alive?!**_

**The third thing: **_**. . . Princess. Right. Gotta go save her.**_

**He staggers up, steps unsteady and almost drunken as he struggles against the pain and the fatigue that hasn't gone away since his chakra was sealed. He can't give up, he has to follow after Koyuki . . . he said as much in the cave, the mission had yet to finish! Agh, but damn he is in a bad way . . .**

**A sound makes him look up— like the sound of brakes. It's the film crew on a . . . car of some sort? The director points his mega horn at him. "Hop on!" **

**Sakura and Sasuke run through the woods, dodging the icicle kunai of the beefy snow nin and the flying woman.**

"**Now?" Sasuke asks Sakura, aggravated.**

"**Not yet." She replies lightly, ducking in time to save her life. Her eyes widen. "Ah! I get it, Sasuke! Twenty degrees to the right and thirty meters ahead, that's where your branch will be!"**

"**Finally!" Sasuke groaned, stepping to the side and throwing ninja wire at a high branch, creating a spider's web waiting to trap a poor, unsuspecting flying snow nin.**

"**Whatever you try won't work!" the beefy nin taunts, snowboarding and rushing to defeat the little pink-haired girl. Sakura ignores his taunts and opens her cloak to reveal a plethora of kunai with little pink bags attached to the handles by wire. She wastes no time and throws them at the nin, not even discouraged a little when his shield seems to deflect her kunai. Steadily, without err she throws the kunai. Eventually she dodges as the man rushes past her. The nin stops, searching for her and watching the little tiny pieces of square paper that floats around him from the burst bags. One settles on his armor and he looks at it— there's a seal on it.**

**Sakura jumps down from a branch, an explosive tag kunai in her grasp. "Sakura Blizzard no Jutsu!" she calls out with assurance, and throws the explosive tag. It hits the ground by the nin, detonating and setting off the other tiny pieces of paper.**

"Very clever." Tsunade praises, one slim eyebrow raised in consideration.

**Sasuke has similarly dealt with his opponent, the flying purple-haired woman. Caught in his wires she still manages to glide to a branch, jumping up to cut them with her wings. "We snow ninja aren't that weak!" She declares with a smirk. She notices too late that Sasuke has appeared behind her.**

"**Maybe. Lion's Barrage!" he cries, a barrage of hits sending the woman flying back down to earth to clash with her teammate, a sudden explosion erupting as soon as the two of them hit.**

**Sasuke hits the ground and ducks for cover, making sure Sakura has done similarly. "What was that?" he wonders.**

"**I don't know . . . maybe, it's . . . ?" Sakura trails off, thinking hard.**

**Kakashi faces off a final time against his old opponent.**

"**This time I'll use something original." Kakashi informs the nin, three hand seals and then putting his right hand palm down. "Raikiri!" **

"Raikiri?!" Minato repeats, eyes widening at the name. He cuts a glare to Kakashi. "Kakashi!"

"Well you weren't around to tell me no, I'm guessing." Kakashi answers simply.

**The snow nin makes his own hand seals, grinning wildly. "Hyouton: Rouga Nadare no Jutsu!" An avalanche from above rushes down to Kakashi, the snow morphing into large running wolves, teeth bared to catch Kakashi. Kakashi doesn't even pause, running forward and merely jumping over the wolves, letting them fall over the edge. One wolf manages to run in front of him, jaws open to snare him, but his arm rears back and the raikiri flares brightly. He shoves it through the wolf, the jutsu splitting apart like butter under a katana, flying forward to hit the opponent's shoulder, effectively shutting down his chakra armor.**

**Rouga jumps back like he's won. "Ha! That was close—" The leftover snow from his technique comes down on them, sending them flying off the edge. Ryouga is surprised when Kakashi's arms pin his arms in place. **

"**Even without ninjutsu and genjutsu, a shinobi still has taijutsu! You've depended too much on that armor!" Kakashi reminds the man with savage amusement, and as they fly towards the ground Kakashi shoves the nin ahead of him, smashing his head to the ground, buried deep in the snow. Ryouga is instantly knocked out, and with only one brief backward glance Kakashi is off to gather the rest of his team.**

"Very nicely done, Kakashi." Minato approves with a smirk. Kakashi reciprocates the smirk, tipping his head slightly.

**When Naruto arrives on the scene, he is struck for just a moment at how beautiful it is. Around the valley are tall icebergs, surfaces smooth and flat . . . like mirrors. Streams rush around, and it's like a celestial winter garden. Only here, in this bowl-like valley, is it warm . . . It's Spring! **

"**Woohoo!" he howls, throwing his head back. "Look, princess, it's spring!" he exclaims as he jumps off the moving truck, running forwards. Screw caution just this once, now Naruto was going in brawler's style— out loud and in style!**

"I am going to beat the shinobi rules of conduct into your head Naruto, mark my words." Kakashi vows.

"I'm just going to beat him until he stops acting stupid." Jiraiya shrugs.

"**Naruto!" Koyuki cries, beyond relieved to see him alright and still energetic after that fall in the forest. **

**Dotou growls, hands slow but sure as he goes through hand seals. "Hyoton: Black Dragon Blizzard!" he rears a fist back and punches it, a black dragon rushing from his fist straight to Naruto. Grimacing, Naruto jumps into the air, but the blast of ice from the dragon's impact still sends him high up into the air, and he hits a stumbling landing, rolling to absorb the impact. He gets right back on his feet again with a grin.**

"**What's the matter? That's hardly worth mentioning, that pathetic little hit." Naruto taunted, going forwards again.**

"**Naruto, stop it! This time you really will die!" Koyuki insists, staggering up.**

"**Believe in me, hime!" Naruto requests from her. "If you do, I won't lose! I'll show you spring!"**

**Datou growls and shoots forward, Naruto stumbling back from the sudden burst of speed Datou puts on— **_**what the hell, isn't this guy supposed to be just some noble?! Where is he pulling this shit from?! **_**Naruto thinks in panic as Datou's fist rushes towards him.**

"**Die!" Datou roars, his powerful hit sending Naruto crashing through the ice so hard the majority of the lake's ice cracks and crumbles, revealing the freezing cold lake below. Naruto is sent sinking down into the dark depths, fighting against the cold and his stupid chakra seal. **_**That's it! Kyuubi! Let's light it up! **_

"He is going to catch hypothermia and _die_!" Rin babbles, panic shutting down her brain-to-mouth filter.

**Up above Datou smirks in satisfaction, Koyuki behind him sinking to her knees. Could Naruto have survived that?!**

**Datou senses someone approaching him— Sasuke comes bearing down on Datou with a chidori. "Take this! Chidori!" Sasuke pushes the jutsu forward, getting as close as he can with Datou's shield in place. If Sakura was right, from the observations of their fight with snow nin earlier, the key to the chakra armor was the small circular yin-yang symbol in the middle of their chest! Destroy that, take away their power edge! He manages to make a crack in the armor, the place where the energy source powers the armor, just before Datou sends him back with a strong blow. Sasuke crashes into a wall of ice, his body making a crater in it.**

"**Ha ha! Your pathetic little jutsu has done nothing!" Datou laughs, unknowing of the crack in his armor.**

"Excuse me?" Kakashi asks quietly, eyebrows raised.

"You don't call a Hatake original . . . pathetic. You sir, have just fucked up." Obito says with a serious face, voice deadpan.

**Sasuke smirks, a trickle of blood sliding down his chin. "On the contrary . . . I've given Naruto a good foothold." **

_**Hey, Fox . . . you sunbathing down there?! Show me your stuff!**_

**A bloodthirsty grin. A dark laugh. **_**Let's see what you can do with this . . . Naruto!**_

**From above, Datou laughs, turning his back on the lake . . . and therefore he can't see the sudden disturbance. Soon though, he feels the earth quake under his feet. He whips around to stare at the lake, where the water churns. "What is this?!"**

**What it is, is Taiju Kage Bushin no Jutsu, Naruto's filling the sky as they jump from the water. As one, they all speak.**

"**Payback, with compound interest Datou!" **

**Datou is momentarily shocked, but he shakes it off. "Big words! Black Dragon Blizzard!" two dragons from each fist erupt and swirl around each other as they destroy the Naruto clones. They combine to form a large black twister, the clones swirling around them like satellites or debris in a hurricane. The winds eventually die down, the jutsu stopping as all the clones seem to be gone . . . so where is the real one?**

**Amongst the dust and clouds of white mist kicked up, Datou laughs maniacally. "It's over! It's all over!"**

"**I told you, it's not over yet!" Naruto's voice comes from across the way from Datou. The dust blows away to reveal Naruto, a rasengan spinning in his hand as he smirks at Datou. Koyuki's eyes widen— just what kind of kid was Uzumaki Naruto?!**

"Our kid!" Kushina cries joyfully, hugging a laughing Minato tightly.

"A BAMF!" Obito crows.

"My student, of course." Kakashi and Jiraiya say in unison, grinning at each other.

"**When I think of something being over, I think it means I've won and you've lost Datou!" Naruto continues. His rasengan is complete now, and with a snarl he runs forward, his only focus on ending this.**

**Koyuki, emboldened by the never-die attitude of the young blonde, stands up and shouts, "Naruto! This Unlucky Princess accepts you as the greatest ninja ever!"**

"**That . . . goes without saying!" Naruto answers, feet carrying him forward faster . . . faster! As he runs, the sun rises over the snow and ice peaks of Yuki no Kuni, and it causes a strange reaction. The sun's rays catches the mirror-like ice structures around the valley, and that light is somehow absorbed by the rasengan! The rasengan glows brighter than it ever did before, turning iridescent, as trails of rainbow colored light swirl around it and behind Naruto.**

"Whoa!" Minato shouts. "That shouldn't happen should it?! Sensei!"

"Hell if I know, but Naruto's doing it!" Jiraiya says in a dumbstruck voice, trying to imagine such a thing.

"It sounds beautiful. Rasengan special, Uzumaki Style!" Obito nicknames it immediately, getting a cheer and a grin from Kushina.

**Datou, in a panic, swings at Naruto. Naruto smoothly ducks and, with all his might, thrusts the seven-colored chakra rasengan into Datou's midsection. "Rasengan!" he shouts, glaring blue fire into Datou's very soul. With a forceful shove from Naruto, Datou was blasted back, spinning like a top and hitting the mirror-ice with a crack. Datou slid down, whatever happened to him; Naruto didn't care . . . though he was pretty sure he was dead.**

_**By my count that's the 50**__**th**__** reaped soul, **_**Kyuubi remarks. **_**Happy Anniversary. **_

"He's only twelve." Tsunade reminds them all quietly, the cheerful mood from his rasengan special dimming a little.

"That's our line of work, what are we getting sad for?" Jiraiya asks them all, and certainly himself, with a scowl. "It would have happened sooner or later."

"Wouldn't we all . . . have preferred later?" Rin replies.

_**Shut up, **_**Naruto grumbled back to the Kyuubi. 50 huh . . . ? And he hadn't even reached thirteen as of yet. But with the death of gatou brought about a karmic response— something uplifting and truly happy. The land immediately changes settings— Spring truly arrives to the country! The snow melts in an instant, green grass and wildflowers replacing the blanket of white, a pleasant breeze meandering around them all. Somehow, a projection of the late Sousetsu with a much younger Koyuki speaking to him appears in the air above them, like a mirage or a dream. Koyuki looked up in surprise . . . she remembered this! Her father asked her . . . what she wanted to be. And her answer?**

"**I want to be a kind, strong princess." Her younger counterpart answers slowly, but surely. **

"Not too late to start hime." Kakashi comments with a soothing tone, hoping to ease the mood of the room away from its dark tone.

"**So you said such dreamy things too as a child." Naruto murmurs in her ear as he steps up next to her, watching the scene unfold.**

"**Well you'll have to work hard!" Sousetsu laughs, going around standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders, seeming to look straight at the future Koyuki. Koyuki smiles back at her father, tears slowly trailing down her face. **

"**But there's one other thing I want to be!" Little Koyuki chirps.**

"**What's that?" Sousetsu asks.**

"**I wanna be an actress!" Little Koyuki pipes. With Sousetsu's fading laughter, the memory fades into the air, letting through the brilliant shine of a rainbow. **

"**Ha! I at least didn't give up that one though, eh Naruto?" Koyuki asks, turning to look at the tired, bedraggled boy beside her. Naruto gives her a teasing smirk.**

"**So you've always been looking towards the future. You never gave up! That's great . . ." Naruto murmured, energy too drained for anything higher than that. He swayed on his feet, and before he could drop in a dead faint like some little pansy, he decided it would be best to just . . . sit down.**

"**Naruto?" Koyuki looked down as he settled heavily on the ground. **

"**No, don't worry . . ." Naruto slurred as he gave into the temptation to flop down on the new, green grass— he sighed in pleasure; it was as soft as it looked! "I'm just going to . . . sleep here." And Naruto's eyes closed, and he slept instantly. Koyuki smiled down at the brave boy, and sat next to him, content to final breathe again for the first time in ten years. It was good to be home.**

**Nearly a week later, Team Seven are the special guests of Princess Koyuki at her coronation as the new sworn in leader of Yuki no Kuni. She is beautiful in a lavender ceremonial dress with her royal robes. Naruto and Sakura are happy to sample the rich delicacies whilst Kakashi and Sasuke are, as they call them, "sticks in the mud." Koyuki finds them as soon as she can be let go from greeting the people, and Naruto moves forward instantly to hug her. Koyuki smiles brightly at him and gives him her best bear hug, giggling as Naruto mockingly returns it.**

"Flirt." Rin accuses the boy, though there is no real heat in her voice.

"**So how's it feel Queenie?" Naruto asks her teasingly, taking her hand and slowly twirling her once.**

"Oh, Minato . . . and here you had me fooled as some shy little boy who knew nothing of girls." Kushina bemoans, shaking her head slowly as she starts to detach herself from him. Jiraiya is quick to burst out laughing, he others soon following. She laughs when Minato merely tightens his hold, not accepting her separation.

"Oi, oi . . . it's not like all these things are genetic!" Minato whines.

"I believe I said earlier in this story . . . that smooth moves are indeed genetic." Obito is quick to point out, dodging the pillow his sensei throws at him.

"**Well, it's my duty. And I'm happy to take up that duty just as my father did before me." Koyuki answers, moving back to lean against a table they all stood next to.**

"**But you're a really popular actress. It's such a shame you have to give that up now." Sakura sighs.**

"**Who says I'm going to give it up?" Koyuki chirps.**

"**What?" Sakura and Naruto ask, heads tilting in unison. **

**Koyuki winks at them, waving a script she's just pulled from a fold of her robes, part of the title covered. But Kakashi seems to recognize it straight away. **

"**T-That is?!" Kakashi stammers out, hand shaking as he points at it. Naruto looks at it, putting together the hirogana that are visible. **_**That looks an awful lot like . . Ich . . . Dise? Ah! Icha Icha Paradise the movie!**_

"Aw, yeah!" Jiraiya rejoices jumping up to victory dance around the sofa. "I can smell those piles of money!"

"Ugh, that filth actually becomes a movie?" Tsunade mutters with disgust.

". . . Good for you sensei." Minato chuckles nervously, willing to support his sensei even if his recreational habits are more than a little questionable.

"**I'll show that I can reign in Yuki, and still keep up my acting career. It's stupid to give up right?" Koyuki giggles, picking up the front of her skirt and hurrying away to a group of children calling for her, asking for an autograph. Naruto laughs, looking back at a still shocked Kakashi.**

"**Okay, nii-san . . . since it means so much to you I'll get you advanced tickets okay? Let's see if I can't get it running for you a month ahead of every other village and city!" Naruto appeases Kakashi, watching with amusement as the man seems to realize where he still is, and quickly regains his composure.**

"Jeez, Kakashi . . ." Rin shakes her head, feigning disappointment.

"You want to take this outside?" Kakashi asks with a narrow eyed stare at his traitorous teammate.

"Guys please, no discussing your sex life in front of us." Obito pleads. If that's not enough to set off the rest of the room into hysterics, the mildly horrified and terribly shocked looks on Rin and Kakashi's faces are.

"**Ah! Now that I think about it . . . maybe I should have gotten an autograph?" Naruto wonders aloud, watching Koyuki smile and laugh with the flock of children around her.**

"**If it's about an autograph . . . I've got it." Sasuke speaks up, nonchalantly mentioning it.**

"**Oh? Must be a souvenir she's giving me. As if the other things I were gifted weren't enough . . ." Naruto snorts to himself, thinking of the many gifts and souvenirs he'd both bought and been given by a carefree Koyuki. Sasuke hands him a small envelope, white with a rainbow at the right lower corner. Naruto takes it and opens it, pulling out a picture—**

"**Eh?!" Naruto gawks, throwing a look at a giggling Sakura. "What a strange autograph." He chuckles. The photograph is one of him asleep in a bed, face peaceful and lips parted slightly as he recovers from his fight, bandages adorning his neck and arms. Koyuki is placing a kiss on his cheek; decked out in her Princess Gale costume with full makeup . . . perhaps this is before she shoots her final scene?**

"Aw, that's adorable." Rin gushes though her smile is still wan from the shock of Obito's words earlier.

**Well . . . Naruto smiles happily, putting the picture back in the envelope and in his pocket. This mission wasn't so bad after all.**

"**Nii-san." He declared, looking at Kakashi.**

"**Yeah?" Kakashi replies.**

"**I forgive you."**

"**Ah . . . that's great."**

"Whoa . . .awesome chapter." Obito declares.

"Ah! But wait, there's more . . . an extra bonus part. Which I will give to . . . Rin to read!" Minato declares, smiling at the shocked look on Rin's face. She takes the book with a questioning look to Minato, who just gestures to the book.

* * *

**Okay! So, hope you all enjoyed the Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow! Honestly the best Naruto film ever. Crescent, of course, comes second. But before that, may i present to you the Konoha Grand Sports Festival! Please review at the end, and let me know how you felt about it! See you next chapter!**

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad~**

* * *

_Ra-Ra, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

Rin blinks in confusion.

"What's the matter?" Minato asks, eyebrow cocked at his student's puzzled look.

"We have a sports festival?" Rin asked, big brown eyes blinking up at her sensei.

"Uh . . . no? That must come in at a later date, but what use is it?" Minato wonders the last part to himself, nose slightly scrunching up as he thinks.

"Whatever it is sounds fun and lighthearted, two words that don't show up enough in my son's life. So read!" Kushina demanded, pointing to the book. Rin shrugged, doing so.

**One moment everything was normal— as normal as can be in a hidden village— and the next morning, on every available surface and on the corner of every shop window and door were taped flyers advertising some big event.**

**Naruto was treating Sakura and Sasuke to lunch as a thank you for a productive spar, when Sakura brought their attention to the flyers. "Hey, look, there's something big going on by the looks of that flyer."**

**They gathered closer to see it. "Come one, come all to the Konoha Sports Festival . . . a chance to see our rookie ninja show off their athletic prowess in a more lighthearted setting with a special prize at the end . . . every seat is the cheap seat, but they're all prime viewing. Special Note: We allow cheerleaders for the individual competitors— all are allowed to volunteer, but only ten cheerleaders max for each competitor. Sign up now." Naruto read aloud for the other two. The trio leaned away from the shop, considering looks on their faces.**

"Cheerleaders?! Hime, you're such a kind soul!" Jiraiya wept.

"That wouldn't be me . . . most likely, that was Naruto. Perhaps part of what I offered him to go to Yuki." Tsunade grumbled.

"**Isn't this just a waste of time?" Sasuke asked with a sigh, looking faintly aggrieved.**

"**Is Sasuke afraid of competing with his fellow ninja? Afraid if it isn't spars, you'll fail?" Naruto taunted, dodging the strike aimed at his head. **

"**As if loser." Sasuke shot back, the flames of challenge already in his eyes. Naruto snorted, it was too easy to rile up the pale boy.**

"**Man, wouldn't it be fun if one of us won the prize?" Sakura said, eyes sparkling.**

"**Yeah!" Naruto agreed, grinning. **

"**I'm glad to see you three are pumped up for the sports festival this year." A voice chirped from behind them, and Naruto turned around to grin at Katsu. **

"**You off work?" Naruto asked.**

"**Nah, I was delivering something, but I'm going back now." Katsu explained, walking with team seven. **

"**Wasn't the uniform for your place different?" Sakura asked, not quite over her wariness about the other girl's pretty features.**

"**Yeah, but I'm not working there anymore— I'm surprised you haven't heard about my quitting, it was quite the scene. I got a new place to work now, and I think the uniform is way cooler." Katsu added in a bragging tone, looking down at her uniform, skirt fluttering jauntily— a beautiful short yukata in black, pink roses and smaller white and purple flowers adorning it. **

"**Way cooler." Naruto agreed with a straight face, not even twitching when Katsu sent him a sly look. "You're going to come and be my cheerleader aren't you?"**

"**Of course— how could I miss out on an opportunity to wear a cute cheerleader outfit? It's just a shame Hinata-chan is going to be in the festival too; otherwise we'd have cheered together. I wonder if I can find some others to come cheer too . . ." Katsu trailed off, head tilted back as she thought about it. She was brought out of her ponderings by a tap on the shoulder from Naruto.**

"**We're at your place hime." Naruto told her pointing to the cozy little tearoom, built just like an on-the-road teahouse. Just as he said that, the owner came out and squinted at them. She was a tiny thing, not higher than Naruto's shoulder, and old, though she had aged gracefully and was surprisingly agile for her age— Naruto suspected she was a retired kunoichi, though the woman had laughed off his theory— with her wits undimmed by age.**

"**Well, well, Katsu how kind of you to bring your little eye candy around for this old woman to look at!" she threw her head back and laughed. Naruto shook his head with a laugh, he might say her wits hadn't dulled, but just how many of them were addled? **

"Ew, don't perv on my child old hag." Kushina uttered in distaste, just restraining herself from sticking her tongue out.

"**It's nice to see you again Koizumi-san." Naruto said, not letting her teasing fluster him. **

"**Mm!" Koizumi Aika agreed, grinning surprisingly strong-looking white teeth at the sunny blonde boy, the motion deepening otherwise fine laugh lines. "So you younglings are probably in the sports festival aren't you?"**

"**Yes, ma'am." Sakura answered dutifully, shaking off her earlier shock at the woman old enough to be their grandmother— though she didn't look it— flirting with her friend. **

"**Will you come and see us Koizumi?" Naruto asked.**

**Koizumi sighed. "If there were some older, more developed man flesh showing off then I would. What use is looking at you toothpick teenagers? Call me when the jounin are having mud wrestling competitions, until then, I have a shop to maintain like a somewhat responsible owner." Her response made Naruto and Katsu laugh, while the other two just stared at the woman nervously. **

"What an interesting woman." Minato muttered with some amusement, eyes straying to Jiraiya.

"**Too bad . . . well, I'll leave you two then. See ya hime!" Naruto said, and with waves goodbye the young ninja walked on to their lunch destination. **

"**Is she always that . . ." Sakura struggled to find a word to describe the woman.**

"**Eccentric?" Naruto provided, nodding as he did so. "Oh yes, in the three times I've visited Katsu at work the old girl never misses an opportunity to tease me. Makes a game out of seeing how red I can go before I can escape her clutches. But she's great, really." Naruto insisted, seeing the skeptical looks on his friends' faces. **

"**Whatever, let's just focus on that lunch you promised us." Sasuke sighed, and so they continued on to arguing about where to go eat.**

**A month passed— a month of missions, meetings with old friends, and withdrawal symptoms from whatever business that was keeping Katsu away from him for far longer than he liked. The month passed though, and he survived right up to the present day, waiting with the rookie nins and team Gai at the Konoha stadium. Sasuke wore his short loose black body suit from the Chuunin Exams, and was looking fired up— as much as he could while retaining that aloof mask, of course.**

"**Don't lose Naruto, Sakura." Sasuke ordered with a smirk on high smugness volume. Naruto scoffed, shaking his head at the audacity.**

"**Try to keep up **_**genin**_**." Naruto retorted casually, ignoring the sudden subzero glare pinned on his face. **

"SNAP." Kakashi and Obito shouted, snapping their fingers.

"**I can't believe the prize is a paid weeks' vacation for the winning team!" Sakura spoke with fervent enthusiasm, fighting spirit practically written on her face. They all stood together with the other competing rookie genin in the middle of the field, the will of payday— I mean, fire, burning in their eyes.**

"Ooh, that does sound nice," Rin sighed.

"**Welcome to the Konoha Grand Sports Festival!" Tsunade greeted the audience, waiting for the cheers to die down. "You already know our genin, so let's get to the interesting part— introducing our cheerleaders!"**

"The best part after all!" Jiraiya cheered.

"**What's the point of cheerleaders, we all know just Sasuke is going to have them." Shikamaru grunted. He was rather irritated to see all those girls, except for Katsu and the ones with Inuzuka clan markings, file out—he figured they were all for Sasuke— until he got a rather rude awakening.**

**Of course there were about twenty— double the limit— cheerleaders, mostly kunoichi close to their age or civilian girls in their best, short, fluttery dresses jumping around and screaming Sasuke's name. But who were the coordinated, school cheerleaders for?**

"**Woohoo! Go Shikamaru, go!" Two brunette teens looking to be no more than a year or two older than him cheered, white pompoms waving in the air as they twirled about in sky blue and white cheerleader uniforms. **

"Yeah, Nara!" Obito hollered.

"**Shikamaru has fan girls?" Ino gawked, looking from the bubbly duo hollering his name back to the equally shocked lazy Nara.**

"**Chouji, Chouji he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!" Two brunettes and one extra perky inky-haired girl in red and white cheer uniforms trilled, spinning and bouncing.**

"Aka-michi! Aka-michi!" Kakashi and Rin chanted.

"**Chouji?!" Sakura squawked, staring at Chouji's outrageous blush.**

"**Shino! Shino! We vote for Shino!" The three girls had special high-collar tops just like Shino's, the entire uniform in the brown of his jacket.**

"Hell, even the Aburame?!" Tsunade laughed, slapping her knee.

"**Well I see Katsu has been busy, I wonder where she—" if anyone thought Naruto's suddenly broken off sentence was strange, they didn't day, but Shikamaru had to ask Naruto if he knew how Katsu did all this. **

"**Hey Naruto, check this— Naruto?" Shikamaru blinked, slightly dazed by the intense expression on Naruto's face, and turned to see what he was looking at. "Hot damn." He muttered when he saw it too. **

**Katsu and Momo flipped and danced like they've been cheering all their lives, resplendent in orange, blue and white uniforms, glittering orange pompoms flashing in the air with each toss and flip of their bodies. "U-zu-ma-ki! Go~ Maelstrom, woo!" they sang. **

"Lucky bastard! Why Namikaze men, why?!" Obito wailed, sinking to the floor in abject misery, mumbling about entirely unfair gene pools and absurdly breathtaking men.

"But it's _my_ name they're chanting." Kushina smugly reminded Minato, making the man deflate.

_**Who knew twin tails looked so hot?! **_**Naruto thought, momentarily forgetting his Oroike henge. "Fuck this sports festival," Naruto said dreamily, as if put into a trance, slowly starting to walk in the two girls' direction. "I've already won."**

"Yes, son . . . yes you have." Minato agreed gently, absently deflecting the fist aimed for his head.

"**Not so fast brat!" Sasuke grunted, grabbing Naruto roughly by the collar. "You're not backing out of this." He growled. Naruto looked like he would happily chew Sasuke's hand off, but a flash from the stands caught his attention. The flash was from a mirror— held by Jiraiya! He hadn't known the man was back yet?**

"**Ero-sennin?" Naruto murmured quizzically, head tilting. Jiraiya inclined his head when Naruto caught his eye, hand raising up palm first and motioning in a 'be patient' gesture. Naruto pouted, but relented and relaxed under Sasuke's hand. **

"**Okay, but we better win this fast." Naruto muttered, moving his neck from side to side. **

**They were ushered to the starting line, and the first event was about to start. Each team of three was in a line, one behind the other, each foot strapped to a board. **

"**Get set!" Iruka hollered, the referee for the events. The teams all tensed, feet sliding back. **

"**GO!" He shouted, and they all took off. Immediately two teams were out of the competition, and Team Seven was running in between Teams Ten and Eight. **

"**Out of the way!" Naruto hollered laughing, grinning when he caught Kiba's eye and the feral boy playfully snarled at him. **

"**U! Zu! Ma! Ki! Naruto, Naruto, get that win!" Katsu and Momo caroled, dancing and jumping.**

"**KYAA! SASUKE-KUN!" Sasuke's many adoring fans on the field on in the stands screamed, but it just didn't have the same effect as the good old cheer squad. **

"Obviously Katsu and Momo are better." Kushina scoffed.

"**Heh, my team's better than yours teme!" Naruto howled, kicking it into high gear ad forcing his teammates onto the same level for fear of being dropped . . . or dragged by the hormonal pre-teen. **

"**Winner, Team Seven!" Iruka announced. **

"**Yahoo!" Naruto crowed, high-fiving Sakura. Sasuke tossed them water bottles— and once again caught Naruto by the collar when he tried to sneak over to his cheerleaders— and they spent the ten-minute break hydrating and speaking about the next event. It was a solo, and Naruto had volunteered to go first. **

"**All contestants for the obstacle course, please move forward to the starting line!" Tsunade's smooth voice commanded, and the contestants were only too happy to oblige.**

"**Naruto is ready! Naruto is smooth! Naruto will take control— and show us how to move!" Naruto's cheer squad crooned, pompoms undulating as they danced. Naruto grinned, tightening the knot on his hitai-ate and stretching at the starting line.**

_**They must have really worked on those cheers . . . which makes me wonder if they intended for that to sound like an innuendo? Or maybe that's just me. **_**Naruto pondered on this.**

"No . . . we heard it to." Minato said, nodding and looking at Jiraiya, who nodded back.

"Second that." Kakashi and Obito chorused.

_**This is actually kind of interesting, **_**Kyuubi commented. Naruto grinned and replied, **_**It's lots of fun, Kyuubi, one day we'll play games too!**_

_**Don't count on it brat. Now pay attention, you're about to start. **_**Kyuubi snorted, retreating back from Naruto's mind as Iruka once again called out the start.**

"**Go!" Iruka commanded, and the contestants took off like a shot. **

**Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Neji and some two other genin were competing for their teams as they dashed through the obstacle course.**

"**What the hell kind of obstacle course is this?!" Naruto growled, running around in continuous loop-de-loops that the wooden track was made up of, occasionally aware of the sound of his fellow competitors pounding footsteps on the wooden track. They finally ran off it and back onto the turf, running towards a table . . . with milk cartons on it?**

"I hope you had nothing to do with planning these events. That'd be sad." Jiraiya commented bluntly to his teammate.

"What's wrong with the obstacle course?" Tsunade protested.

"**Seriously, who thinks up this crazy shit?" Naruto grumbled, opening the carton and chugging down the milk, though nowhere near as fast as Chouji. Chouji got out first, but Naruto was hot on his heels in second place, gunning towards the finish line. It ended in a tie between the two, the others placing behind them. **

**Naruto would have stayed behind to catch up with his team before the next relay, but he was suddenly hit with an urge— between the bottles of water he was chugging down and that gallon of milk, he was anxious to find the nearest bathroom. He ran off, quickly shouting bathroom to answer his teammate's question, and charged into the building. He passed by Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chouza— dipping his head briefly in hello— as he sought the nearest bathroom. **

**He immediately came to a halt.**

"**What the hell?!" He squawked, eyes bulging at the ridiculously long line to the closest bathroom. Just how many people were here?! And why did a lot of them look like they weren't even from his village?! **

**And is that—?!  
"Haku!" he shouted, and when the figure with long black hair in a pink kimono turned around, it was indeed his friend Haku. Haku's surprised moue quickly morphed into a gentle smile of happiness, and he waved Naruto over to talk. Naruto grinned and jogged forward.**

"Oh, how did he get into the village?" Rin asked.

"He was never signed up for ninja academy in his homeland, so technically he can't be a missing nin." Minato answered.

"**Hey, no cutting in line!" One hefty ninja barked, and Naruto snorted.**

"**I'm just talking to a friend." He insisted, waving away the protests. His brow furrowed as he walked towards Haku. **_**Was that big dude wearing an Oto hitai-ate? Nah, **_**he dismissed, **_**would Oto really be that dumb? **_

"**Naruto, it's been a long time." Hakur greeted quietly, smiling at his blonde friend. Zabuza would be pleased to see the boy again too, despite his gruff nature.**

"**Yeah no kidding Haku!" Naruto agreed, grinning wildly. "What are you doing here in Konoha? Is, er . . . ZaZa with you?"**

_**Zaza?!**_** Haku had to laugh aloud. "No, ZaZa is in one of the nearby farming villages, though he'd like to see you again if you have a chance to leave for a little. You could say its training, and that would technically be true."**

"**Training?" Naruto repeated, tilting his head to the side. **

"**Ah, Zaza wants to see that jutsu complete and ready-to-go." Haku elaborated.**

"**Ah, well that's fine then— but he better be warned that my affinity isn't water but wind, so the jutsu might not be all that powerful." Naruto warned, grinning wryly as he imagined all the insults Zabuza could hurl at him. **

"**Duly noted. Now you'd better go find another bathroom, and . . . keep on guard." Haku added with a nervous edge in his voice that confused Naruto.**

"**Keep on guard?" Naruto echoed, eyebrows rose in obvious question. **

"**Well," Haku paused, wondering how to say this. "I'm seeing faces that I don't think would normally be here . . . and I'm getting vague snippets of people who really aren't— or should not be **_**here**_**."**

"**That clarifies it." Naruto snorted. "Alright Haku whatever you say." He patted Haku on his shoulder and waved farewell, walking away. He whistled at the amount of people that he saw in the line from his peripheral vision.**

**Hokage-jiji even had to wait in line? Naruto snorted, what good was Hokage when . . . **_**WHAT. **_

"What?" Minato asked as well, head tilting to the side.

"He doesn't mean sensei?" Jiraiya asked incredulously.

"Must be sour milk or something?" Tsunade suggested.

_**No, don't turn around. Do Not Turn Around. It is all in your head! **_**Naruto commanded himself, stopping just a few feet away from the end of the line where someone who looked suspiciously like the late Sandaime Hokage stood. **

"**Just keep walking. One foot in front of the other," Naruto whispered to himself, slowly taking one step forward . . . then two . . . **

**He froze when the flaming hem of a cloak passed by him.**

"Who's the cloak belong to?" Obito wanted to know, but he was shushed so they could continue reading.

"**Fancy meeting you here," And it was the husky, wise voice of his jiji. Rather than feelings of nostalgia and perhaps even melancholy, Naruto was thinking— **_**I am disturbed, confused, and terrified . . . ghosts? **_**He gulped at even thinking the word.**

"He has a fear of ghosts?" Jiraiya snorted.

"Of all the things . . . he fears the one thing that can't even hurt him?" Minato laughed.

"When you live with a demon in your stomach, you have a healthy appreciation for just how serious the supernatural is." Kushina defended her son.

"**Well, Shinigami's stomach gets boring after a while right?" A smooth voice asked knowingly, and Hiruzen chuckled.**

"**Too true— at least we're not at Route 13?"**

"**I made that mistake once. Never used the mountain side path **_**again**_**."**

"**Flesh-eating rocks aside . . . What the hell is with this long line?" Hiruzen grumbled.**

"Oh my god, it's sensei . . ." Tsunade gasped.

"Who the he— how the hell— what the hell?!" Obito spluttered.

**Totally ignoring the fact that they were ghosts, the strange conversation was enough to make Naruto bolt . . . coupled with the fact that they were ghosts. Only two people in the world knew his darkest secret, and one of them was him. **

**Uzumaki Naruto was absolutely terrified of ghosts. **

**Unbeknownst to the fleeing child, Hiruzen and Minato glanced back at him from over their shoulders.**

"EH?! Minato?!" Kushina yelled, back stiffening as she gathered her legs underneath her.

"What the hell am I doing— no, what are Hiruzen and I doing out of the Shinigami? I thought we were dead?" Minato asked, looking far too confused.

"**My cute kid . . . he grew up well huh?" Minato remarked, looking to Hiruzen for confirmation.**

"**Indeed, he's a fine young man." **

"**But what's with the fear of ghosts? I noticed he started shaking as soon as we spoke."**

"**Well . . . I admit it was foolish of me to let him watch **_**Tales from the Crypt**_** at five years-old, but he would not shut up!" **

**Minato thought about a million things he could say about that, but decided not to bother. "Your mental scarring of my child aside . . . what are we doing here? We're dead— we should be with other dead people." Minato pointed out.**

"**Beats me. I think Shinigami-sama tired of you and I always shoving Orochimaru's arms into Yang-Kyuubi's mouth and having it complain to him." Hiruzen shrugged. Minato sweat dropped and sighed, resigning himself to wait for no apparent reason. **

"Your first time out of the Shinigami and you're . . . stuck waiting in line." Kakashi deadpanned, looking at his feet.

**On the other side, Naruto was just leaving the forest, sighing in relief. **

_**I'm pretty sure you've scarred that tree spirit for life, **_**Kyuubi was thoughtful enough to tell him.**

_**We all have our crosses to bear, **_**Naruto replied dully, shoving his hands in his pockets. He glanced around the field, and noticed the port-o-potties that had once been occupied and erect, now lay in a heap like knocked over bowling pins. Naruto considered this, until he heard a familiar voice.**

"**Ah, Chouji, I should have known it was you!" Naruto hailed, grinning at Chouji and— of course— Shikamaru when he came into their view. **

"**Eh, where were you Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.**

"**Utilizing a convenient tree— these were full at the time," he answered, gesturing to the wreckage.**

"**Ah, Ino said I should practice my jutsu, so . . ." Chouji trailed off, an embarrassed red on his cheeks. **

"**Ah, the hell cat is around here?" Naruto murmured, looking around.**

"You shouldn't say things like that about a girl." Rin quietly scolded, folding her arms.

"**What was that?!" Naruto flinched, that voice was far too close for his liking. He managed a snicker though when he saw Shikamaru and Chouji instantly tense up fearfully. Ino stormed over towards them, icy fury intent on Naruto who for his part, just smiled charmingly at Ino.**

"**Aw, quit storming around Ino. The longer you frown, the greater chance of wrinkling that pretty face." Naruto suggested quietly, amused when Ino immediately did so and instead adopted a look of superior indifference. The girl was really something.**

"Oh, no . . . _of course_ he doesn't get punished for that, when anyone else would have. Of course! Because it's _Naruto_." Obito drawled out in a loud, mocking voice.

"Woke up on the bitter side of the bed this morning did we?" Kakashi noted.

"**All contestants for the next event, please line up in the arena!" Tsunade's voice was prompt and almost pert for the usually serious woman, so Naruto immediately knew the next contest was going to be complete bullshit.**

"**Ah you signed up for this too right Naruto? Let's go!" Ino chirped, striding ahead of the boys as they made their way to the arena. **

"**What the hell is going on with these events?!" Naruto shouted in aggravation as he ran, his teammates behind him pushing a gigantic ball behind him. If he got hit with that thing he was getting steamrolled for sure!**

"What the hell . . . ?" Rin uttered, head tilting almost ninety degrees to the side in her confusion.

**Up in the stands Jiraiya sweat dropped and turned to Tsunade. "Did you . . . come up with these events yourself?"**

"**Yes I did!" Tsunade said proudly, honey eyes glinting wickedly as she watched the genin either run for their lives or get rolled flat by the bowling balls. "Isn't it fun Jiraiya?!" she laughed, watching Naruto execute a desperate leap to avoid getting rolled over by the ball, and instead landing on it, having to balance franticly to stay on. **

"I have no words." Jiraiya said in a dead tone, deliberately turning away from Tsunade's flashing eyes.

"That's . . . you're torturing children. And you feel okay about that?" Kushina asked her seriously.

**The teams left in the race had to go back to the starting line in order to finish, and at the end Naruto's trick was accepted because it wasn't strictly speaking in the rules that he couldn't be on the ball— he just couldn't be caught **_**under**_** it. **

"**Hell yeah!" Naruto boasts, high-fiving his teammates.**

"**Damn it Naruto, no way you guys are going to win!" Ino declares, fists tight and shaking.**

"**Whatever, flower girl!" Naruto snorts, catching the bottle of water Sasuke throws at him. "Man, it is hot! I think my clothes are sticking to me." He blows out a breath, shrugging off his jacket and tugging at the fitted black tee beneath. **

Rin straightens up, as her spine snapped to attention.

"Rin?" Minato asks, looking at her questioningly.

Rin doesn't answer him, her eyes shifting from left to right, brow wrinkled in confusion. "My bishounen senses are tingling . . . but why?" she mutters softly.

"**So cool yourself off Naru!" Katsu shouts from the sidelines, and without thinking about the suggestion Naruto smiles and agrees.**

"**Heh, yeah! No reason not to, I'll just dry off in a few minutes." Naruto thinks aloud, getting some confused looks. **

"**What does he mean?" Sakura wonders, looking to Sasuke, who merely shrugs.**

**Naruto answers them soon enough— and, judging by the reactions, it is a treat indeed. Naruto unscrews the cap off the water bottle, lifts it up, and then upends the bottle straight over his head. The water rushes down onto his head, a cool stream soaking his hair and his neck when he tips his head forward, washing off the sweat from his face and getting a good portion of his upper shirt wet as well.**

**He sighs blissfully. "So good!" he murmurs, shaking his head to get rid of the excess water. His eyes close momentarily— but then pop open at the sound of multiple, shrill squeals. He looks up to see girls at the front rows suddenly slipping out of their seats with goofy smiles on their faces.**

"Ha! My senses never fail me!" Rin crows victoriously, slapping her knees.

"AHAHAHAHAAHAAA OH MY GOD BEST THING EVER." Obito rolls on the floor, clutching at stitches in both his sides tightly, and tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Oh son . . . you have yet to be taught image control I see." Minato sighs with a shake of his head, sounding mildly disappointed.

"Image control?" Kushina asks, giggling. "So you did know how you affected all the girls in the village all along!"

"Yeah, but they weren't you so I didn't care." Minato answers with a wink, smiling at the pretty blush that dusts Kushina's cheeks.

"**Huh? What is that all about?" Naruto mutters. He turns to ask Sasuke, but it stopped when he sees Sakura's glowing red face. "Uh . . . you okay?" he asks her uncertainly.**

"**Urk." That's not quite the reaction he was looking for. He turns to Ino, but sees her hand smashed to her face, covering her nose and mouth.**

Obito howls in laughter. "Nosebleeds! Pervert girls! AHA!"

"**What the . . . ?" Naruto mutters.**

"**Hey, idiot!" he snaps his head over to glare at Shikamaru. "Why don't you ask your diabolical girlfriend over there." The shadow user points in Katsu's direction. Katsu and Momo lean on each other as if they're the only things keeping them up, bodies shaking and faces red. Naruto knows that look well on Katsu's face— she's restraining laughter.**

"Man she really does sound a lot like you." Minato mutters to his girlfriend with a shiver.

"What?" Kushina frowned. "Oh come on! I only lead you straight into your fan girl's trap one time! One! Really, if you want to know the truth, I think that's what made you so fast as you are today. I did a favor for you out of the kindness of my heart!"

". . ." Minato looks at her blankly, then sighs. "I _love_ you, and that's about all I can say."

"**Was something I did funny . . . oh." Naruto gets it now. The squeals, the red faces, Ino's sudden desire to press her nose— or rather, her nosebleed back.**

"**Very funny hime." Naruto calls mockingly, face deadpan. Katsu can't answer him back, so she just puts her thumb up in a good guy pose.**

**Up in the stands Jiraiya is in a similar predicament of hilarity, though he uses the opportunity to multitask— laugh at his student, and take excellent notes for his next book! Tsunade just shakes her head, sighing in exasperation. **

"You better not put names in there sensei." Minato warns the older man, looking at him seriously.

"Complete confidentiality at all times." Jiraiya vows, raising a hand in the air like a boy scout.

"**As smart as he is . . . he's still susceptible to the stupidity of man." Tsunade mumbles, seeing Naruto's popularity with the ladies, and some men, go up. **

**Team Seven was in the lead, and the last thing was . . . the relay race!**

"Yay! Speed!" Minato cheered with a smile.

"Boo!" Jiraiya hollers.

"Get that sissy game outta there! Where's the lion fights? The one-on-one matches with the top jounin? Something!" Kushina complains, waving her hands in the air to emphasize her points.

A vein pops out of Minato's forehead. "Sissy?" he whispers coldly, Kushina and Jiraiya freezing from the killer intent that licks at their heels.

**It's the girls first, lining up one after the other in the curve of the track, one behind the other. In one hand is a baton as they crouch, tense and ready to spring into action the moment the signal is given.**

"**On your mark— get set— go!" the bang sounds through the air and the crowd goes wild as the girls sprint, determination fueling their hearts and lungs taking in steady gulps of air. **

"**Get out of my way forehead-girl!" Ino growls to Sakura, who is neck and neck with her. **

"**Shut up Ino-pig!" Sakura retorts, face immediately contorting with anger. Predictably, the fiery banter translates to extra fire in their muscles, and they quickly race ahead of the pack, leaving clouds of dust in their wake. Ah, the power of rivals!**

"Obito . . ." Kakashi says slyly.

"Kakashi!" Obit mock growls.

**Kakashi's head pops up from his book. "Ha? Did someone call my name?"**

"**YOUTH!" Gai roars, and though he doesn't know the exact reason, he's pretty sure his rival Kakashi has just said something unbearably hip and cool. That was always it, right?**

**Sakura and Ino gallop down the track towards their teammates, who begin to start jogging, hands behind their backs to grab the baton. It takes a few tries, but with a firm smack the baton lands in Sasuke's hands at the same time it does Chouji's, but of course Sasuke overtakes the rotund boy. Shino, the chosen next runner after Hinata is second, and not too far behind. Poor Chouji is quickly being overtaken by even the stragglers.**

**Up ahead the last of the teams wait for their chance to run. Well, most of them. Naruto's interest flickers between Sasuke, and his pretty cheerleading princess. Most of the time, it's the princess who grabs his attention.**

"As it should be." Minato admits with a chuckle.

**Shikamaru puts his arms behind his head, sighing in aggravation. "There's no chance of winning with Chouji running." And, figuring that logic to be totally undeniable, Shikamaru just walks off the track to the stands, taking the time to pause and— making sure Naruto is watching— smile saucily at the Uzumaki's cheerleaders.**

**When he catches sight of Katsu and Momo— but he's just interested in Katsu— giggling and blushing, he hollers with a waving fist, "Oi, **_**NARA! **_**Eyes front and center you bastard!" Before he can say anymore, the sound of stampeding that quickly approaches makes him turn to see Sasuke not too far away, and that's his cue to go!**

"**NARUTO! Pay attention damn it!" Sasuke yells angrily, and with a snort Naruto starts jogging, hand outstretched behind him. Sasuke reaches out, trying to shove the baton into Naruto's hand.**

**Naruto yelps, side-stepping what would have been an ill-fated push of the baton from Sasuke. "Hey, hey, it ain't that kind of party! I care for you as a teammate and a fellow human being— but I'm sorry Sasuke, my feelings for you don't go any further than that!"**

"Ooh! The sting of rejection!" Rin whimpers with a cringe. "And they would have made such a pretty couple."

"NO." Minato's voice is blunt and even, but it overtakes the other's louder protests. "That's not. No."

"There shall be no SasuNaru!" Obito declares.

"Um, it'd be NaruSasu." Kushina corrects with a glare.

"Uzumaki always tops, is that it?" Tsunade asks with an innocent look on her face that crumbles into wicked glee at the choking sound from Kushina and the snort from Minato.

**The dumbfounded look on Sasuke's face was priceless, and it almost made Naruto trip. Before Sasuke could recover Naruto burst out with laughter and snagged the baton, sprinting ahead just as Sasuke's faculties recovered.**

"**NARUTOO!" Sasuke howled, the fires of vengeance nearly overtaking his better sense. Naruto cackled and sprinted like the wind, passing and then overtaking with ease the opponents, as if they were wearing weights and he was free of such a burden.**

"Like father like son, indeed." Jiraiya praises, chuckling at his smug former student.

**Naruto was in his own little world, a habit he found hard to break when he indulged in speed, but if he were aware of what was going on in the stands he'd have glowed with embarrassment and happiness.**

"**Look at him run!" A villager gasps.**

"**With that bright hair . . . isn't it almost like seeing a yellow streak?"**

"Or a Yellow Flash?" Kakashi comments knowingly.

"**Hey, like the Yellow Flash?!"**

"**Don't be stupid, comparing our Yondaime to that monster!" The man who shouts this is quickly shushed, the others around him looking fearfully at the shinobi in the arena.**

"**But . . . he's really fast!" A small boy pipes from beside his mother's side. "Isn't he? I bet he's the fastest guy there!"**

"Maybe not yet . . . but soon." Minato promises.

**And on that note, Naruto breaks past the winner's ribbon, shouting for the entire world to hear. Immediately he throws down the baton and with eagle eyes picks out Jiraiya's shaking form in the crowd.**

"**NOW?!" He shouts, hoping pouts worked long distance. Jiraiya laughs and nods his acquiescence. With a grin, Naruto turns and makes for Katsu— only to find Katsu has already sprinted out the building, her orange hair a flash around the corner.**

"**I won't lose!" Naruto sings, but before he can run after her he is suddenly frozen.**

"**We still have the award's ceremony Naruto, don't be in such a rush." Shikamaru drawls lazily as he walks, and forces the blonde to walk back to the group that is running up to congratulate him.**

"**We won Naruto!" Sakura rejoices, bouncing along beside their group. **

"**Yeah, great." Naruto mumbles, not really interested.**

"**We should celebrate with some barbeque at my tou-san's place Naruto!" Chouji tells him with a smile, clapping a hand on Naruto's shoulder.**

**Now interested, Naruto smiles. "That sounds like a plan!"**

**It's at this moment that Momo makes a fortuitous confession. "Oh, barbeque? It's funny you mention that!" she chirps, pom-poms rustling with her giggles and fidgeting. "Katsu just so happened to have a coupon to try out the new Ichiraku barbeque ramen for free, though it ends in ten minutes . . . I guess she'll just have to eat it herself!"**

"Ooh, that sounds _delicious_." Minato and Kushina sigh, Kushina's tongue darting out to lick her bottom lip.

**Naruto and Chouji freeze, as do their friends. The two boys freeze out of heavenly disbelief, the others out of fear. Ramen and barbeque? Combined? Kami help the souls who dare to interfere in that!**

**And those souls just so happened to be **_**them**_**.**

"**Barbeque . . ." Chouji mutters.**

"**Ramen?" Naruto finishes the statement. Both boys look down, their faces obscured by shadow. It is quiet for a moment. Just a moment.**

**Then, Naruto's chakra blasts out with incredible intensity, whipping around him and those close to him like the wind, powerful and full of intent. Naruto and Chouji's heads both snap up— eyes wide and frenzied.**

"**It!" Chouji roars.**

"**Is!" Naruto snarls, spinning to face the exit.**

"**MINE!" As one they roar, and with an Inferno Will of Fire they blast away from their friends, sprinting to find that coupon of barbeque ramen. **

"Oh, what a wonderful way to end this! This day has been very interesting!" Rin enthuses as she closes the book shut, putting it on the coffee table and bouncing to the kitchen.

"Ah, though I never was an avid reader . . . I could read this again and again, I feel like." Kushina mentions, rising to the tips of her toes as she stretches, giggling the arms of her boyfriend winding around her waist when her feet are planted on the floor again.

Hai, hai . . . so what will it be next time?" Minato muses, moving to Kushina's side and never breaking contact, the two of them following everyone into the kitchen.


	23. Chapter 23

**And . . . welcome back! To think we only saw each other last chapter, which could have only been a few minutes or so ago depending on how fast you read, ha ha. So, this is the filler chapter that will give way to the second Naruto movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom! After that we've got about four or five filler chapters and then the VotE battle. Ooh, how exciting! Think we can get to Shippuden before summer?! And yes, Shippuden will be part of this story. Just desn't make sense to make it a seperate thing. The manga doesn't do that.**

**Important Notice! Unfortunately, the web is vast and full of many traps and pit holes. So, it's going to take me a while to find the movie. And, again, school. SCHOOL. So, it'll be another month before the next update. Whether or not the next update will be a double whammy remains to be seen. What's the next holiday after President's Day? St. Pat's? Ooh, no, not then . . . late March early May, but you know i always try to get out my chapters fast for you guys. So have heart and be patient! I've got some good things planned for Crescent . . . so without further ado!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Three_

_As Always, Gear Up Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

Morning is cheerful, bright (the fluorescent light bulbs must have been changed for a newer set or something) and refreshing. Or rather, there's new furniture ranging from twin short couches to extra-large, plush recliners all still centered around a now oval, glass table.

"Well, a change of scenery is always nice . . . now if we could just get rid of the white walls." Kushina decided after a moment of stunned silence from the group.

"Whatever, let's just read." Kakashi sighed.

"Well who goes this time?" Minato prompts.

"Well I would like to if that's alright." Jiraiya volunteers, and without a word he is handed the book. "It's kind of hard to believe we're twenty three chapters in already . . ."

"Well it's not like we think, _'oh I wonder what will happen next chapter'_, but it's more like, _'what will happen in Naruto's life next?'_ isn't it?" Rin muses.

"True." Jiraiya concedes. With a deep breath, he starts reading.

**Naruto smiled as he ghosted through the halls of the Hokage Tower in the early morning. It had been a month since he'd walked through these halls, since two weeks after the Snow mission he'd been asked to fill in for one of the night guards of the wall as he'd been injured in training. **

"Ugh, night duty? That's got to suck." Obito sympathized.

**He wasn't here to go through memories however. He was on a . . . mission.**

**Naruto paused, head tilted to the side as he considered something. It had been some time since he'd gone through these particular halls . . . halls that no ordinary ninja could walk through. These halls were the part of the private residence connected to the actual functioning Tower, where the Hokage resided. Blue eyes flashed in the darkness, roving the walls. It had been years, even when jiji was alive, since he'd been to that particular room, however . . . **

"Is he visiting you for some reason?" Rin muttered, looking at Tsunade.

"Can't imagine why." The blonde woman answered with a shrug.

**A shifting of cloth caught his attention. He closed his eyes and opened his senses, chakra increasing the sensitivity of his ears. Light, feminine breathing. He opened his eyes and grinned.**

**The breathing in question was being performed by Shizune, who in the early morning hours of burgeoning dawn, was searching for something to wake both her and her master. She was, therefore, totally unprepared for the arms that encircled just on top her shoulders and the whispered, "Ha!"**

**Her mouth that had opened to scream— whether a girlish exclamation of fear or a jutsu she was unsure which— was quickly silenced by a warm palm and quiet snickers. "Didn't **_**really**_** mean to scare you nee-chan."**

**The voice had risen in volume just a little, and so she was able to recognize it. She shook her head in resignation, and sighed gustily when Naruto removed his hand from her mouth.**

"**Naruto-kun, just who are you trying to scare to death so early in the morning?" she scolded quietly, turning to pin the boy with a look of reproving. **

"**Certainly not you, Shizune-nee." Naruto replied innocently. "Sit down, let me cook breakfast for you." He didn't wait for her answer, merely shooed her out the way. **

"**Not that this isn't appreciated Naruto-kun, but what are you cooking breakfast for?" Shizune asked quietly, watching Naruto root in the fridge and pull out ingredients— eggs, bacon, milk . . . he pulled bread from the cupboard and pancake mix, then rummaged around in the spice drawer. Without a word and a whisper of haze, four clones popped into being and got to work.**

"**Incentive for mercy." Naruto whispered with a wink, and Shizune felt as if that one action had sapped her already meager strength in this early morning.**

"Sounds like trouble." Minato commented.

"Sounds like fun." Kushina disagreed.

"Sounds like too much talking." Tsunade cut in with a glare, silencing the sheepish couple.

"**How does Nade-chan like her eggs nee-chan?" Naruto asked over his shoulder.**

"**Scrambled . . . and it'll help if you put strawberries in the pancake, or bananas. She'll let you live and minimize damage if she sees how useful you are functioning." Shizune added, rubbing her forehead.**

"It's trouble for you." Kushina sang in a low voice, giggling at an exasperated Tsunade.

"**Don't fret Shizu!" A quiet chirp from above made Shizune glance up, a clone grinning at her as he held out a steaming mug of fragrant tea. She took it with a smile of thanks which turned into a relaxed and contented curl of her lips upon tasting the tea.**

"**I warn you she will be hung over, and therefore unable to be held accountable for how she reacts to whatever you plan to do." Shizune warned him. Naruto sniggered, blue eyes alive and brilliant as they gazed at her.**

"**That's half the fun." He assured her, and Shizune could do naught but sigh and nurse her tea. **

**In the Hokage's grand master bedroom, Tsunade slumbered away peacefully, unknowing of any outside disturbance. Challenging an old teammate who can certainly wash it down to a drinking contest can do that to you.**

"You still haven't learned." Jiraiya sighed in mock pity, shaking his head and staring at Tsunade.

"One day, I _will_ drink you under the table and it won't be a tie damn it!" Tsunade swore, shaking a fist at him.

**She slept on her side, luxuriant under the warmth of blankets and sheets, hair loose and splayed about on her pillow. **

**The door slowly opened, a line of light that grew bigger and bigger. A shadow crossed it and hid it from sight for the briefest moment or two, and then it reappeared as the intruder into her private domain crept inside. The shadow glided on silent feet toward her, grin wide and delighted as it spied her peaceful face. Such a look of peace was rare to see on the face usually intense with determination, or anger, or pride . . . and for a moment, the shadow felt almost bad about what it would do.**

**Almost.**

**The shadow turned around and leaned back, catching the doorknob and opening it wider. The light that hit closed lids still managed to make an impression on the sleeping woman, and so her nose crinkled slightly before smoothing out again. The shadow melted away in the light of the kitchen and living room to show Uzumaki Naruto grinning wickedly as he raised his arms. In each hand, was a pot cover.**

**Naruto mouthed a countdown starting from five, hands raising until they were level with his shoulders, arms outstretched as if he were about to take flight. With a breath Naruto's hands swung forward to clash.**

"Ugh, damn it I hate that!" Tsunade shouted, head thrown back in frustration to shout to the ceiling.

Jiraiya was laughing. "Oh man I used to do that to you before you got the freakish strength! Classic!"

_**CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! **_**"Rise and SHINE!" Naruto hollered.**

**Tsunade immediately woke up on the first clang, and the subsequent crashes after served to panic her mind— this was the excuse she would later come up with when she immediately jumped and screamed shrilly, scrabbling back and getting tangled in her sheets, falling to the floor on the opposite side of Naruto.**

"Ha ha! Oh he-hahaha! He got you-hoo ha ha, good!" Kushina wheezed out, hands on her stomach to soothe the pangs her laughter caused.

"I really want to see that— _the_ Senju Tsunade panicking like a little girl." Minato laughed freely, not even fazed at the subzero glare being leveled on him by said woman.

**Naruto roared with laughter, his clones in the background grinning as one of them brandished a camera. Tsunade popped up once she managed to get out of the sheets she had been trapped in, hands pushing back her blond hair from her face as she blinked rapidly, trying to discern what was going on. Honey brown eyes locked on the key factors.**

_**Naruto. Pot covers. Cameras. Blackmail. Me?! **_**Tsunade's eyes widened, anger filling them and seemingly spreading to the room as Naruto's laughter lessened and he opened his eyes to see Tsunade slowly rising predator's eyes locked on his soon to be broken and mangled form. **

"**Naruto." She snarled, coiling to spring as her pink lips curled back in anger over pearly teeth, reminding him much of a lioness he saw in a book once.**

"Perfect description!" Tsunade huffed, leaning back in her seat and tapping a foot on the carpet in irritation.

"**Good morning, oh gracious and beloved hime." Naruto simpered, and that snapped something inside of Tsunade. Her incoherent shriek of fury bounced off the walls as she dove for Naruto, who immediately darted away. The two seemed to settle into a game of contained cat and mouse in the living room, jumping over furniture, each other, and whatever flying projectiles Tsunade was hurling.**

"**Come on hime it was just a bit of fun!" Naruto laughed, rolling into a ball to avoid Tsunade's grasping hands as she leapt over the back of the couch.**

"**That wasn't funny!" Tsunade roared, rage growing over Naruto's mad monkey skills as he continued to evade her. They both stopped as they reached the coffee table, the chase having the chance to go either way at this point. They both panted for air, and Tsunade growled as she kept pushing back her hair from her face. There was a hair tie on the table— she never took her molten, furious eyes of Naruto as she scooped it up and slung her hair into a high ponytail.**

"Now there's a look I haven't seen in a while." Jiraiya paused to say with surprised appraisal, eyes drifting over to Tsunade as his mind's eyes superimposed the memory of her old hairstyle over the loose ponytail she now adorned.

"**No but this is." He assured her. Tsunade screamed and threw the coffee table at him, and while he was distracted bending backwards trying to evade it she tackled him into the couch cushions. Naruto struggled, but she won out in the end, sitting on his knees and making a good effort on trying to pulverize him with a couch cushion.**

"**Stupid, stupid, stupid little brat!" She howled, hitting him over and over in his face— his stupid, **_**laughing**_** face!**

"**I give, mercy hime please!" Naruto pleaded. Tsunade grinned savagely and just picked up another pillow, beating him with one in each hand now. Naruto tried batting away the pillows but Tsunade was much stronger than him— in a last ditch effort his hands shot forward to her waist and his fingers wriggled.**

"I highly doubt Tsunade is ticklish sochi but nice try." Kushina sighed, only Minato noticing the sudden nervous expression that flickered briefly over Tsunade's face before an impassive mask hid it.

**Tsunade squeaked and immediately sprang away.**

"Oh really?" Kushina, Minato, and his team drawl, smirking at the nervously sweating sannin.

"**Oh really?" Naruto purred, grin taking on an almost sinister edge. He cackled and leapt for Tsunade, who growled in warning as she fended him off with pillows. Neither noticed Shizune laughing at them and taking the camera that the Naruto clones had— the clones having dispelled during the mad dash through the living room— and clicking away madly. Neither noticed Jiraiya walking into the Hokage's quarters wondering what the noise was all about, and then freezing at the sight presented before him.**

" **. . . How long?" Jiraiya struggled to get out as he never took his eyes away from the whirlwind duo clashing in the living room.**

"I bet you two just look so cute!" Obito laughed.

"Little brother pranks big sister and runs away from her temper." Kushina adds in slyly, giggling at Tsunade's huff.

"**Just about ten minutes now." Shizune answered calmly. Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully.**

"**I am going to get you for this you little punk!" Tsunade cried, darting into Naruto's reach and bashing him over the head with a pillow. Her bravery came at a price though; the hit wasn't so hard that Naruto couldn't retaliate. Near hysterical giggles bubbled out of her when Naruto tickled her sides and even as she leapt away he managed to snag the back of her knees almost making her stumble.**

"**Bring it Nade!" Naruto shouted, and with a cry the both of them leapt for each other, in a final blow.**

"**Alright that's enough." Jiraiya sighed, stepping in between the two and catching them by the backs of their collars. Naruto choked in surprise, Jiraiya's grip adjusting so that he was holding him by the back of his jacket, the boy dangling in the air a few inches off the ground. Tsunade was being held away from Naruto, Jiraiya's arm extended to his side so she couldn't even kick out at the boy.**

"**He started it!" Tsunade cried out in reflex, growling at the boy as Naruto stuck his tongue out at her. She tried to go forward but was held back by Jiraiya.**

"Ok, wait, that was too cute," Minato interrupted, talking over Tsunade's cry of defiance at the term cute. He turned to the TV screen and asked, "Could we get a screen shot please?"

The TV turned on, the soft white words, _"Sure." _Floating for just a few moments in the air before the pixels twisted in their dizzying Technicolor display and shows the picture for them to see.

_Jiraiya is in the middle, left arm holding up Naruto and the right holding back Tsunade. Naruto dangled off the ground in the older man's grip, but nothing can wipe the victorious grin off his face as he faces Tsunade. Tsunade stews in Jiraiya's grasp, cheeks glowing cherry red, ponytail ruffled and fluffed down her back, bangs that frame either side of her face messy and doing nothing to hide the glare. She seems to have forgotten she's wearing a small t-shirt and mid-thigh shorts to bed, and perhaps has forgotten Jiraiya is . . . Jiraiya. _

Wolf whistles and howls fill the room as they get a load of more skin from Tsunade then they've ever seen before.

"Tsunade, who knew you, wore stuff like that to bed." Kushina gasped in mock affront, pretending to be scandalized.

"Really, Tsunade, you look like you're sixteen with that ponytail." Minato agreed, amused.

"Sharingan, activate, _please_!" Obito whimpered, falling upon the TV and pressing his face as close as possible to the screen. He was pushed away by Jiraiya.

"Don't be greedy brat; let others who don't have the potential to have a memorizing doujutsu like the Sharingan get a good look." Jiraiya said in a trance, eyes never leaving the screen— that is until Tsunade punched him across the room.

"Can we continue to read now?!" Tsunade barked, embarrassed beyond belief.

**Jiraiya sighed, but there was a humor in it that made the two blondes looks over to him. His lips twitched, as he fought off the smile that wanted so badly to pop up on his face. Did she even realize how much she looked like that fiery teenager back on Team Hiruzen from long ago? The picture of her and Naruto wrestling in the living room was too much like a family. **

"**Ero-sennin you going to let her abuse me like this?!" Naruto cried out in mock dismay, legs kicking out in a vain attempt to reach the ground. Oh but if he were a few inches taller!**

"**Naruto, stop bothering your sister and Tsunade, stop trying to kill your brother." Jiraiya ordered in a stern voice, giving them his best parental glare. "Otou-sama has spoken."**

"Oh that's priceless." Kakashi snickered.

"**Hai, tou-sama." Naruto sighed, looking down at the floor and pouting. He was having such fun too!**

Minato snarled and hurled a pillow at Jiraiya, who was too shocked to see Minato actually snarling at him to block it. "What was that for?!" he whined.

"My son called you father before _me_!" Minato cried in outrage.

"In _jest_ you idiot!" Jiraiya argued.

"**My brother?! Otou-sama?!" Tsunade squawked in outrage. "You—!"**

"**What did I say? Mind your father Tsunade, since it appears I'm the only adult here." Jiraiya wagged his finger at her. Releasing both Naruto and Tsunade he assessed their sniggering and dumbstruck forms respectively before nodding in approval.**

"**Good. Now, breakfast kids!" Jiraiya cheered with a clap.**

"**What breakfast?" Tsunade snapped, still looking gob smacked at what just happened.**

"**The breakfast Naruto-kun prepared for us Tsunade-sama." Shizune answered, finally speaking up since this whole thing started. Tsunade blinked and walked into the dining room, finally withdrawing from her state of shock, only to be plunged into a new kind of shock. Strawberry pancakes, toast, scrambled eggs and fruit all lay out on the table— it looked delicious!**

"**I knew Katsu could cook, but you too?" Tsunade muttered, eyes roving from one end of the table to another.**

"**Yeah, I like cooking." Naruto agreed in a casual voice that belied his sneaky grin. He sneaked up behind Tsunade, then pounced on her back and turned her face to the side so that he could press his lips to her cheek in a loud, exuberant, smacking kiss. "Just 'cause you're so cute!" he laughed, scampering away and rocketing out of there, vowing not to stop until he was safe at home.**

"I am so jealous of you right now!" Kushina pouted, crossing her arms and huffing.

"Don't worry, you can have all that fluff this time around, I don't want it. How embarrassing!" Tsunade snorted, shaking her head.

"**Ahh! Naruto you brat!" Tsunade screeched; face red in embarrassment and anger as she made to run out after him.**

"**Whoa there hime!" Jiraiya cautioned her, moving in front of the woman consumed in volcanic rage, despite his instincts screaming to duck and cover.**

"**What?" She hissed, eyes sparking like flint. He flinched but gestured to her clothes. Tsunade looked down and experienced yet another flicker in emotion, going from downright wrath to outright horror. She briefly wondered how she could possibly flick through emotions so quick before her thoughts were once again filled with thick, choking horror.**

"**Hokage shouldn't exactly go out like that right?" Jiraiya said with a nervous grin, perfectly masking the hooting, hollering face he so sorely wished to express in light of this momentous occasion. When would he ever get the chance to see such a relatively scantily clad Tsunade again?**

"Never." Tsunade vowed.

**Tsunade's horrorstruck eyes flicked up to him, and then with a hitched breath she turned tail and bolted back into her room, slamming the door shut. Jiraiya allowed himself one small snicker before turning to a sweat dropping Shizune.**

"**What a morning huh?" he asked wryly. **

**It took two weeks of guard duty, copious amounts of saltwater taffy delivered to him by Inari through toad, and lots of soft smiles completely devoid of wickedness or mischief (a hard feat for any Uzumaki, let alone Naruto) before Tsunade completely forgave him and they started visiting each other again. **

"Two weeks?" Jiraiya snorted. "You've gotten soft."

"He made breakfast, after all." Tsunade defended.

**Speaking of visitors, it was actually a rare day when Naruto didn't have at least two friends over, either with Katsu or catching him up for a spar. If it wasn't Shikamaru or Chouji eating his fridge to oblivion, it was Kiba and Shino, or Hinata when she could sneak away from the compound— to his shock even Neji had dropped by once to both apologize for his behavior and to compliment him on his home. Then there was Anko-nee, and Iruka, and . . . **

**He had even managed to drag Sasuke over for dinner a time or two, since the pale boy only ever called him out for spars, and more often than not with the rest of Team Seven. Kakashi was also still teaching him things, both he and— shockingly enough— Sasuke helping him out with his fire affinity. Sakura would ask him for help as well, and once they tested her affinity and figured out she was a Doton user, Naruto and Kakashi made sure to push her training. **

"**How do you expect me to jump for two laps around the village to ten?!" Sakura panted one morning on her fourth lap around the village wall, staring at Naruto as he easily jogged backward. **

"Only four laps?" Rin repeated with disappointment.

"That's what my obaa-san does, it's practically nothing!" Obito scoffed.

"**Two laps don't even count as training. Ten laps are easy stuff for genin!" Naruto assured her with a wide grin. **

**The month at home had allowed him to make serious progress with his own training— he was now able to cut leaves with his wind chakra with little difficulty, his cuts now smoother and straighter than his first early successes. He asked the other— and only— resident wind user, Asuma, about what to do next.**

"Asuma has a wind affinity? Who would have thought . . . how rare! I'll be sure to help him when he figures it out." Minato said cheerfully, happy to have another wind user.

"**Well, the next thing would be too cut a waterfall in half, but seeing as we don't have any natural waterfalls in Konoha . . ." Asuma thought about it, scratching his head. "Er, the next best thing I could tell you to do is to have somebody hurl water jutsu at you and cut those in half with your wind." **

"Who would try that? So stupid." Tsunade scoffed.

**Well, Kakashi was only able to do so many, so that was a little slow.**

"You can't be on the ball all the time." Kakashi defended weakly, shrugging.

**As was his progress with his fire affinity— his problem wasn't getting the leaf to burn, it was containing the fire that made the leaf burn. As soon as the chakra touched it the leaf burst into flame!**

**On a sunny day, a day when Naruto knew for certain he would be less than welcome in the village, Naruto decided now would be a good time to practice his fire chakra training, and set off to a clearing. It was late afternoon, the sky turning a hazy blue that seemed to be mixed with yellow in preparation for sunset. He suddenly remembered that earlier Katsu had asked that he make five shadow clones and tell them specifically . . . **

"**Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Five clones appeared with only a puff of smoke at their heels. **

"**Okay guys I know you know this, but just to be thorough . . . the hime wants you guys to find Kakashi-nii and make him go to the house. By any means necessary— please feel free to go wild." Naruto instructed, grinning wickedly at the end. What Kakashi would be forced to do when he got there was none of his concern; Katsu had asked him in a beseeching tone that he couldn't ignore, and that was that. **

"**You got it boss!" the clones cheered, and with matching dreadful cackles they zoomed off to the memorial stone, confident Kakashi would be there around this time. **

**And now to work.**

**Naruto took a deep breath and blew it out, pretending that with each inhale he was bringing in peace, and each exhale was the irritation flowing out of him. He tried again, bringing his hands up, palms out, and calling up the fire from his inner demon.**

**Once again they burst out as if with a mind of their own, dancing and unrepentant of their wild nature. They sparked like supernovas in the equally fiery sunset sky. Naruto accepted that . . . really, but here was the tricky part— keeping calm throughout the process of trying to tame those flames. **

**He took in another deep breath and concentrated on making the flames smaller. There didn't seem to be any changes after a few minutes of this, and Naruto grit his teeth— then immediately stopped, loosening the tense shoulders. Calm, keep cool, he repeated the mantra in his head. He focused on the flames again . . . smaller, smaller— not dimmer, just smaller . . . contained. **

**The flames shrunk a few inches, and Naruto grinned. He let go of Kyuubi's flames, and sighed in exhaustion when the flames disappeared, the lack of illumination suddenly making the evening sky seem as dark as near midnight. "I could use a break, I think." Naruto muttered to himself, turning to grab his canteen.**

"You barely did anything!" Kushina protested.

"Fire is hard to control." Obito argued back. "I say he could use the break."

**And blinking rapidly when a pale hand was already holding it out to him, the cloaked owner of the hand smiling politely. "I've come again, Naruto." He chirped in greeting.**

"**Ah," Naruto acknowledged, grabbing the canteen with a nod in thanks to the stranger. "What brings you here stranger? You're not one for social calls . . . oh, it's the weapon I was to receive right?"**

"**Very good." The stranger complimented. "Yes, I've returned with something I hope you'll like. The forge spent many hours creating this, making it perfect— just for you, something not to be duplicated for anyone else. They were quite pleased with your challenge."**

"**It wasn't intended to be a challenge." Naruto muttered, canteen tipped to his lips.**

"**Well it was taken as one anyway. Nevertheless, here— what do you think?" The stranger held out Naruto's new weapon. **

"**Whoa!" Naruto breathed in awe, gingerly taking the claw blades from the man. **

"Claw blades . . . ? Oh! Oh, those are pretty cool." Kushina said, a memory of them floating up in her mind. She had fought someone who used those— and though she won, he was a formidable opponent and those claws were both irritating and painful.

"Musuko is not really one for conventional weaponry is he?" Minato mused with an indulgent smile.

**The palm cover was designed into near perfect replicas of the bones in the human hand though they were a charred black color, the "knuckle bones" being skulls that lead to the actual blades themselves. Twelve inches of lethal, and the most surprising thing of all . . . the blades were blood red, as if they had been dipped and rinsed in blood. Naruto's eyes drifted up and he grinned at the wrist guard— on each one sat the grinning face of a familiar fox demon.**

"Ooh, they sound lovely." Rin complimented, smile cheery and bright.

". . . Lovely?" Minato echoed. That wasn't the first thing in mind when he pictured those blades.

"Well yes! Very poetic in their irony, and they sound pretty too." Rin's chirpy voice and bubble smile did not help the words that came out of her mouth . . . in fact she sounded quite deranged like that, so her teammates saw no shame in scooting an inch or two away from her.

"**I'm glad you approve. Well, I should tell you about the seals, but you'll figure out what they do another time then." And truly, the stranger did sound happy, and quite pleased with himself. Naruto turned to the man and bowed at the waist, deeply grateful.**

"**I can't thank you enough for this most gracious gift, stranger. You honor this unworthy one with such a thing." Naruto murmured in thanks, the claws held carefully to his chest.**

"How archaic." Jiraiya commented.

**The stranger waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "None of that now, Naruto . . . I have another present for you. Today is your birthday is it not?"**

"Happy Birthday!" The room sang, clapping excitedly.

"Ah, my baby is thirteen now isn't he?" Kushina sighed happily, hand to her heart.

"What's he training for on his birthday? Celebrate, celebrate!" Rin sang, pouting.

"Maybe that is his celebration." Minato pointed out mildly, though he knew it was unlikely. "Either way, he had a birthday party last time so he'll have another one again."

"**Yes, but another present on top of this would be too much," Naruto tried to protest, rising from his bow.**

"**I won't hear another word of it, you'll get this present." The stranger interrupted, grinning widely. He put a hand into what appeared to be a fold of robe, or perhaps it was a pocket, and pulled out a box wrapped in happy birthday paper and tied with an orange bow. Naruto took it with a smile and a murmur of thanks, ripping apart the paper but saving the ribbon for Katsu. **

**He pushed away the gift paper, and pulled out a necklace— thin black velvet cord kept aloft a gold dragon, wings spread. Naruto saw a change in the dragon, a slightly raised bump, and ran a finger along it. He frowned, then tugged at the head of the dragon— and laughed delightedly when the dragon pulled away to reveal a hidden dagger, the wings making up the hilt.**

"**Somehow it just seemed to suit you." The stranger said simply, shrugging. **

"**Thank you, stranger. It's a great gift." Naruto said softly, sincere and happy. **

"**Glad you like it. Well, I must be off now— things to do, dimensions to look on, and gods to pacify. The usual," the stranger quipped. He waved and said, "Bye now." And then he disappeared. **

"**Bye," Naruto mouthed, picking up his trash and putting the necklace in his pocket, and walking home after deciding he wouldn't get anything more productive done after that sufficient distraction. The clearing was only a few miles away from the house so he got there in good time. When he got to the house, he saw Jiraiya outside directing a couple of horse-sized toads around placing lanterns and stereos about, and Tsunade stringing up balloons, and she casually lifted a leg and stomped it on the ground, creating a pit he assumed would be for a bonfire later. Inside the house he had to dodge past bustling people on his way to the kitchen.**

"Aw, you two are helping with the birthday party?" Kushina cooed, twinkling eyes glowing warmly as she regarded the two sannin.

"Eh, why not." Jiraiya dismissed with a shrug, not wanting to get too mushy.

"**Out of the way brat!" Anko barked, shuffling carefully with her arms full of bowls and ingredients, head craned over a metal strainer to see where she was going.**

"**Need some help?" Naruto asked.**

"**Not from the birthday boy!" Shizune said in a lightly chiding way, before pausing and considering him. "My Naruto, you've grown some." She smiles, one hand reaching up to brush across the top of Naruto's head. **

**Naruto had grown a couple of inches since she'd first met him, and he now stood at 5"1'. Giggling at Naruto's embarrassed whine, Shizune sweeps by him and up the stairs with wrapping paper and ribbons, confetti and strings. **

"It's . . . kind of like getting to experience him grow before our eyes too, even if we can't see." Kushina thinks aloud, smile small and wistful. She barely restrained herself from putting a hand to her belly, wondering what it would be like once she could finally feel her son growing inside her. Though, she knew it would be a while before that yet . . . years.

**Naruto watched with interest and a steadily growing sense of embarrassed appreciation all the work that was being done to get his birthday party going. He turned to walk into the kitchen and nearly tripped over three little bodies that were planted by the entryway. **

"**Konohamaru? And Moegi and Udon?" Naruto named the three bodies, blinking in surprise. **

"**Hey boss! Happy Birthday!" Konohamaru crowed, grinning wide.**

"**Thank you! What are you guys doing?" Naruto asked with interest, leaning over to see what they were working on.**

"**Pin the tails on the Kyuubi." Konohamaru snickered, Moegi and Udon trading nervous smiles.**

"What did I just hear?" Kushina asked blankly.

". . .Pin the tails . . ." Obito repeated dumbly.

"It's almost kind of sad for the Kyuubi," Minato sighed, making everyone jerk their heads around to look at him in shock. "His reputation must have taken a massive beating from me sealing him _so damn well_."

**Naruto almost rocked back in shock. "What made you decide to do **_**that**_**?"**

"**It's the day the Kyuubi was defeated, as well as your birthday," Udon took up the part of explaining, as Konohamaru was sniggering too much to do so. "We figured why not mix it up a little, since none of us will be going to the Kyuubi Festival tonight." **

"**Well, that's . . . interesting." Naruto said lamely, walking past them and into the kitchen. **

_**Try completely insulting! **_**Kyuubi howled.**

_**Oh you big baby, lighten up, **_**Naruto scolded. **

_**Why don't they play pin the senbon in the Yondaime**_**, Kyuubi retorted and with a sigh Naruto cut off their connection. Apparently, Kyuubi was dead set on being stubborn about the whole day. He spotted Katsu at the sink, cutting up meats and the like, working alongside a bored looking Kakashi who was dicing away at a pile of vegetables quite proficiently. **

"Oh you got called in early for recruitment Kakashi-kun." Minato teased.

"You can cook?" Rin asked in confusion, head tilting. "But I never see you with a bento or something."

"Well, I never really cared for lunch . . . and I had to learn how to cook, eating out all the time isn't healthy." Kakashi explained.

"**Ah . . . grunt work." Naruto quietly realized, though not too quietly he supposed when Kakashi looked at him over his shoulder with an irritated look.**

"**Your bratty-hime insisted I not be a bum and just eat and dash." Kakashi drawled, barely keeping the look of indifference on his face.**

"**Lazy baka wouldn't have been forced if he could contribute more than just his lackluster personality and deplorable habits to the table." Katsu replied innocently, blinking big wet eyes up to Kakashi, whose eye steadily twitched. **

Obito mimed the sound of dueling cats and clawed at the air with one hand, stifling his laughter when Kakashi elbowed him in the ribs.

"**Children, please." Naruto sighed, though he knew they weren't really as incompatible as they acted. Katsu tossed her head elegantly whilst Kakashi snorted and shifted to his other foot, reaching over and scraping his chopped vegetables off into a pot simmering with something delightful and savory. **

"**Naruto the party starts in two hours, why don't you help Iruka-sensei with the decorations out back— Kakashi called Gai-sensei over and they already competed over the inside— by the way, what an inspiring and ingenious bit of manipulation on your part Kakashi. It took me a couple minutes to realize you actually weren't being genuine!" Katsu says in a mirthful tone, smiling at Kakashi.**

"**I was hoping someone would notice," Kakashi murmured, tipping his head in acknowledgment.**

"**After that," Katsu continued, focusing back on Naruto, "go get ready."**

"**But just in case, one preselected outfit is hanging on the closet door." Naruto finished with a snort, well used to Katsu's ways. "Right, then, I'll go tease Iruka a little—"**

"**Can I help?!" Anko shouted from the second floor.**

"**. . . with help from Anko-nee." Naruto finished, smiling at the whoop of victory that followed. **

**Naruto wasn't made to do much, despite his insistence that he help since it was his party. In the end, a couple black mambas were enough to scare Naruto off into getting ready for his party. He decided not to bother and just wear what Katsu picked out for him, not like he would dislike her choice anyway— a dark orange sleeveless hoodie, a long sleeved white shirt with black and orange detailing, and dark blue jeans ripped at the knees with a studded dark orange belt. She'd even left an orange wrist cuff for him. Right— one should never forget the orange when one thinks of Uzumaki Naruto!**

"**Yo! Where's the birthday boy at?! About time he caught up with the rest of us!" Kiba's obnoxious tone from downstairs reached Naruto as if the feral boy was shouting right next to him. Naruto smirked and added the dragon necklace right alongside the First Hokage's necklace, jogging downstairs to greet his guests.**

"It isn't viable for a ninja to wear a lot of accessories." Kakashi noted with a light frown.

"Well he's off duty, not on a mission so it should be fine." Kushina said with a wave of her hand.

"**Yo! I here Kiba's pining for my glorious presence . . . what kind of king doesn't grant his subjects even this small request?" Naruto boasts with a smirk, sauntering up to the rest of his friends. **

**Kiba barks out a laugh, cuffing Naruto on his shoulder. "Shut up! We gonna get this party started or what?"**

"**Hey, let's go!" Naruto pronounces the start of the party, and the night kicks off from there. Naruto is passed around from person to person, but always manages to keep Katsu with him, unless she puts some serious effort onto prying herself away from him. He can't help it— the party dress she changed into was just too cute! And it was in shades of orange and yellow, with the platinum and diamond bracelet he'd gotten her.**

**He does his best not to look at the party table— just thinking about all those presents for **_**him**_**, from all the friends he never really thought he'd have, makes him blush tomato red— where more presents than he's seen in his life is piled up in enticing wrapping paper, all shiny and beckoning for him to rip apart. He resists though, and is content with playing with his friends, and mingling with everyone.**

"It's kind of cute, but really sad that he feels that way about his presents." Rin reflects with a melancholy smile.

"Thinking about it, I won't mind at all when Naru-chan is a spoiled brat about his parties. Then we'll know we've done the job right." Minato tells Kushina with an impish grin, making her giggle.

**Jiraiya and Tsunade take the armchairs in the room, most of the adults sitting near them when they're not walking around or challenging each other to a ridiculous game. Kotetsu and Izumo are getting flattened by Anko in a game of limbo in the backyard, Iruka is talking with Kakashi— apparently the two are old acquaintances, and they're shared frustrations over some of the things Naruto has done has bonded them into good friends— while Genma amazes the rookie genin with his senbon tricks (and, judging by the blushes from some of the girls as he does tricks with his senbon using just his mouth, a fair few admirers) whilst Naruto and Raidou crack up over jeers and jokes at Genma's expense.**

"What senbon tricks?" Kushina chuckles, curious to know. She looks to Minato's team for answers.

"Bah! Those tricks are pretty cool, but nothing to get fan girls for right Rin?" Obito laughs it off, and waits for Rin's joking confirmation. When nothing is heard from the girl for a few seconds he turns to her. "Rin?"

". . ." Rin blushes, and realizing she's blushing she hurriedly looks down to her lap, making a noncommittal noise.

"Rin!" Obito whines.

"Oh, Rin-chan? Something you want to say?" Tsunade gets in on this, having spotted the small grimace of almost pain on Minato's face. Always one to delight in teasing the normally cool jounin with iron sensibilities, she pounces on this like a cat on a canary.

"It's just . . . !" Rin splutters, grasping at her skirt. "He's already good with his mo— senbon now, I don't even want to think about how good he is later!" The 'or else I'll swoon' was heard without her even having to say it. Minato choked, trying to say something, anything, but too lost in the despair of his little female student crushing hard to really be of use. Obito is in a similar predicament, but only because Rin is potentially fan girl-mode on someone that isn't even _Kakashi_, let alone him.

**Katsu chats pleasantly with Shizune by Tsunade's side, and the Sannin herself sometimes putting in a comment or two, sometimes adding in a joke or experience of her own. Occasionally, she walks off and returns with a change of refreshments for everyone— but it's when she hands Kakashi his drink that everyone watches, because her wicked grin each time foretells her desire to play a trick on him, and Kakashi's challenging smile dares her too— or she'll run off to play with Hinata and Shikamaru at whatever game the two second-most socially quiet of the evening chance at. After three consecutive losses Katsu is thrown off the game of Shougi entirely. Shino merely sits beside Chouji and sips at his drink, rarely speaking a word, which no one minds because he's an Aburame after all. **

"**Hey!" Ino hops to Naruto's side, dragging him away from Genma and Raidou, "Come dance with me!"**

"**Why?" Naruto whined, trying to dig his heels in, but Ino is **_**strong**_** when she's persistent.**

"**Because I love this song, that's why!" Ino snapped, and Naruto has no choice but to join her in a whirlwind dance. They spin, and whirl and dance a circuit around the backyard, and Naruto successfully staves off the blush that comes when he hears the whistles and cat calls.**

"Aw! Naruto can dance!" Rin squeals, clapping her hands together delightedly.

"Hey, sensei . . . can you dance?" Obito asks with a grin, eyes glinting with mischief.

"Eh . . ." Minato shrugs, not really giving an answer, but it's the suspicious look he gives Obito that lets the boy know what the answer more than likely is.

**Soon after he's forced to dance with Hinata, and Chouji and Kiba cajole him into a line dance— but it's the dance with Katsu that he doesn't mind at all. More people come to dance, and he laughs at Katsu's teasing, jeering ways to try and get Kakashi to dance. **

"Now there's something I'd kill to see." Kushina laughs.

"**Cake time everyone! Gather inside the house!" Iruka yells, and they all move back in and gather around the living room table. Naruto is ushered to the front of the table at the special seat of honor for the birthday boy. The cake is brought in and he marvels at the large, splendid cake— orange, white, and icy blue with Uzumaki swirls and a two toy foxes standing in the middle of the thirteen candles. He smiles wide, almost cracking his jaws, and they all start to sing.**

"Let's sing it!" Rin suggests, wanting to get the wistful look of Kushina and Minato's face.

"Excellent!" Obito hisses. "I'll start! Happy birthday to you . . ." by the fourth line everyone has joined in slowly, but building up with gusto and getting into the song, swaying and smiling.

"Happy birthday to _you!_" they finish with a flourish, clapping and whistling.

**Once the cake is placed in front of him, they start to sing. Naruto smirks widely and places his linked hands under his chin, knowing the smug look on his face would irritate some of his more reluctant singers— Jiraiya, particularly felt stupid singing it**

"Yeah, not just then too." Jiraiya grumbled.

— **and indeed by the glint in some eyes that promised retribution (Anko-nee), he knew he had just certified open season on foxes. Ah, well . . . he blew out his candles with a gigantic grin— it was his special day after all.**

"**Hooray!" Hinata and Katsu crow, hands thrown up into the air. The others laugh, and someone darts into the kitchen and hands Naruto the cake cutter with a flourish. Everyone wants a big piece of the chocolate cake, and soon they're all settled at the table to eat, eagerly awaiting the next part.**

"**Presents!" Tsunade declares, and they all cheer as she brings for the first present. "To Naru-chan, from Katsu." She reads the tag, handing him the red box. Naruto shoots a twinkling look to Katsu and opens it.**

"**Sweet!" Naruto shouts happily. "Those new music players?! Man, they weren't kidding these are small . . . So cool! Thank you Kurohime!" He lunges to the side and gathers her up in a one-armed bear hug, ignoring the cat calls from the adults. He places his new little music player— they call them MP1's, and it's as long as his hand and can fit in his palm, and he adores it, **_**especially**_** because it's half orange— by the side, accepting the next present, which apparently is from Tsunade.**

"**That's just the first one. You'll get the next one tomorrow." Tsunade tells him as he unearths a pair of headphones, shiny black with orange accents. He smiles giddily and eagerly accepts more presents.**

"**This," he says in a quiet voice that carries over the excited din of the others, "is the best birthday ever."**

**He receives three coupons for free Ichiraku ramen from Chouji, a book with a fake-out cover for history when it's actually on seduction from Genma ("And it's not gender specific . . . I think this is gonna be a lot of fun hime. For us, not them." Naruto remarks with a wicked grin. "I foresee a lot of pranks in the future Naru." Katsu replies with a similar grin of doom), a wind jutsu from Shikamaru ("And Asuma-sensei, though he's out on a mission," Shikamaru shrugs from his slumped over position on the table), a plant from Shino, a book of quips and wisecracks from Raidou, the first Icha Icha from Kakashi (who gets a concussion from Tsunade), a leather wrist cuff with iron links running around it from Ino, a small case with blood and chakra pills inside from Kiba, and from Jiraiya . . . **

"Kakashi." Kushina's deadly whisper carries across a promise of extremely painful mutilation, torture of both the physical and mental kind along with all other sorts of horrible things. Kakashi whimpers from where he has frozen in his seat.

"**Well, I owe you one from that time in Snow . . . with the seals." Jiraiya chuckled sheepishly as the largest box was laid in front of Naruto.**

"**Please don't tell me you put a short stripper in here." Naruto deadpanned, ripping away the wrapping paper with ease, brow furrowing when he got to a blank brown box. He opened it, and promptly gasped like a fan girl. **

"Like a fan girl?" Minato repeats with incredulous laughter in his voice.

"What did you buy him?" Tsunade asks with a smirk. Jiraiya shrugs, gesturing to the book.

"**What is it?" Katsu asked, leaning over to look. "Is it— ho . . . ly . . . shit." **

**Naruto carefully, oh so carefully lifts his gift out of the box. Shiny black with flames licking up the top half of the guitar sides to the neck . . . Naruto had to check if he was drooling. Just a little.**

"He's drooling?" Jiraiya repeats, laughing.

"You bought him an electric guitar?" Kushina asks, amused.

"**Drooling yet brat?" Jiraiya boasted, leaning back in his seat with a smug grin.**

"**Jiraiya . . . you bought me a Customary Choice crossover?" Naruto stuttered out, as if he were speaking to a god.**

"Sounds like a fancy guitar . . . so what is it?" Obito asks.

"**What the hell is a crossover?" Ino broke in, looking confused. All she saw was a nice looking, new guitar. What was so special about it?**

"**Ino," Katsu answered gravely, because Naruto was nearly bent over in worship of the guitar, not even touching it for fear of staining it. "A crossover guitar is both an electric and acoustic guitar, flipping neatly between each with just a flip of the switch near the bottom. Inside is built with a lightweight amp to either amplify your acoustic or turn it into an electric blaze of awesome. A crossover, Ino . . . is perfection."**

"So, in other words . . . you're spoiling my kid sensei." Minato summarizes with a monstrous grin. Jiraiya grumbles pointedly looking away from the group as they snigger.

"Don't be like that Jiraiya! It's really cute, you wanna spoil your godson!" Kushina coos, giggling.

"**Couldn't have said it better myself." Naruto murmured reverently, slowly straightening up. **

"**Yeah well— ugh!" Jiraiya grunted when he was bowled over by an enthusiastic teen. **

"**Thank you thank you thank you Jiraiya!" Naruto cried joyfully, hugging the older man tightly around the neck from where they'd crashed onto the floor. "This is the coolest thing **_**ever**_**! You're the **_**best**_**!"**

"D'aw!" They all draw it out nice and long, to see if the blush on Jiraiya's face will get any bigger. Jiraiya, however, is made of more manly stuff than that, and thus is able to beat it down.

"**Well of course I am." Jiraiya sighed in a put upon manner, rolling his eyes playfully as he struggles up with a thirteen year-old still dangling around his neck.**

"**I'll make you a shrine! I'll read every Icha Icha ever written and there ever will be!" Naruto swore, still high on the ecstasy of owning his dream guitar. **

"_Yes!_ New convert achieved!" Jiraiya crows, throwing up peace signs.

**All in all, Naruto decides, the **_**best birthday ever**_**. **

**The party ends around midnight, and soon everyone is gone, the house is cleaned up, and two kids are ready to fall asleep. Naruto and Katsu don't waste much time and soon they fall into deep slumber, intent on not waking up until morning light. Well, that **_**was**_** the plan . . . **

**Katsu's eyes pop open, blinking rapidly in the dark to accustom herself to night vision. Beside her she hears harsh pants and groans of misery. "Naruto?" she questions, rising up and turning on the lamp by the bed. Naruto is twisted in the sheets, shirt scrunched up high from his restless motions as tosses and turns, damp with sweat and panting like a dog in summer heat.**

"He's sick?" Kushina asks, brow furrowing.

"Every kid gets sick eventually Kushina-san." Rin points out somewhat humorously.

"Not jinchuuriki kids . . . it has to be something serious to affect us this bad." Kushina explains sternly.

"**Naruto, what's wrong? Is it a fever?" Katsu asks worriedly, placing a cool hand to his forehead. Naruto groans and presses his head into her palm, arms rising to wind around her waist and have something to anchor himself to. Katsu pushes his arms away though— there was much to do, if he was sick. **

"**I don't like the feel of your temperature Naru," she says softly, sliding out of bed and pulling the sheet back up to his chest. "I'm going to get a bowl of water and a rag alright?"**

**Naruto's eyes flutter open, he looks dazed and yet the too bright orbs are pinned on her. "No . . . don't go . . ." he pants softly, grasping at her hand. Katsu bites back a smile— she had forgotten that Naruto gets needy when he was ill. It had only happened once or twice in her memory though . . . and this seemed worse than all the other trifling head colds. She shushes him and rushes downstairs for a bowl, quickly running up and heading to the bathroom. She grabs the thermometer, fills the porcelain bowl with water and dips the rag in, walking back to the bed. **

"**It's okay Naru," Katsu soothes him with the rag, wiping the sweat from his face. "It'll pass eventually."**

"**No!" Naruto gasps. "Really . . . hot! Head hurts . . ."**

"This sounds more serious than a simple fever." Tsunade mumbles, tapping a finger to her chin.

"**You have a headache?" Katsu repeats, leaning over to place the damp cloth on his forehead.**

"**More like a migraine." Naruto corrects laboriously, scooting closer to Katsu and burrowing his head into her side, hoping the pressure would alleviate the pain somehow. Katsu winces, feeling his head press hard against her ribs.**

"**Any harder and I'll break Naruto." She reminds him, shifting around to get him off her ribs, though her stomach isn't much better. She said that specifically so he could make a joke about it, and take his mind off his sudden bout of illness. But when he is silent save for pained groans and whimpers, she is extremely worried. Naruto never missed an opportunity to twist words for his amusement. Ever.**

"**Naruto . . . I think I should call Tsunade-sama, yes?" Katsu asks worriedly, absentmindedly petting his damp hair, smoothing the wet strands away from his eyes. Naruto slowly moves his head from side to side, indicating that he doesn't think it's the best idea.**

"Stupid boy, you should be calling me." Tsunade scolds.

"**Stay . . . it hurts, but stay. It'll . . . pass . . . soon." He pants out, scooting even closer. Katsu can't even if she wanted to now, with Naruto restricting her movements, so she just takes the rag and dips it in the cool water again, running it over his heated skin. An hour passes and while the fever doesn't go down, it doesn't get any higher either so Katsu starts to feel a little less on edge, but he still complains of terrible headaches. She is just about to get up and find something to take away the pain when Naruto gasps— it's nearly a sob— and shoves his head into her stomach. Katsu's breath leaves her in a rush, and she's left gasping from the pain of . . . something . . . pushing into her stomach.**

"Cranium to the abdomen can do it for you." Rin whispers, bumping shoulders with Obito to take that pinched scowl off his face. He smiles back weakly in appreciation of her effort.

"**Naruto!" she squeals. "Naru, something is coming from your head!"**

Obito's head tips back and he takes a deep breath, searching for the last dregs of his self-control. When he thinks he's finally gotten a hold of his tongue, he lowers his head and immediately snorts at the deadpan looks coming from everyone.

"**My head feels like it's splitting open!" Naruto grits out, the tears he's holding back making his voice crack.**

"**If you don't move it's going to kill me, seriously!" she continues, pushing against his shoulders. Naruto grunts and moves his head to the side, hugging her middle so tightly Katsu thinks she's going to have internal bleeding— and with a final moan of pain Naruto's body sinks, the tension leaving him. Katsu pauses to regain her breath, listening to Naruto's ragged breathing start to even out, indicating that he's no longer in extreme pain.**

"**You alright?" she asks, looking over her shoulder to see his head dangle off the bed.**

"Oh, peachy." Kakashi mocks.

" **. . . I think so." Naruto manages, testing his body— he's not so sore anymore . . . but isn't soreness a sign of being sick? Or whatever that was he went through . . . but he's no longer burning alive and the pain in his head is receding. Even now, he can feel himself starting to recover. He relinquishes his hold on Katsu's waist, a brief guilt at her hurried intake of breath overtaking him.**

"**What was that?" Katsu asks him with wide eyes, her gaze on his dangling head still as her hand rubs soothing circles into his back.**

"**I . . . don't know." Naruto admits, moving his head back enough to rest it on Katsu's thigh, sighing.**

**Katsu clucks her tongue in a sympathetic fashion, hand reach over to grab the sheets . . . and grabbing something else instead. Something soft, and furry. **

"It's not supposed to be like that." Kakashi puts out there bluntly, and Obito can't control his laughter.

"And he was doing so well Kakashi." Minato scolded the boy, though a brief flash of humor passed over his features.

**Her eyes whip to it even as Naruto growls, nipping at her thigh in retaliation for whatever it is she did that caused him pain. She winces, but the sharp sting from his much improved incisors is the last thing on her mind.**

"**What the hell are you doing?" he demands to know. **

**Katsu doesn't answer him. She's lost in the disbelief that comes from finding your best friend suddenly having a tail where none was previously. It is long and soft when she grasps at the fine golden strands; silky when she relaxes her hand and it glides past her skin. The tip is dipped in white and it sways behind Naruto leisurely, flipping from side to side. **

"My son has a tail." Kushina mumbles through numb lips.

"Kyuubi gives you a tail?" Obito yelps, his eyes involuntarily moving to settle on Kushina. Kushina notices the stare and scowls, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

"Jinchuuriki normally wouldn't acquiesce to getting a part of their bijuu showing. But, Naruto and Kyuubi are a little different from every jinchuuriki, even in that time I bet." She explains stiffly, mortified at the very thought of having some cutesy ears and tail like a cosplay maniac. Ugh, it totally did not suit her!

**Katsu gulps. Okay, she thinks, this must be handled carefully . . . with delicacy . . . finesse . . .**

"**Holy shit Naruto you have a tail." That was not finesse. **

**Naruto's head pops up in confusion, nose scrunching up. "Huh?" he asks, propping himself up and turning to look at his back. "No I— holy shit I have a tail."**

"**I know!" Katsu replies in shock, mesmerized by the ever-moving appendage. "Hey . . . if you've got a tail . . ."**

**Naruto knows where she is going with this and snorts. "Don't be ridiculous, my ears are where they're supposed to be." He says firmly.**

**Katsu turns back to look at his face, eyes darting up when a movement from the top of her vision catches her attention. Se blinks. She blinks twice. "Naruto . . . check."**

"**Check what?" Naruto asks, still looking at his tail as if it is its own symbiotic organism that just so happened to attach itself to his tailbone. **

"**Check your ears." She clarifies.**

**Naruto scowls, turning to stare at Katsu. "They are right . . ." his hands pass from cheeks to hair, no break in between. He double-checks and triple checks, furiously rubbing the spot where ears used to be.**

"Oh my kami, please say he has fox ears!" Rin squeals, hands clapped her cheeks as she bounced in her seat.

"Rin." Kakashi sighed, using one hand to hold her down in her seat.

"**Here." Katsu finishes his statement, reaching up to rub lightly at the twitching pair of fox ears perched amongst Naruto's spiky locks. **

There is silence in the room for a moment.

Minato sighs, thinking only of how this could negatively affect his image with the villagers. "Those are—"

"_SO CUTE!"_ The females in the room scream/coo, euphoric and gushing about just how cute Naruto probably looked.

"Hey, what are we guessing for?!" Rin squeaks. "Can we get a picture please?" she asks the TV screen.

_At this time, or by himself? _The TV asks.

Before Rin can say whatever, Obito breaks in with a hurried, "Just by himself please. Let's keep the voyeurism down to a minimum please."

The TV cascades in soft rainbow pixels, and then swirls into a completed form, showing Naruto. He is wearing only low slung drawstring shorts, and though he cannot possibly see them it's like he grins at all of them— and did his fangs get bigger?— with mischief dancing in his eyes. They crowd closer to the screen to get a good look at his newest additions. The tail is the first thing they notice, and they realize why his shorts are low slung, because otherwise they'd impede the tail.

It's long, and it would brush the floor if it ever stayed still and straight, but instead it curves up like a cat's tail might, but it never curls. It swings slowly from side to side just under his knee. The golden tail looks silky and beautiful, making all the females wish they could touch it. They turn their attention to the ears now, which are mostly still except for an occasional movement. Truly they blend in with his hair and if asked he could probably pass it off for weird cowlicks.

All in all, Naruto looks, in his family's humble opinion, mighty cute. Eventually the TV image fades and they make their way back to their seats, Jiraiya picking up where he left off.

**Just a little bit longer than his hair, they would have been unnoticeable amongst the bright blonde of his hair, were they not continually twitching, picking up the smallest sounds in their environment.**

**Naruto's hands shoot up and tug at his ears much more harshly than Katsu, wincing when he realizes they are very sensitive. "Oh my Kami . . . they are—"**

"**So **_**cute!**_**" Katsu breathes in delighted fascination, gently running her fingers along the outside of the ears, rubbing at the base of them. Naruto is surprised to realize that like his whiskers, that sensitivity runs both ways, so he is quickly a puddle of purring goo under Katsu's gentle fingers as they tenderly attend to his newest ears. He has slumped over, head nestled in the crook of her neck as he is boneless under the super sensitivity of his ears, a ridiculously large and goofy smile on his face.**

"**But how did this happen?" he mumbles. Well he knew how, actually— or rather who. But why?**

_**Remember that reward I offered you at the end of completing your first tail? **_**Kyuubi appears in his thoughts, and Naruto's eyes close in realization (okay, mainly because Katsu has found a sensitive spot at the tip of his left ear). **

_**Happy birthday kit, and just in time too! **_**Kyuubi laughs.**

"**Stupid fox!" Naruto mumbles. Katsu giggles, content to play with his ears and giving his wildly swinging tail an occasional pet too when it stops close enough to her. **_**Just how can I go out like this?! The village will skin me and I won't make a pretty pelt I can tell you now.**_

_**Don't worry kit, you think I wouldn't have thought of that? Just use your chakra. You can figure it out . . . though I tell you; it'll be much more comfortable to keep them out than in. **_**Kyuubi instructs, chuckling at the purring that reverberates even in his mindscape. **_**Feels good right?**_

_**Mmh . . . night fox . . . **_**Naruto mumbles sleepily. He takes a moment to do as Kyuubi says, flaring his chakra just a little and concentrating on returning to . . . his original form? Despite how cheesy it sounds, he clings to that thought and works hard, until he feels a funny tingling in his scalp and a mildly uncomfortable feeling at his lower back. Between the exhausting pain and the muscle-melting petting he cannot keep conscious anymore. Sure he is fox-trait free, he drifts to sleep in Katsu's lap, the girl herself following shortly after, a hand still in Naruto's hair. **

**The next day dawns bright and early, a pleasant enough day for fall. Naruto travels by rooftop through the village after escorting Katsu to her workplace, though he is worried about the little sleep she got last night from taking care of him. The fall and winter in Konoha is short, and mostly mild, but it can get bitterly cold in the later winter months so everyone keeps a wary eye on the skies to foretell if snow would come this year or not. For now though, the sun is bright and the day balmy. Perfect, Tsunade decides, for Naruto to be sent on his first B-rank mission. **

"He _just_ turned thirteen!" Kushina protested.

"Honestly Kushina, the boy has been ready for such responsibility for a long time. IN fact, you two were pretty much the proponents of that weren't you?" Tsunade pointed out, referring to his sealing.

"Low blow, hime." Jiraiya frowns, seeing the wince his former student makes.

"**B-rank Nade?" Naruto repeats with wide eyes. "Really?"**

"**Yes. My original team had a member that dropped out due to an old wound opening up from a previous mission. Stupid ninjas that can't just go to the hospital themselves, they cause me no small amount of trouble! At any rate . . . you're the replacement." Tsunade informs him, fingers absentmindedly touching the diamond snowflake pendant Naruto had given her after his mission from Yuki. There was never a moment she was seen without it, much to Naruto's delight. **

"So cute and considerate." Rin comments sweetly, giggling at Kushina's proud smile to an amused Tsunade.

**Replacement, scapegoat, whatever you call it— Uzumaki Naruto was going on a B-rank mission! Not as cool as his A-rank right off the bat all those months ago, but still awesome! "So what's the mission and who am I going with?" **

**The mission was a guard duty with Kakashi and Genma. It was a fairly simple mission— deliver a noble to his summer home in the Royal City of Fire Country. It would take a week, Kakashi would be leading the mission, and Naruto would garner some experience with two of the best jounin Konoha had to offer.**

"So his other present is a mission with me?" Kakashi realized, chuckling. "Sounds alright."

**So, a week later, Tsunade is pressing her fingers into her temples wondering why it all went like . . . **_**this**_**.**

**Wondering why her strongest jounin Hatake Kakashi looks worn down and half-crazed in dirty civilian clothes, hitai-ate loosely tied and slipping down his pale(r) face.**

"The fuck." Kakashi utters in bewilderment.

"I concur." Obito nods approvingly.

**Wondering why Shiranui Genma was looking immaculate in a butler's suit, pressed white shirt spotless, gloves clean and fitted with his brown hair slicked back from his face— one lock of brown hair falling across his face— and mouth devoid of either senbon or toothpick.**

"Handsome." Kushina and Rin approve.

**Wondering why Naruto was wearing no shirt, no shoes, and board shorts as if he'd just come back from the beach, spiky hair scraped back into a ponytail, the only one grinning at her.**

"Ponytail?" Jiraiya repeats, grinning as he eyes Minato's own lengthy spikes and imagines them in a ponytail. The thought is amusing.

"**HOW." She speaks calmly, does not shout, but all in the room can hear it as if she's speaking in all capitals. **

"**. . ." Naruto pauses, glancing at Kakashi, who makes no move to speak. "I guess I should start huh?" **

"**It appears so." Genma answers in a dry fashion, a hand reaching into the pocket on his charcoal vest to pull out Kakashi's pocket watch, flipping it open and pulling out a small toothpick, and clenching it between his teeth. **

"**Well, obaa-chan," Naruto begins, dodging the paperweight she hurls at him out of reflex, "It's like this . . ."**

**Tsunade finds out the reason why her three shinobi come back like that. The client was a neurotic, paranoid man who thought the shadows would jump out and kill him if somebody left a kunai errant. So, getting him home was trying and difficult— and what made it even more difficult was his pampered, sheltered, amorous sixteen year-old daughter. First she targeted Kakashi, and then when she got no response from him she turned to Genma. When he wouldn't budge she tried to prey on Naruto, but found herself wholly outmatched in the charm department. **

**Once the client got to his home his daughter bullied the poor man into offering the private hot springs on their land for the team to use as a thank you. Seeing no harm in it, and it being evening already, they did so. About twenty minutes into their relaxing soak they were ambushed by personal guards the daughter had persuaded (blackmailed) to capture the 'sexy leaf nins' and so they had to move fast, grabbing their belongings but their clothes had mysteriously disappeared. The guards chased them for a long time through the city, and without them knowing they had been chased into the Red Light District of the city. Due to a wide-scale bar brawl that overflowed the building to the outside, all three were scattered about in flimsy bathrobes with their possessions in hand. Naruto, of course, fared the best, having spent so much time in Konoha's District. He immediately found a poker game, won some clothes, and set out to find Kakashi and Genma. Kakashi had tricked and beaten some drunk for his clothes, cleaned out by pick pockets, while Genma . . . had been tricked by nee-chan at the local brothel and unknowingly sold himself to the Okaa-san for her pleasure as a sex slave.**

**When they found Genma he was in the butler outfit, the third cosplay he'd tried on— the Okaa-san had a fetish for cosplay— and with some trickery and a high-stakes game of strip poker, Naruto bought Genma's freedom, and earned a voucher to come back for one visit free whenever he liked. So, running like bats out of hell, they returned to Konoha in double time, hence . . . **_**this**_**. **

"Remarkable . . . and I have no doubt that if Naruto weren't there, the mission would not have gone like that." Kakashi remarks after a brief period of silence.

"Oh sochi . . . your luck with missions is . . . remarkable? Astounding? I don't even . . ." Kushina sighs.

"But in the end, he saves the day one poker game at a time." Tsunade points out, grinning smugly.

"**Why do you look like you were losing strip poker then?" Tsunade challenged.**

**Naruto shrugged, eyes twinkling. "The trick is to not win right away Nade, otherwise they get suspicious and call foul."**

"Take notes, hime, you might win something under his tutelage." Jiraiya points out chuckling, then an 'oomph' leaving his mouth when Tsunade elbows him in the gut.

**It will be a **_**long time**_** before Tsunade lets those three take missions together again. **

"But it sounded like it would be funny after I saw a therapist for a couple sessions!" Kakashi protested.

**Later on, after Tsunade sneaks away from Shizune's watchful eye, she and Jiraiya head over to Katsu's and Naruto's house hoping for some lunch. What they find is Katsu rolling on the green grass in her backyard laughing, Naruto clinging to the branches above in a tree as his face turns red with his howls of laughter. A distraught looking Kakashi vacillates between pitying glances and betrayed glares to Naruto. **

"Ooh, has someone played a prank on Kakashi?" Kushina asked wickedkly, recalling the one and only prank she pulled on the previously super stuffy, super serious Kakashi. Kakashi remembers too, because he shoots her a glare.

"**What's all this about?" Jiraiya asks, pointing to the howler monkeys cackling away. Kakashi whips around to stare at Jiraiya sorrowfully.**

"**Jiraiya-sama, my gift is being abused in ways it's not supposed to." He replied tearfully, head bowed in sadness. **

**Jiraiya opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off by a choked call of his name from Naruto. "Jiraiya!" Naruto tries to speak but descends into a fit of giggles, setting off Katsu again.**

"**What, gaki?" Jiraiya presses, frowning.**

**Naruto takes in a shuddering breath, and speaks again. "Wh . . . oh, kami-HA! Jiraiya . . . what is this masterpiece you've written?"**

"The Icha Icha?!" Kushina and Tsunade growl, turning laser glares on Jiraiya.

"If that's the case . . . why are they _laughing?_" Obito pointed out.

**Jiraiya glances at Naruto's hands with a frown, and sees between clusters of leaves a familiar orange spine of a book. Tsunade growls in outrage, but Jiraiya cuts off her protests with an exclamation. "Ah! So you read Icha Icha, eh?" he asks smugly. "Isn't it fantastic?"**

**Katsu answers from her curled up spot in the grass below Naruto. "It's the funniest fucking thing I've ever read! Or heard, oh my—" she giggles hysterically, which sets off Naruto, causing her laughter to increase. Tsunade gasps by Jiraiya's side and steps forward, horror mixed with rage intermingling on her face.**

"**Heard? NARUTO! Are you reading that book out loud?!" Tsunade roars.**

"Kinky." Kakashi comments with a raised brow.

"**Hell yeah I am! Nade, listen— listen, oh this is the funniest shit . . ." Naruto clears his throat and tries to tamp down the tremble in his voice.**

"**Mineto slowly presses into Kunika, impaling his sword in her sheath . . ." Naruto struggles through just that short sentence, and then abruptly falls into cackles, Katsu's bright laughter melding with his deeper voice. **

"**That doesn't sound seductive, that sounds painful!" Katsu chokes out through laughter.**

Minato laughs at the look of stark disbelief on Jiraiya's face. "Not quite the reaction you envisioned, sensei?" the he thinks about the character's names . . .

"Mineto?" He asks slowly, and as the answer is already forming in his mind, he tries his best to block it out as his eyes turn electric blue, glaring hotly at his traitorous sensei. "You didn't . . ."

"Kunika . . ." Kushina frowns, thinking about the name. Wasn't it too close to hers for comfort? She sends a suspicious glance to a pale Jiraiya, finally noticing the glare her beloved is pinning on the Sannin. She gasps, sitting up ramrod straight. "Oh, you didn't! And you gave it to my son?!" She screams, switching from Jiraiya to Kakashi, both men cowering in their seat.

"**Ooh, Naruto, read the one about their first meeting!" she begs.**

**Naruto nods, breathing heavily as trembling fingers turn the pages backward. Finding the correct passage he reads, trying hard to carry through despite the hysterics that are building inside him. "Mineto and Kunika lock eyes, and in that moment he understands what it is like to be totally unmanned, even by a tiny woman such as her. The sparkling pools of violet beckon him deeper, and he wants to fall deep into that gaze and never return. His chest feels tight with unnamed emotion, and lust burns like wildfire through his veins, searing his frenzied heart—" he breaks off with a bark of laughter.**

"That was so not how the first meeting went. First of all, we were kids in the Academy!" Minato snaps, getting ready to jump up and smack his sensei upside the head.

**He faces Jiraiya, whose face has blanked into a deadpan look of seriousness. "That's not uncontrollable lust, he's having a heart attack!"**

Obito is enjoying both the drama in the book, and in front of him. He laughs with abandon, head thrown back. "HA! Oh Kami, a heart attack!" he struggles out through his mirth.

"**The leading cause of death in sex marathons like that one in chapter two!" Katsu giggles, and Naruto is set off again, this time unable to hold onto the branch he's perched in and falling just shy of Katsu. The fall does nothing to break his laughter, though they briefly become more like wheezes. **

"Sex marathons?!" Minato and Kushina hiss simultaneously, but this time Jiraiya is not going to take it lying down.

"You know better than to get drunk near me Minato." Jiraiya points out smugly.

"_You_ got me drunk! And now I know why!" Minato cries out, outraged that Jiraiya would bring _that night_ up. Kushina gapes, mouth opening and closing like a fish as her face glows lava red.

"**Your ebullient praise truly touches me." Jiraiya deadpans, looking down at the two huddled forms who have managed to lower their hilarity to sniggers. **

"**I can't wait to finish this book and read the other ones." Naruto whispers, tears cascading down his face as he looks up at Jiraiya with a manic grin. **

"**You ungrateful brat! Those books are bestsellers!" Jiraiya shouted imperially, crossing his arms across his chest.**

"**They should be, they are a riot!" Naruto gasped, before breathing deeply and rising up to lean on his hands, facing Jiraiya with a more serious countenance, though a grin still lit up his features. **

"**Ero-sennin, you gigantic pervert. Mineto, Kunika . . . you really thought I wouldn't notice the similarity to the names 'Minato' and 'Kushina'? How do you expect me to take a book you based loosely off my parents seriously?! I mean come on—" Naruto's serious talk broke down as he choked on a laugh. "— What kid wants to find out from a bestselling book that his parents were total sex fiends?"**

"Naruto, please, your godfather is just being a total idiot!" Minato moans in horror, face pressed into his hands at the shame of it all. The one time he got drunk and he just so happens to mention that weekend where Kushina stayed overnight for the first time . . .

"Oh my Kami, Minato, he thinks it's hilarious we're sex fiends!" Kushina whispers in horror, slumping over to press her face to his shoulder as hard as she can.

**Jiraiya rubs the back of his head sheepishly, grinning in an apologetic manner. "Point taken."**

**Tsunade is a hissing, enraged mess as she stalks to Jiraiya, fisting the front of his kimono. "You based the book on Minato and Kushina?! Jiraiya!" she hissed.**

"**Not entirely, it's not like I stalked them or anything. There was more research that I did personally, and I thought it'd be a good present for Minato-brat on his twentieth birthday. Besides, we all noticed the . . . strange behaviors those two would frequently show after weekends or particularly stressing missions. Even with them trying their best to hide it!" Jiraiya defends himself, but not well enough as Tsunade growls and sends him flying with a punch. **

Funnily enough, Tsunade does the exact same thing as her future self does. With a huff she takes the book and reads the few pages left.

"**Naruto, oh Kami Naruto— do you know what this means?" Katsu gasped, shaking Naruto's shoulder.**

"**What?" he sniggered, looking at the groaning form of his bruised godfather.**

"**More than likely . . . you were the result of a sex marathon." Katsu said seriously. The silence that accompanies the statement is sudden and swift, only the breeze making a sounds as it slices through the trees and the grass. **

Minato groans, hands tugging at his hair.

Kushina cringes, hands slapped to her face to hide the mortified blush.

Obito and Kakashi choke on their own laughter, leaning on each other for support. Rin stammers and mutters unintelligible words in her extreme embarrassment, face red. She takes care not to look at sensei or Kushina, and is quite sure she won't be able to for another two chapters at the very least.

**Katsu looks at Naruto.**

**Naruto looks at Katsu.**

**Slow, twitching smiles steal upon their faces, and then . . . fresh peals of laughter burst from them, like water bursting from a dam. Despite the glares that Tsunade throws at a twitching Jiraiya with every kick she lands in his gut, she can't help the amused look she sends to the two kids. **

**The next day, Naruto is training with Jiraiya, who is showing him a jutsu called Futon: Glitter Storm, and instructing him on how to create a communication seal, since Naruto eagerly asked how to make one. When asked why, Naruto replied that he would like to see if he could recreate something for scrolls, which might allow for a greater distance in which the seal could work— for the days or weeks it could take to get a letter, wouldn't it be wonderful to just write up a letter and send it in seconds?**

"That's a very interesting idea." Minato notes, though his voice is muffled since his face is still in his hands.

"Makes you want to try it out sensei?" Obito asks knowingly, only to be surprised when he gets a negative shake of the head form Minato.

"No— it's Naruto's idea, he'll be the one to figure it out." Minato replies firmly. This was a chance to read about his son's life, not to rip off future creations. It offended him to even entertain such a notion both as the boy's father, and offended his dignity as a seal master.

"**So you've really been bugging Kakashi to throw water jutsu at you to cut?" Jiraiya's head tilts back with laughter booming from him. "How many times did you nearly kill yourself before you actually started to cut through water?"**

"**I lost count after the fifth concussion. Then Nade-hime forbid me and Kakashi from doing it anymore, and said to find another way." Naruto admits, sitting down on the boulder Jiraiya has taken up, and fishing out a small leather pouch. He opens it and takes a handful of blackberries and huckleberries out, popping them into his mouth two at a time.**

"**You've been eating nothing but rabbit food for a while Naruto. Eat some real food or I might kill you when we spar." Jiraiya sternly warns the boy, noting the berries and the salads Naruto has favored recently.**

"Eh? Don't tell me you're on a diet?" Tsunade mutters.

"Like guys would go on diets." Obito dismisses with a shake of his head.

"**Ah . . . but I don't care for anything else. Meat has tasted rather off for me since last week. It happens on occasion, when I can't eat certain things." Naruto explains, though internally he's asking, **_**Is this something you might know the cause of Kyuubi? I am curious as to why I can love and hate meat at the drop of a hat.**_

"What would the Kyuubi have to do with is eating habits?" Rin asks both Tsunade and Kushina, only to get a shrug from the redhead and a contemplative look from the blonde.

**There is silence for a while, and Naruto thinks the Kyuubi might not answer him, probably for thinking he was being impertinent. Then, with a rumbling growl of thoughtfulness, the Kyuubi speaks. **_**Foxes are omnivores. Even if I am a demon, I am also a fox. While my status as a demon does make me more inclined to meat, I will still always have space for a sweet, bursting huckleberry or two. With our growing connection, as well as you just having an affinity for my instincts by default as my jinchuuriki, there may very well be times when you are more interested in savory meats or sweet berries at any time. Though, I do think it might also depend on seasons . . . **_

"How interesting!" Tsunade exclaims, "Do you suppose—"

"Save the tangent for later hime, let's get back to the story." Jiraiya cuts in hastily as he scurries back to his seat, knowing she'd soon delve into medical jargon and what-not that only Rin had even the slightest chance of understanding.

_**How interesting! I wonder— **_**Naruto was ready to start off on a game of 1,000 questions but the Kyuubi cut him off.**

_**Wonder later, right now you are being addressed. **_

"Oh, ha ha!" Rin laughs, pointing at Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"**Naruto," Naruto's head jerks up and he grins sheepishly at a suspicious looking Jiraiya. Jiraiya realizes he must have been talking to the Kyuubi, as that and running were the only time Naruto was unaware of his surroundings— something he'd have to train him out of. "Does Kyuubi have anything to do with that?"**

"**Jeez, Ero-sennin, nobody can hide anything from you." Naruto grumbles, but there's an undercurrent of admiration that makes Jiraiya's chest puff out. Naruto explains what the Kyuubi told him, and Jiraiya is surprised. To think a bijuu could affect its jinchuuriki even in such ways!**

"Oh you were interested too!" Tsunade accuses, glaring at Jiraiya.

"**Well if that's how it's going to be." Jiraiya sighs, hopping up and walking to the middle of the clearing, gesturing for Naruto to follow. "Let's work some more on that taijutsu of yours. I can't be quite sure, but I think a pattern is starting to develop in your style— and patters are the antithesis of your Kung Fu Hustle."**

"**Sure, Ero-sennin!" Naruto chirps, always eager to grow stronger. Though Naruto doesn't win (of course), he does learn that the longer the fight carries on, he starts a certain repetition of moves, and that predictability could be hampering his progress with the style. **

**Naruto takes a long draught of water from his bottle, sighing when he finishes it in a few short gulps. He looks up to the sky, darkening with approaching nightfall. "Ero-sennin, want to come over for dinner tonight?" **

"**Nah, some upstart Akamichi actually challenged me to a drinking contest. Can you believe the audacity?" Jiraiya snorts, already walking away. "See you later Naruto."**

"How can there be any ninja alive stupid enough to challenge sensei to a drinking contest?" Minato wonders with amusement, a short chuckle escaping him.

"Kids these days. Think youth makes them indestructible." Jiraiya sniffs, tough there is a smarmy smirk on his face.

"**See you Ero-sennin!" Naruto calls back, running off home. **

**It is his turn to cook dinner tonight, so he decides on some homemade pizza with salad. As soon as he steps through the door he lets his ears and tail loose and sighs in relief at the feeling. Kyuubi was right— it really was like muscles that had been tense for months finally relaxing. With a happily swinging tail and lazily drooped ears he begins to make dinner. He works quickly, rolling the dough nice and large, but not too thin for the pizza. He uses a whole half a head of lettuce and rushes about the kitchen— not because he is late, but because Naruto just finds it hard to go slow nowadays. Jiraiya took off his resistance seals a few days ago so that Naruto could get used to the increased speed, should he ever need to take them off. What good was all that speed if he sped past the enemy, or tripped in high velocity over a stone he couldn't swerve to avoid? **

"Very true." Minato nods. "It took me months to relearn normal speeds."

**He is rather surprised when no familiar sounds or scents come from the open window, indicating guests to dinner. It was partly the reason he'd made such a big pizza, besides his own large appetite. Still, he's not exactly unhappy about it, he'd just gotten used to having a full house that just seemed to have a big "All Welcome" sign over it. Though when Anko made 3 a.m. after-hangover visits to raid their fridge— and that had been an interesting Saturday night/Sunday morning—, he knew he'd have to start drawing lines. **

**The door bangs open just as Naruto puts the large veggie and sausage pizza in the oven. "Naruto!" Katsu trills, light yet speedy footsteps indicating her excited scamper to the kitchen. She rounds the corner with bright eyes and pleasant cheeks, flouncy skirt of her yukata fluttering for a few seconds after her stop. Naruto can't stop the grin that crosses his face when he sees her bouncing on her feet ever so slightly. **

"Makes you happy to see her happy." Minato murmurs with a chuckle, noticing the blush from Kushina at his words.

"**Hmm . . . am I to assume you had a good day, Kurohime?" Naruto asks in mock cluelessness, head cocked to the side.**

**Katsu's head is a furious blur of nodding. "Yeah! The best part was when I won a contest though!" she yips happily, skipping into the kitchen and leaning against the kitchen counter. **

"**A contest? Well congrats, but what's the contest for?" Naruto asks curiously, absentmindedly reaching over to slap her hand away from the fruit bowl. Katsu gives him a mock injured look, but quickly recovers and chatters on.**

"**It was a contest to win a paid vacation! And I won the crème de la crème— a trip to the Crescent Moon Kingdom! Ooh, Naru the beaches are so beautiful . . . the sands are nearly white and they look softer than clouds, and the water is a beautiful blue that just takes your breath away—"**

"**You've finally found a match to my eyes?!" Naruto gasps, laughing when she throws him an impatient look.**

"Zing!" Kakashi and Obito snap.

"**Anyway! The whole place looks so beautiful and well-kept, and you can just tell that the kingdom is one of the more affluent places in the world— Oh, and the forests are just so lush and crazy gorgeous and speaking of crazy they have the coolest beach bonfires and festivals and games down there, and I hope I get to do them all and—"**

"**Kami, woman, breathe!" Naruto snaps, and Katsu does so with a sullen look which he can't help but smirk at. "Now, hime . . . I am very happy for you!" he shoots her a beaming smile just to show he is. "So, how will you get there? There aren't any ports very close to us."**

"**Well, I have to travel to Suna to get to the boat that's leaving for Crescent Moon . . . and the ship comes in two weeks, but if I pace myself well I can make it to Suna in a week, meaning I don't have to leave for another few days," Katsu flashes a wicked smile with a look of mischief in her eyes to Naruto, who rolls his eyes and concedes that perhaps he went a little overboard in making sure she could keep up with high-level genin at the least. "But it's funny because that boat originally was chartered by the royal family of Crescent, but apparently the captain was very insistent that he not break his promise with the company that hosted the contest."**

"I can't help but feel like that's foreshadowing." Minato comments.

"**Well, I'll be sure to wave you off at the gates . . . sucks I can't go with you." Naruto sighs, already imagining the kind of fun she'd have . . . swimming and playing volleyball . . . in a bi— **

_**Hey! No. Stop that, the pizza's gonna burn if you lose focus like that! **_**Naruto scolds himself as he slides the pizza out of the oven and onto a large sheet of cookie paper. **

"You were imagining her in a bikini weren't you Naru-chan?" Jiraiya teases, a perverted glint in his eyes.

"**Don't worry Naruto! I'll buy loads of souvenirs!" Katsu assures him, eyes sparkling as she hops up and shoos him to the side, taking a pizza cutter from the cupboard and deciding how fat to make the slices. **

"**Yeah, but man, wouldn't it be cool to go to Crescent Moon? It's one of those places Nami-baba said she would have killed to see." Naruto murmurs thoughtfully.**

"Could this be . . . another moment of foreshadowing?" Obito gaps in an exaggerated, mysterious fashion.

"Whatever it is, we'll just have to wait till tomorrow. It's time we got some sleep, after a nice dinner." Kushina is firm and will not budge on the matter. Despite everyone's amusement at her uncharacteristic mother hen attitude, they choose not to comment for the sake of not waking up black and blue with red all over tomorrow morning. They retreat to the kitchen, Rin and Obito volunteering themselves (and taking it upon themselves to also volunteer a reluctant Kakashi) to cook dinner.

* * *

**Google hand claws, it'll be easy to see what i describe. I particularly had fun writing the prank on Tsunade and the Icha Icha scene. And yes, Katsu will be part of the Crescent Moon. What guy wouldn't want to take his girl out an a free vacation? As for the MP1 . . . well if they have radios, giant TV screens (pre-lims) and movie equipment? You know, it's just not that far a stretch. It's not like the gave the kid an iPod. **

**As for the tail and ears . . . I just couldn't help myself. (._.) (TROLOLOL) . . don't judge me. They'd have use.**

**See you guys later!**

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad**


	24. Chapter 24

**I don't want to hear a word. Almost 100 pages- that's how long this chapter is. I don't want to hear a word about how long i took to update.**

**There's an extra for this chapter, just like in Land of Snow. But this is 100 pages already, so there was no way i could add that to this. So guess what? You guys get ANOTHER double whammie.**

**NOT. A. WORD.**

**This was inspired by a . . . pretty interesting March.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Four_

_Howl at the Moon, Uzumaki Naruto!_

"Obito, heads up!"

Obito catches the book out of reflex, his attention abruptly coming back to the group and out of his daydreams. "Oh, it's me to read now?" he asks, thumbing the pages.

"Yeah, so hurry up." Kakashi orders and Obito sticks his tongue out at the boy.

"Okay, so let's see what's up with Naruto this chapter . . ." Obito begins eagerly, and with a deep breath he starts to read.

**Kakashi wakes up abruptly, and within two seconds of waking up can determine there are two people in his apartment. His hand slides under the sheets and up to his pillow, gently touching the handle of his kunai before he pauses.**

"Three guesses who it is." Jiraiya grins at Kakashi, who just shakes his head in exasperation.

"You show you can be nice and then they just flock to you." Kakashi sighed in mock exasperation, bringing laughter from the others.

**In five seconds he determines that he is familiar— **_**depressingly, resignedly familiar**_**— with these two chakra signatures. The bright, energetic chakra signature of Naruto was like a firework that flashed and shined all day and night. Katsu's just as bright, but sleeker, smaller and like a lantern. **

**It was six-thirty in the fucking morning. He didn't want to see their happy asses before he had a cup of coffee. Or a drink. **

"Bad habits, Kakashi?" Minato asks with a raised eyebrow.

**His door was pushed wide open by a smirking Naruto, who looked as if he knew exactly what Kakashi had been thinking and was very amused by it. "Well, ohaiyou gozaimasu onii-san. You sleep with a mask on?"**

"Probably, the paranoid bastard." Obito laughs, cringing in slight pain from Kakashi's hit to his shoulder.

"**No, but you had to have known you couldn't sneak up on me." Kakashi told him, his lazy drawl not intentional like any other more normal time of the day. **

**Naruto laughs and nods. "True. Katsu's leaving for a trip today, and she couldn't bear to leave without saying goodbye to her favorite jounin-sensei."**

"She poisoned my food didn't she?" Kakashi asked.

**Kakashi looked puzzled. He jumps out of bed, and grabs some sweats and a t-shirt to change into after washing away his drowsiness. "Trip? So close to the holidays?"**

"**Oh, yes . . . she won a trip to Crescent Moon, but she'll be back for Christmas. When you're done Kakashi, we have breakfast waiting for you." Naruto left the room and returned to the kitchen after seeing Kakashi wave at him and close the bathroom door. Walking back to the kitchen he silently lamented his brother's apartment. Sure, it was spacious and very nice— but Kakashi really should make use of that lovely Hatake estate. He deserved more than this apartment, he was worth more.**

"Aww!" the room chorused it, and though Kakashi staunchly refused to let it show on his face how much the words meant to him, it seemed the others sensed it anyway.

"Kakashi, aren't you lucky to have such a sweet baby brother?" Rin asks him, though he knows it is a rhetorical question.

"Well, I doubt he knows the full reasons. I could never go back there and not be swallowed up by those memories." Kakashi confesses in low tones, almost hoping no one will hear. And yet, when he sees the looks of sympathy— not pity— he is relieved instead of irritated.

**He'd get so many more chicks that way. Surely an orgy would take away all the other darker memories?**

"And~ good feelings gone." Kakashi quips, shaking with silent laughter. Obito on the other hand, shook with very vocal laughter. Him and Jiraiya.

"Oh son, how much work I shall have ahead of me to keep you from the dark side." Minato lamented, though the smile on his face and the occasional chuckles that broke out destroyed his statement. Kushina harrumphed, finding it not as amusing as the men did.

**Katsu was finishing up the last of the eggs and placing them on a plate when he entered. She glanced up at him and smirked wickedly. "Was he especially upset?"**

**Naruto nodded reassuringly. "Oh yes, I saw him still considering the kunai under his pillow for a few seconds even after he saw me enter the room. Now you see why I told you to wait until I could go with you."**

"**But it was funny right?" Katsu insisted.**

"**I'll carry the memory of the promise of pain in his eyes forever!" Naruto vowed. The two snickered and high-fived before setting up breakfast on Kakashi's table and heaping food on their own plates. Just as they sat down Kakashi walked in still toweling his damp hair, a solid gray due to the water as opposed to his normal starlight locks. **

"Starlight huh? Man Kakashi, you're sounding so romantic in this book." Kushina teased, gleefully eyeing the blush that appeared instantly on the boy's visible face.

"No flirting with my student right in front of me." Minato ordered, laughing at Kushina's scoff and Kakashi's squawk.

**Kakashi paused and sniffed the air appreciatively, "Smells really good. I suppose I must offer you my thanks . . . brats."**

"**You're welcome . . . old geezer." Naruto and Katsu mutter. Kakashi glares at the slight, but dismisses it and sits at the table reaching for food to fill his own plate.**

"**So why exactly are you kids here? More importantly, how did you get into my apartment? I put up traps. And seals."**

**Katsu snorted. "Oh, those chuunin level traps?" Her and Naruto laugh loudly, obnoxiously, and then abruptly stop. **

Obito pauses and slowly turns to Kakashi with a look like he just swallowed something sour. He hisses in a deep breath, and then expels it with a soft, "BURN."

"**. . ." Kakashi opts not to answer, and puts his fork down for a moment so he can control the urge to stab the two brats with it. He picks it up again and then calmly continues. "I see your point, Naruto being Prankster King and you his concubine—" he dodges the orange hurled at him with careless speed and accuracy. "And the seals?"**

**Naruto smiles, chewing his bite of pancake and answers with a boastful look. "That was a might trickier. I had to find them and then see if I could try and deactivate it. When standard methods, and all other methods I knew were exhausted, I was quite stumped. Until I looked at the main seal more carefully . . . and noticed the blood component."**

"You never changed them from what I put up?" Minato asks with a disapproving look.

"I'm sure the alarm location changed since you certainly can't help me out. But I suppose I never bothered to take out your signature." Kakashi surmises.

**Kakashi's eye widened, and he had to work to keep an approving smile off his face. "So you figured you'd give your blood a try?"**

"**Yeah . . . it looked to be activated by more than just your blood. Tou-chan's blood was there too, and thankfully it seems like I have the same blood type." Naruto replies.**

"**Well it didn't have to be an exact match, the seal just had to recognize the relation in your blood. Whether or not you have your father's blood type, I don't know." Kakashi reveals. Naruto nods with an interested hum. **

"**As for why we're here . . ." Katsu pushes into the conversation now, biting gently into a juicy cherry. "I wanted to come here."**

"**Why?"**

"**Because I don't trust you." Katsu answers seriously.**

"**Don't trust me?" Kakashi repeats, an unspoken question for clarification.**

"**I was right too! The state of your cupboards and fridge is appalling!" Katsu declares, a hand gesturing wildly to said furnishings. "You have just fruits and vegetables, rice and tofu! What grown man can live off that alone— who isn't a monk, smartass." Katsu adds in hurriedly when Kakashi's mouth seems to open. **

"I'm sure you eat healthy enough . . . you wouldn't want to hear my mouth during a physical." Tsunade notes with a smirk to Kakashi.

"Unless she can personally assure that though, she doesn't trust you to do so." Kushina laughs, approving of Katsu's attitude.

"**And why do you choose now to worry about my diet?" Kakashi asks in a dry tone.**

**Katsu sniffs and looks at him askance, something that sends a twinge of irritation coursing through Kakashi. "You will, most likely and very unfortunately, be in my life for a very . . . **_**long**_** time. So it's in my best interest to keep you healthy and prepared."**

"**How is it in your best interest?" Kakashi presses. "By the way, these pancakes are great."**

"**Yeah? If you want to taste them again, stop asking questions and just accept her goodwill." Naruto advises, chuckling. **

**Kakashi snorts and changes the topic. "So Naruto tells me you're going on a trip?" **

"**Yes, I leave around noon because I have to make a stop to Suna. Naruto wants me to see the Subaku siblings, and I want to take a rest for a day before I have to travel on to the docks where the boat will be." Katsu explains.**

**Kakashi furrows his brow. "And you didn't hire a genin team to escort you?"**

"**No." Naruto answers for her with a sullen look, obviously disapproving of her lack of chaperone.**

"**And I bet you won't hire a team for Suna." Kakashi deduces with a flat look at her prideful snort.**

"Pride gets you nowhere if bandits find you alone." Rin points out with a stern frown, and a wince.

"Another story you didn't share Rin?" Minato asks, eyes narrowed.

"No, but I've heard enough stories from other's personal experiences. Kunoichi or no, it's not safe for girls to travel alone." Rin answers quickly, soothingly.

"**If you've got all that time to talk, eat." Katsu orders, and breakfast continues in silence. **

**Two days pass, with Kakashi sniggering at a much quieter Naruto who is obviously unused to coming home to an empty house. Currently, he had left the village under the pretense of training when in actuality he had gotten a letter from Haku stating he and a friend would like to visit him by the Otome farming village a few miles from Konoha. He had no missions for the day, and he hadn't seen Zabuza for a while— Haku since the Sports Festival. **

"**So . . . another water jutsu?" Naruto asked, sighing. "Zabuza, you know my affinities are katon and fuuton." **

"With some suiton." Kushina insists, not wanting her affinity to be left out.

"**Ungrateful brat." Zabuza growled.**

**Haku took the initiative to teach a valuable lesson for his young chuunin friend. "It's still possible to learn other jutsu of different elements; they just won't be as strong as if you had that element. Besides, you did pretty well with the other one. And, look in the scroll." **

**Naruto's brow furrowed but he did as asked, unrolling the scroll and skimming over the jutsu. When he got to the bottom he saw a storage seal, and with a curious smile quirking the corners of his lips he moved a hand over it, pushing chakra in and deftly catching the scroll that popped out.**

**His eyes danced with glee as he read the kanji on the new scroll. "Fuuton: Rotating Shuriken. Sweet, Zabuza! Thanks a lot." **

Minato grins. "I'm sure he'll have fun with that."

"**Whatever, just make sure you learn the water jutsu first." Zabuza gruffly ordered, spearing Naruto with a dark look. Snorting at the absentminded nodding from Naruto, he turned and started walking away. Haku shared an amused look with Naruto before walking to catch up with the man.**

"**Going so soon . . . Zaza?" Naruto asked with a leer. He grinned when the man's back visibly tensed as he paused. Zabuza didn't turn around but Naruto could tell he was speaking through gritted teeth. **

"**Unlike you, **_**brat**_**." The word was spit out with full contempt. "We gotta earn what we eat, and where we sleep. Duty calls, and hunter-nin sure don't take breaks." **

"**So when will I see you again?" Naruto pressed. **

"**Eh . . . another three months or so, just make sure security stays as lax as it does around the neighboring farm villages." And with that, Zabuza and Haku left, leaving Naruto with not much choice but to head back to the village. A stop to Ichiraku's wouldn't hurt . . . He sped back happily, new jutsu scrolls tucked safely into his shirt as he approached the open gates. Waving at the guards as he leapt past, he was suddenly stopped by their call.**

"**Hey, Naruto! The Hokage wants to see you, something about a new mission!" The black-haired man on the right called. **

"**Okay, thanks!" Naruto called back, and changed his course for the Hokage Tower. Rather than going straight through the building he leapt onto the wall and jogged up, making a beeline for the Hokage's window. Just as he got there, without even turning around Tsunade reached back from her seat and opened the window, and he returned to looking straight ahead at his team, though he noticed Sasuke was suspiciously absent.**

"Was that a special privilege reserved for Naru-chan, or have you just given up trying to curb that habit of his?" Kakashi wants to know.

"More the latter I'd like to say, than the former." Tsunade answers with a smirk.

**Naruto laughed and hopped in, closing the window halfway and sauntering around to stand next to Kakashi. He noticed Lee standing next to Sakura, eyes as bright and determined as ever. By the somewhat nervous smile and darting of her eyes Naruto knows that Sakura has figured out about his demon inhabitant, and he decides to wait patiently like he did with Sasuke. He was happy to see Lee fully functioning and ready to kick ass again, not that he expected any less from Nade. **

"**Naruto-kun! What a pleasure to see you this afternoon! Your flames of youth seem particularly bright today!" Lee shouted joyously, giving the other boy an enthusiastic thumbs-up. **

"**Yeah, nice to see you too Lee. Your flames are as . . . illuminating as ever." Naruto replied back with amusement. Before Lee could go off on another tangent, Sakura hit him on the head with a look of severe impatience. **

"**I thought for sure you'd have a hangover from Genma's party." Naruto murmured, eyeing Kakashi with a teasing glint.**

"Partying Kakashi? I really wish I could see this future you, he sounds awesome." Obito teases.

"You will, and we can both get blackout-wasted together." Kakashi promises, glaring at Obito's small, disbelieving smile.

"**High tolerance for alcohol, bullshit, and pain are the standard requirements for jounin . . . let's not even mention ANBU requirements." Kakashi answered slyly, making Naruto snigger. **

"Too bad Minato only meets two of the three." Jiraiya mutters, the others hiding their snorts of laughter with coughs when Minato subdues them all with a glacial glare.

**Tsunade cleared her throat, getting the full attention of Team Seven. "Kakashi, Sakura— with Sasuke gone on a mission with team ten since Chouji caught a fever, Lee will be replacing him. Another member was needed, and since you, Naruto, weren't busy I thought you'd enjoy going along."**

"**Enjoy how Nade?" Naruto asked, a slim blonde eyebrow raised. **

"**The mission is a B-rank, but don't take it lightly for even a second. You will be protecting Prince Michiru and his son, prince Hikaru who are the heirs of the Crescent Moon kingdom in the southern sea, wherein Tsuki no Kuni lies.**

Kushina claps her hands excitedly. "Oh, Tsunade! You set it up for Naruto to go on vacation of sorts with Katsu didn't you?!"

"Maybe, so what?" Tsunade drawls with a superior smirk, eyes glinting with amusement and mischief.

"What a gross misuse of your powers as Hokage," Minato chides in mock sternness, before a sphinxlike smile crosses his face. "Can I take a few notes for when I'm Hokage?"

"The old generations are nothing but learning tools for you young ones." Tsunade invites, spreading her arms.

**It's a tropical resort famous for its dazzling beaches and ritzy casinos. Everyone wants to go there at least once— to walk those golden beaches, to smell the sea breeze . . ." Tsunade pauses when she catches sight of Naruto's almost predatory grin as it clicks in his mind, her own lips curving into a smirk. "Huh. I'd like to go there myself."**

"**You'd have a blast in those casinos wouldn't you Nade?" Naruto asks slyly. **

**Tsunade clears her throat and ignores his statement. "Never mind. The prince and his son are returning from a tour of many lands, and your mission is to see them safely home. Team, leave out tomorrow! You'll meet up with the caravan somewhere not too far outside of Suna. You won't miss it trust me. Incidentally, I've been asked by the council of Suna to ask you all to take on an extra charge . . . one of our own from Konoha. She won a trip to Crescent Moon and the princes were kind enough to lend their boat, and she is travelling with their caravan as well. You'll be paid extra for it, so no big deal." **

_**In other words, Gaara made them do it. **_**Naruto rewords in his head, smirking. He owed the redhead one for this. **

"How nice of Gaara! He must really be thankful to Naruto for being nice to him." Rin comments, a warm smile on her face.

"That . . . and the power of the Bro Code." Obito adds lowly, for only Kakashi to hear, who nods his head and fist bumps with Obito.

**Kakashi stifles a chuckle, steely eye sliding over to glimpse Naruto's smug face before returning his attention to Tsunade. "We accept the mission Hokage-sama. We'll be ready to leave out of here in the morning."**

**Tsunade nodded approvingly. "Good. Enough time for your summer uniforms to be completed, and they'll be dropped off on your doorsteps at roughly six o'clock tomorrow morning."**

"**Summer uniforms Hokage-sama?" Sakura asks.**

"**Yes, of course. It's exceptionally hot this year in Suna, and the island is no winter paradise either. It'd be the height of embarrassment if you suffered heat stroke under the watch of the Godaime Hokage, who is also the greatest med-nin of her generation." Tsunade answers with a smirk. Sakura blushes and stutters an affirmative, feeling a little foolish for not thinking of that. **

"**Dismissed, you can all go home and prepare for the mission. Except for you Naruto, I need you to run some errands for me please." Tsunade requests, and Naruto agrees, waving goodbye to everyone as they leave the room.**

"**So . . . by errands you mean take down a list of souvenirs you want." It's not a question, and Naruto is already sitting down and reaching for pen and paper. **

"Sake of course." Tsunade laughs.

"**Sake— lots of it." Tsunade starts of promptly. "Shizune wants some nice sea glass jewelry, and I wouldn't say no to a piece myself. Ah, let's see . . . lots of pictures! And don't get camera shy on me either Naruto, no tricks!"**

"**Salt water taffy?" Naruto asks with a grin. Tsunade's furious shake of her head in assent makes him laugh and he writes it down, noting to buy at least five bags. **

"Hearing about all that salty goodness makes me want some right now." Tsunade sighs, daydreams of the delicious treat whirling in her head.

"Must not comment. Please, Kami let me refrain from making a comment." Obito whispers fervently, and he glares at Kakashi's choked laugh, waving away the curious glances with a nervous chuckle.

"**And . . . oh, what else? Ooh! I hear they sell the most lovely driftwood wind chimes, you have to buy me one!" Tsunade declares, and the rest of the day is spent either taking orders for souvenirs or packing for the mission. **

**The next morning, promptly at six, Naruto wakes up and hops out of bed, jogging down the stairs and to the door. Opening it he looks down, and there indeed is his summer uniform package. He goes up to his room and opens the package, considering it. It's basically a summer version of his original uniform with inverted colors, and he wonders if Tsunade found someone to make a replica of his uniform. Black cargo shorts that would settle a little below his knees with a thinner version of his jacket, but sleeveless. Naruto grabbed the clothes and rushed into the bathroom, eager to get the mission started.**

**When he'd finished his rushed shower and put his clothes on, he flew down the stairs and into the kitchen, gulping down a bowl of cereal and milk, with toast and jam. He double checks his equipment once more, and hesitates before also sealing his near-finished sealing book and grabbing the personal camera he bought yesterday. **

"He's really excited to go on this mission." Minato pointed out with a smile.

"Who wouldn't be? Crescent Moon sounds like a gorgeous vacation spot." Rin sighs dreamily.

"Might make for a good honeymoon spot too." Tsunade can't help but point out in an idle tone of voice, her grin sharp when Minato and Kushina try in vain to fight off the small blushes that bloom on their faces.

_**You seem very excited. **_**Kyuubi's rumbling voice, still thick with sleeps reverberates in his head.**

_**I am— Crescent Moon is known as a paradise on earth. And I get to be there with Katsu, it couldn't work out any better! **_**Naruto enthuses.**

_**Right, right. About that tropical weather . . . and the desert. I'll apologize in advance. It's going to be a little rough for you. **_**Kyuubi admits hesitantly, and the mere fact that the Kyuubi no Yoko is hesitant sets Naruto on edge a bit.**

"Why?" Obito wants to know, looking to Kushina for answers.

"Hmm . . ." Kushina frowns, face scrunching cutely in thought. She recalls a particular heat wave in the summer of her fifteenth year that was particularly brutal for her, and she wonders. "I never really knew why, but it has something to do with the Kyuubi, how much higher our body temperature is compared to others . . ."

"It could be his affinity for fire, but wouldn't that happen in summer for everyone with a fire affinity then? Or is it something specific for Kyuubi?" Minato theorizes, not knowing how close to the mark he actually is.

_**What do you mean? **_**But Kyuubi has cut off the connection and refuses to speak again, making Naruto huff. He'd figure out what the Kyuubi meant soon anyway. **

**Two days later, Naruto understood exactly what Kyuubi meant. **

_**Fuck you, you furry son of a bitch. **_**Naruto didn't even have the energy to snarl in his head, he was so hot. **

"Language!" Kushina snaps in exasperation, running a slim pale hand through her hair.

"**What's your problem Naruto?" Sakura asks, looking at him strangely. It was strange to see the usually cool and collected Uzumaki Naruto nearly wilting, his posture slouched instead of erect, spikes looking as if they were beginning to droop and fall at any moment. **

"**He's a **_**fire demon**_** Sakura. Too much energy, no way to expel it . . . safely . . . for you guys." Naruto speaks between gritted teeth, because the last time he panted out words fire came out his mouth and he only thanked every kami in existence that everyone was turned away from him at that point. He feels mildly guilty about Lee's confused face and at the shocked flinch Sakura makes at the mention of his demon, but he's fairly sure his brain is boiling inside of his skull and therefore is to blame for his tactless lapse.**

"So you were right." Tsunade said to Minato. "I thought Kyuubi was just a bijuu, I didn't know there were specific classifications for bijuu in terms of elements."

_There aren't. _"There aren't." Kushina says before she can even realize what it was she was saying, and just where those words came from.

"How do you know?" Jiraiya asks in interest, eyebrows rising when he sees Kushina's face turn perturbed.

"Kyuubi just told me." She answers quietly. She winces at the shocked expression that crosses most of their faces, though she is relieved to see Minato's eyes without judgment.

"Let's get back to the story. We can focus on that later. The only one who can find out what happened is Kushina, after all." Minato speaks, his eyes never leaving Kushina's. Obito nods and picks up reading.

_**I did say sorry in advance. **_**Kyuubi reminded him, though he had the grace to sound a trifle sheepish.**

_**What the hell Kyuubi? I never reacted like this before to intense heat. Sure I felt like a furnace before but this is ridiculous! **_**Naruto complains.**

_**Well, it has a lot to do with the extra appendages I gave you, and our close connection . . . for now, just do the chakra circuit trick I taught you back in Yuki, only this time make the chakra cool instead of warm. **_**Kyuubi instructs. **

"It's trickier to make it cool, rather than warm." Jiraiya mentions, hoping to get back into the swing of things after hearing that interesting piece of news.

**Easier said than done, but Naruto was determined to get it. He worked steadily at it, trying hard to ignore distractions like the sweat sliding down his oversensitive skin, the hair drooping into his eyes— it was time for a haircut— and the crunching sound their feet made in the sand, or just any ambient noise. Just as he was getting his chakra to cool down to lukewarm, a happy shout made him turn his head. Katsu, in a light peasant top and micro shorts with her hair tossed high in a ponytail, waved at them from on top a white carriage— it was easy to recognize it as the royal carriage where the princes sat even though they couldn't see through the window— and when she jumped down she was met by Naruto's bear hug taking all her air from her.**

"Yay! Reunited and it feels so good!" Rin and Obito sing, rousing laughter from the group.

_**Hey . . . shorts. Very short shorts. Nice. **_**Naruto chuckles evilly inside his own head as he hugs her so hard she's pulled off her feet.**

"No. No— bad Naru-chan! Bad!" Tsunade scolds.

"I'm the one with the dog contract here. What are you doing." Kakashi doesn't even sound like he's asking, like he's already formed that particular opinion.

_**Pull off, you say . . . ? **_**Kyuubi asks.**

_**Shut UP Kyuubi.**_

"**Your luck rears its head again Naruto!" Katsu jokes, hugging him just as fiercely. Naruto laughs and releases her, stepping to her side. She looks up at Kakashi with a wicked grin. "Isn't it too hot for that mask?"**

"**You wish." Kakashi snorts. **

**Katsu starts to say something else, but then she takes a long look at Kakashi, eyes going up and down. **

"**What?" Kakashi asks.**

"**Pfft!" Katsu lets slip, clapping a hand over her mouth as she laughs. "You're so skinny! You call yourself a ninja?! You toothpick! Aha!" **

"**. . . I'm going to be the bigger person and ignore you." Kakashi quietly states. **

**The kids greet each other, but soon the ninja's attention is taken up by the caravans that won't stop coming. **

**First one cart, then three, and when they stopped on top a sand dune to watch the carriages pass they saw a winding line snaking through the sand. **

"**Is all that really necessary?" Sakura muses out loud. As soon as she asked that, the royal carriage door opened, and they could see a large half of someone struggling to wedge through the opening and get the other half out.**

"**My shopping," the person answers. "I saw so many wonderful things in the lands we visited, I **_**had**_** to have them!" the man who walks out is dressed in royal finery, true . . . but he certainly wasn't what Naruto was expecting. A man of large girth and double— or maybe triple?— chins ambled toward them in carefree joviality, his accessories making cheerful clinking noises as he takes heavy steps towards them. He wears a red bandana like thing over his black hair, with a large feather attached to it that fluffs out behind his head, and his large brown eyes carry an expectant light as if he knows without a doubt that whatever he wants shall be his without question.**

"Ugh, royalty." Kushina mutters, rolling her eyes.

"Aren't you the princess of Uzugakure?" Kakashi points out with humor.

"Ninja don't count as royalty, right Tsunade?" Kushina asks, grinning when Tsunade makes an affirmative answer firmly.

Jiraiya and Minato snort. "Whatever, _my lady_." They both say in unison, making the princess' in question blush angrily and the kids laugh.

**The man continued to talk. "So I just kept buying and buying, and before I knew it I ended up with all this!" he laughs in a manner that Naruto admits grates his nerves a little, though he doesn't really know why. **

**Katsu chuckles and steps a little behind Naruto. "I'd step a little behind Kakashi if I were you Sakura." She advises the girl, though they all are rather confused. **

"**I am the prince of Tsuki no Kuni. I am Michiru!" He stops, blinking slightly when he sees Katsu. Once Naruto spots the light blush on his face and the wide smile, he shifts in front of Katsu fully, and trails his right hand lightly down her arm to lace their fingers together, so **_**his highness**_** could see that she was **_**off limits**_**. Especially for old princes with a kid, the perv. **

Rin shivers. "Ugh, he's old enough to be her dad I bet."

"I feel bad for the prince— clearly he had no idea he was messing with a taken girl. A girl taken, unfortunately for him, by a certain blonde heir to badass." Obito comments.

**He is rather pleased to see the smile fall a little, and Michiru asks. "Oh, Katsuhime! You know them?"**

**Katsu nods. "Yes, your majesty! Naruto here is my best friend after all!" Naruto smiles just big enough for his pronounced canines to flash the prince, who pales slightly. "Thank you so much for accommodating my friend, your highness."**

"At least he's still polite." Kushina sighs.

"**Pleasure was all mine, truly." Michiru chuckles nervously, waving his hands in front of him. He turns to Kakashi and says, "And I take it you are . . . ?"**

"**The people sent to guard you, your majesty. I am Hatake Kakashi, the squad leader. Over here is Uzumaki Naruto—"**

"**A pleasure, Prince Michiru." Naruto murmurs with a softer smile now, satisfied that the prince had gotten the message loud and clear.**

"**Haruno Sakura—"**

"**Pleasure's mine." Sakura greets with a nod of her head and a sweet smile.**

"**And Rock Lee." **

**Lee salutes him and cries, "Sir!" **

**Kakashi continues. "Us four shall be your escorts and ensure you get safely home." **

"**Well, I can see I'm in good hands." Michiru comments, then smiles and walks forward to Sakura, who had not listened to Katsu's advice and stepped behind one of the boys. **

"He bounces back quickly huh?" Jiraiya snorts.

"Yeah, buy why teenage girls? That's sick dude." Minato frowns.

**Naruto thinks that the prince is not a particularly suave man. Sure, Sakura's summer uniform is a top that cuts off at her midriff and biker shorts with a knee-length skirt, split up the sides. Her pink hair and green eyes made for an exotic type of prettiness, and her pale skin could be considered creamy and attractive.**

"That's a nice assessment." Kushina notices, head tilting to the side in thought as she recalls the image of the girl from the Wave mission. She knew that even at thirteen, nothing obvious or excessive happened to a girl's body, so she too wondered what was up with the prince.

"I think he just can't help it. It's easy for him to find beauty." Obito muses.

**But she's still only thirteen, and all that's exposed is firm stomach and a slim figure with only a waist that had yet to fully develop, arms and legs still skinny and not yet handled with the grace and fluidity a few more years would bring. **

"Too true." Rin and Tsunade murmur, nodding their heads— not in meanness to Sakura, but just as two professional medic-nins who were well versed in the human body.

"It's flowery language like that that can get the girls eating out of your palms." Jiraiya giggles, hand twitching for his notebook, but wary of Tsunade's tracking gaze.

"**Well, aren't you pretty?" Michiru simpers, bending to look at Sakura. "Far too pretty to be a ninja." Naruto flashes a look to Kakashi. **_**Should I break his jaw, or would you like that honor? **_**Sakura was his friend and teammate— no way he'd let some spoiled prince juts hit on her while he was around. **

"Hmph! Far too pretty . . ." All the girls mutter the words like curses, showing they'd heard those words or similar a time or two before, and exactly what they thought of such things.

**Kakashi fixes him a flat look, but Naruto sees the shift of his mask over his lips and knows one side of his mouth has pulled up into a smirk. **_**Just wait and see, **_**his eyes convey to Naruto. **

"**Looks can be deceiving," Kakashi advises Michiru. "Sakura is a qualified ninja."**

"**Oh? Then I'm glad you've come." Michiru holds out his hand for Sakura to take.**

"**It's fine." Sakura says in a nervous sort of way, but she puts her hand in Michiru's, thinking they'd shake hands. Michiru turns her hand over and places his other pudgy hand on top.**

"**Oh, how cute!" Michiru fawns, and starts rubbing her hand. **

"Ew. Not okay." Rin growls, her ire rising at the thought of some spoiled, older man trying to do that to her.

"**Oh, leave it be. Sakura is a big girl; she can handle herself just fine." Katsu chides Naruto and Lee softly, gripping their shoulders in reminder not to act rashly. **

**Sakura, true to Katsu's words, handles herself well. She smiles calmly at Michiru, then flexes her hand and tightens her grip, the cracking of his bones as they are nearly crushed audible to everyone. Michiru yelps and turns blue in shock, and then quickly releases his hold on her hand, grinning nervously. Naruto and Lee snicker, whilst Sakura continues to smile calmly. **

"**You're in good hands." Kakashi speaks up finally, and it increases the sniggers from the two boys when Michiru agrees in an almost scared fashion.**

"Geez, Kakashi, you should have scared him a little yourself." Minato pouts.

**Sakura glares at Katsu, catching the younger girl slightly off guard. "You couldn't have warned me he'd be flirty?"**

"Don't take this out on Katsu, she told you to duck and cover. Not like you do much else." Rin huffs, crossing her arms, fingers tapping on her biceps.

"**I said to hide behind Kakashi." Katsu states in a tone like she thought Sakura was a little slow, one eyebrow cocked. Sakura huffs but doesn't respond, merely turning back to Kakashi. Naruto and Katsu exchange looks of thinly veiled amusement, before she steps back from Naruto.**

**Naruto raises an eyebrow as he turns to look at her, and without moving from his relaxed stance he catches a toy arrow with a suction cup end that would have hit him dead on his temple between his thumb and index finger. He stops himself from snapping it in two, and merely turns to where it came from. Standing at the carriage door entrance is a kid, mostly likely prince Michiru's son, a bow in his hands strung and still taut from release. **

"Well he seems pretty adept at handling a bow and arrow. Not too unusual for royalty to at least know some sort of self-defense." Tsunade mutters.

"**Looks like you were on guard, but in the real world, had I caught you off guard you'd be dead." The kid says confidently.**

"Real or imaginary, you would have never caught him off guard." Kushina proudly boasts, smiling.

**Naruto smiles. "Perhaps. But you didn't . . . and the consequences of that, in the real world, would have been severe bocchan." **

"**Father are you sure about these people? They don't look like much of an escort." The child says in a disdainful tone, walking up to Michiru. **

"Another brat." Jiraiya sighs.

"You were just passive-aggressively threatened by Naruto. Don't act like you're such a big shot brat." Kakashi chuckles.

"**Oh! I hope you'll forgive my son, Hikaru. He's at that mischievous age boys go through." Michiru introduces the child, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. There was little resemblance Naruto could see, but Naruto supposed that all the extra layers on Michiru might be hiding similarities between the two.**

"**Nice to meet you, Hikaru." Kakashi greets, sounding mildly pleased and wholly lazy. **

"**Well then shall we be off?" Michiru suggests, and the two princes walk off back to the carriage. **

"**Don't worry about it; Hikaru doesn't really get along with much of anybody." Katsu explains.**

**Naruto smirks. "A child who doesn't like you? A first."**

"**He's ten— he's not that much younger than us." Katsu corrects.**

"**Maybe to you, but I'm thirteen. You two are still stuck in the nursery, and the rest of us are free and clear." Naruto teases, watching as Katsu's eyes blaze at the taunt.**

"**Say that to my face you bas—" **

"**Hey I found out who my tou-chan was, thank to you!" Naruto retorts with a grin. Katsu opens her mouth to blast him, but whatever else she would have said was cut off by Kakashi, who stops the argument early on.**

"**We should start picking guard positions, and you need to find a ride. Go on, you can kill Naruto later." Kakashi persuades Katsu, who huffs but quickly gets over her irritation and grins at them. **

"**Well, the prince is getting back in the carriage. I'll just go sit with Hori-san, and I'll hang with you guys later tonight." Katsu waves and runs a couple carriages down to where a man with sandy hair and beard waves at her, Katsu waving back. Once she has hopped onto the wagon, Naruto returns his attention to Kakashi, who assigns them positions to guard. Very soon, the entourage is back in motion, and the Konoha nins travel alongside them on foot, watching out for any threats or suspicious actions. **

**Up ahead in the craggy rocks and stone pathways of the cliffs besides them, bandits scamper about, placing themselves for an ambush on the caravan. On the other side of the road, hidden by the sudden dip, bandits line up to cover the others side. Of course, such a thing couldn't get by the Konoha group, who wait for the right opportunity to strike. It is when the bandits get impatient and make for the caravan that they take action.**

**Lee is first, running up the cliff side to take care of the bandits sliding down the rock with weapons drawn. His speed and taijutsu deal with them quickly, effectively knocking them out. Kakashi is quick to reach the side of Sakura, who struggles under a tag team, and is quick to subdue them with powerful hits. Naruto handles his own with finesse and little effort, dropping the unconscious opponents on a cliff overhang and returning to his position at about the same time as the rest of them, grinning at a wolf whistle from Katsu.**

**Business as usual.**

**Evening descends the sky a dusky rose turning plum when the caravan is stopped to rest for the night. The thick blanket of darkness is punctured by small campfires lit by the carriage riders who group together and relax for the evening. The night is accompanied with the sound of the horses, the chatter and occasional burst of laughter from the men. Naruto can smell something succulent sizzling on the grill in the Princes' private tents, and his stomach stirs with a reminder that he does indeed have time for a more filling meal than the berries he snacked on over the course of the day. **

"**Nothing like some ramen with friends." Katsu chirps as she slurps a mouthful of noodles, though she could do without the bit-too-salty broth. She sighs and leans against Naruto's back, looking up at the stars that shine in the darkness like fireflies. She and Naruto sit on a large rock, Sakura and Lee with them. Kakashi sits farther away, enjoying his food at a normal pace since he didn't have to eat around the kids and hide his face at the same time. **

"**Well, it'd be nice to have a campfire too." Naruto murmurs between bites, "but I suppose the stars make up for that."**

**They sit by the parked wagons and carriages, no tents set up. A rather dreary thing, but ninjas weren't paid to be comfortable were they? **

Snorts of amusement and a collective, resounding, "No we are not."

**Soon enough the campfires are burned out and the night is filled with animals and wind. Everyone is asleep, save for Kakashi who is standing guard and in a way Naruto as well. The young blonde is currently speaking with his favorite demon fox, and getting the explanation he'd been due.**

"**So . . . why was it so hot?" Naruto prompts Kyuubi.**

**Kyuubi taps his clawed fingers on the ground, a sharp and loud staccato rhythm in the cave. "Well, it's true that you'd be more inclined to heat with my being, if you will, a fire fox. But, tell me something Naruto . . . what do you think about your tail?"**

"**Well it's strange, but I can get used to it. It feels a little odd, but I suppose something that just pops up on you would." Naruto answers slowly, not seeing where Kyuubi was going with this.**

"**That strangeness has nothing to do with the novelty of it. In actuality . . . it's not a real tail. It's just chakra. My chakra, which I merged with yours and formed to create something that, would show outwardly."**

"That's possible?" Rin asks in shock, looking to Tsunade.

"Well, it's not impossible." Tsunade admits.

"It's more advanced than the standard cloak of chakra that you get when using a certain amount of bijuu's chakra . . . still, it seems strange." Kushina cuts in this time, and Rin nods in acceptance of the answer.

"**Like how my pupils changed after the Forest of Death?" Naruto interrupts.**

**Kyuubi nods. "Yes, like that. It might seem impossible, for just chakra to take on such a realistic appearance. It even feels like a tail . . . like fur." Here he pauses and crooks one finger, the knuckle brushing against Naruto's arm. "But so do I, right?"**

**Naruto's brow furrows, then his eyes widen. "You . . . you're made of chakra?"**

"**You can put it that way, yes. This entire body is a chakra construct. But doesn't this feel like fur? Don't I look . . . sort of . . . like a fox? That's just the way bijuu work, and my chakra formed outside to take on the appearance of a tail and ears. I have to tell you though . . . the tail and ears are only temporary." Kyuubi informs Naruto. **

"Aw!" Whines of disappointment from Kushina and Rin amuse the others, though they quickly shush them and continue reading.

"**Temporary? I'm confused again, Kyuubi." Naruto whines. **

"**Think of them as training tools . . . or more accurately, cheats." Kyuubi shifts, and gets into lecturing mode, though to Naruto his lectures are a hundred times more interesting than any other sensei's, even Iruka's. "You know that you can add chakra to your senses to enhance them. So why not add in as much as possible? For example, add enough chakra to your ears to hear five miles away. Simple? No, not at all. You'd destroy your ears and mess up your chakra coils, in just that area if you're lucky, and go deaf.**

"I wonder if that's a conjecture based off demons, or if he has some knowledge of the human anatomy and physiology." Tsunade wonders, sounding excited at the prospect.

**My ears are a way around that. You have purely animal senses, making your hearing better than a human's and should you so happen to add a little chakra? Well, it's unnecessary— how far do you need to hear? As for the tail . . . I'll tell you one thing— it will certainly make training with futon and katon easier."**

"He has to explain that— I'll go mad from curiosity." Tsunade insists.

"**Expound on that please." Naruto insists.**

"**I won't go into too much detail. This is training left for later on, and for another person to teach. But basically, there is chakra everywhere. I think you know this, but you don't know the **_**extent**_**. Everything can carry chakra, though in some places these pockets of natural chakra are more . . . potent, or recognizable. We call this, predictably, nature chakra or natural energy. It is the chakra found in our surroundings, in the earth itself, which makes sense as the earth is a living thing. All living things have chakra. My tail will be a great boon to you later, for I have a hunch you will be able to learn how to harness this nature chakra.**

"Is the Kyuubi suggesting Naruto will learn Sage techniques?" Minato interrupts with barely concealed shock, turning to look at an equally shocked Jiraiya. Minato smiles and exclaims, "That would be wonderful!"

"What do you mean Minato? Sage techniques?" Kushina asks, confused.

"Jiraiya is a Toad Sage, because he learned Sage transformation under the toads. Sage is an entirely different level of strength. Without a doubt, Sage tops nearly every other fighter, and I'm sure it could make a fight real tough for even the best of Kages, given that they don't immediately become crushed." Minato's explanation is rather vague, but it suits the purpose of trying to put Sage techniques into context.

"You people and your level ups. You make me sick, honestly." Obito sighs, shaking his head.

"Makes you almost feel ashamed for being normal." Rin agrees with a sigh.

**For now, it will serve as a sensor "tip" letting you get a feel for a very small amount of nature chakra— not enough to recap you if you're seriously drained as I don't want to take that risk. It will also serve as an aide in performing elemental jutsu, something that is easier with natural chakra. There are also some offensive things you can use the tail for, but really it won't be used to its full potential until later. For now it improves your balance, your affinities, and your awareness of the world." **

"I feel like . . . in his own way . . . Kyuubi is cheering for Naruto. One might even say he's lavishing Naruto with affection, in a way he might feel comfortable with." Minato tries to sum up his feelings, and is pleased to note there's no mistrust or even bitterness towards the demon that in the future, might be responsible for his and Kushina's death, and Naruto's orphan status. Though certainly, there is a feeling of being off-kilter at recognizing that he has no ill will towards Kyuubi— even, on some level, feels grateful for Kyuubi looking after his son.

"Though it's a strange thought . . . I agree." Jiraiya puts in his two cents, Tsunade nodding in agreement.

"As long as someone is there helping Naruto, I'm thankful either way." Kushina voices.

**Naruto is quiet for a long while as he absorbs all this information. "I . . . I think I understand. I'm sure once I feel the effects of the tail I'll fully understand. Thank you Kyuubi."**

**Kyuubi shrugs. "It is a small thing to be grateful for. Now rest, Naruto. You were so excited for this trip; it'd be a shame to be anything less than full stamina for this."**

**Naruto laughs and closes his eyes, sinking deeper into REM sleep and leaving Kyuubi's cave.**

**They pass out of desert and walk into far more pleasing grassland, the green grass and trees a soothing sight after harsh sand and blazing sun. Katsu walks with Naruto now on the strict promise that she run for cover as soon as anything happens, and the two walk close together and reread Icha Icha, laughing both at the story, and at the outraged look that passes over Sakura's face from time to time. **

"Yet another punishment laid out for you Kakashi." Kushina's sharp voice might as well have been a whip for the way Kakashi flinched at its sound.

**Kakashi engages Michiru in some conversation, whilst Hikaru stays totally absorbed in his Gamekid, a pink handheld video game that only came out about a month ago.**

"Video games can go handheld? Sweet! And here I thought that arcade with the three games in it was so high-tech." Obito crows, laughing.

"That's the future for you— progress." Minato smiles.

"**Your highness, I assume you want to take over as king one day?" Kakashi asks.**

"**Oh yes, once my papa retires." Michiru answers confidently. "But he's in perfect health— that won't be for a while, not that I'm complaining . . ." they continue to talk, and Naruto and Katsu walk a little behind Kakashi, near the back of the carriage where Hikaru resides.**

**Eventually Naruto and Katsu finish the book when Kakashi and Michiru get around to the topic of Hokage. "Is the title of Hokage passed down?" Michiru enquires.**

"**No, it goes to whoever is suitable and best at keeping the peace and protecting the village, no matter who it might be. Why, it could even be a kid like Naruto one day." Kakashi adds slyly, grinning at Naruto who manages to smooth his face before his instinctual grimace can set in.**

"**Impressive. I imagine it's a lot of hard work?" Michiru asks Naruto.**

**Naruto shrugs. "Being a ninja in general is hard work. I have no interest in being Hokage anyway, and handing such a title to anyone is really harder than it seems. Every ninja can be one who sincerely loves their home and wishes to protect it to their full ability— like a Hokage should . . . the title of Hokage just goes to whoever can do that better than anyone else. It's a popularity contest, if you think about it."**

"True, though I'm not sure telling the foreign prince that is . . . suitable." Kakashi remarks.

"**How stupid." The soft mutter was clearly meant for no one but Hikaru, but Naruto picked up on it right away. He grins at the boy, who balks a little and concentrates on his game again.**

"If you can't back up your words, don't even voice them." Tsunade snorts at the cowardly boy.

"**It might seem that way to one whose blood is his key to greatness, but I fancy our system allows for few fools to ascend into positions of power." Naruto tells Hikaru, who does not respond at all.**

**Michiru laughs. "How interesting! I find the old system works alright, but that probably doesn't mean much coming from me right?"**

**Naruto laughs and assures the prince, "Far be it from me to criticize something that works, your highness. After all, I can't speak either since I'm not looking to lead anyone."**

**The next few hours pass like that, until they reach a town, with large stone buildings built in a uniform design. Townspeople mill about, respectfully moving out of the way of the caravan, some gazing curiously at them. They pass a sign that announces a circus, boasting to be amazing and grand. **

"**Ugh, the circus." Naruto grumbles.**

"What kid doesn't like the circus?!" Obito asks in alarm, purposely ignoring the hand Kakashi puts up, as if they were still in school.

"You have no childhood, not liking the circus." Rin also ignores the now waving hand of Kakashi.

"**You don't like the circus?" Kakashi asks with surprise.**

"Why are you surprised if you don't like it either?" Minato asks Kakashi, who merely shrugs.

"Naruto seems the type to like the circus right?" Kakashi asks, thinking this is probably is future self's reasoning.

**Katsu giggles. "Not exactly . . . just a childhood trauma. When obaa-chan took us out to another town, we snuck into a show thinking it was a circus . . ."**

"**It was a damn freak show!" Naruto cut in. "People contorting, eating glass, knocking nails into their eye sockets . . . eight year-old me was **_**not**_** amused." **

"Oh, memories . . . how sweetly nostalgia hits me!" Obito waxes poetic, shoulders and voice shaking with suppressed laughter.

"My son has a _lot_ of mental scarring." Minato muses, recalling the first reported incident from the Sports Festival. "Poor baby."

**The carriage window opens and prince Michiru sticks his head out. "My son would like to attend the circus! Let's make a detour!"**

"**As you wish, your highness." Kakashi answers placidly, and motions for the two kids to spread the word. Eventually the caravan shifts directions, heading for the circus. There are cages with animals prowling inside around the front of the big tent, the tent itself bright and colorful in yellows and pinks. When the caravan stops the door quickly opens for Michiru and Hikaru to step out and head towards the tent. The ninjas and Katsu follow, Katsu occasionally snickering at Naruto's unimpressed look.**

"You should be grateful to have such an easy, fun mission Naruto-chan!" Rin laughingly chides. "I wish my B-rank missions could include trips to the circus!"

"**What a waste of time," Naruto sighed gustily, throwing a confused look to Katsu when she laughs and slaps his shoulder.**

"**This isn't for you, it's for bocchan." Katsu reminds him with amusement as they take their seats. They turn their attention to the ring, when the lights go down low and the ring master steps up to present the circus.**

**Well, Naruto had to admit that the circus was a pretty entertaining thing. Elephants lifting glittery-smiling-woman, rhinoceros in single file lines as they make figure-eight around the ring, even squirrels running on spinning plates balanced on spindly sticks. Zebras, kangaroos, and all manner of exotic animals he'd only ever seen in books or movies! **

"Zebras are so cool." Kushina agrees in a low voice, eyes sparkling.

"Rhinos? I've never seen them, only heard of them. Lucky, Naru-chan!" Obito whines in a gusty exhale.

"**Oh! Oh, look Naru, a giraffe! It's so cool!" Katsu trills happily, tugging on his sleeve and pointing in childlike glee.**

"**Hai, hai . . . I'm still on those kangaroos. I think they could give me some taijutsu tips, eh Lee?" Naruto jokes, nudging the other boy, who grins back and laughs.**

**Katsu certainly was enjoying it, clapping and hollering happily along with Sakura. It was certainly amusing having to watch out for their flailing arms while watching the acts. But the real top act was truly interesting . . . **

"**The one! The only! Chamu, the saber tooth tiger!" The ring master declares, arms making a grand sweeping motion.**

"Aw, so cool!" Kushina and Obito crow together, faces lit up at the mention of the rare, fearsome beast. They'd never seen one, and no one they knew had either. Such mysterious creatures might as well be unicorns to them.

"**No way!" Naruto and Katsu exclaim together, jumping to their feet to see. **

"A parallel perhaps?" Kakashi points out slyly. They laugh at Minato's pout, and laugh harder at Obito's leering declaration.

"You hear that Kushina-san? Ditch the airhead zero, get with the _real_ hero!"

**A drumroll starts, colorful spotlights flashing around the tent. Then— the lights and drumroll halt as one lone spotlight shines on a platform in the upper left corner. Proudly stands a large, grey saber tooth tiger— the muscles clearly in definition bulging underneath short, silky fur as it stands still, not looking at all ridiculous even its stupid brown and pink vest. The gold eyes stare intensely for a moment, before crinkling as its lips pull back, a growl reverberating in its throat, bringing attention to the foot long instruments of death poking out of his mouth. The big cat roars, an insanely loud and strong sound that sends the audience into a tizzy, clapping and cheering. It turns and makes one giant leap, making it look effortless, to a lower platform. Then it took another graceful flying takeoff to the raised platform in the middle, where the ring master once stood. **

"**As rare as he is dangerous! The only one of its kind in captivity!" The ring master exclaims, gesturing to the predator. **

_**For a good reason— it's not a house cat. That creature is used to freedom . . . **_**Kyuubi growls, but it's somehow soft. Naruto hums in agreement, but he honestly cannot be mad at this chance to see such a beautiful and deadly creature.**

**The ring master introduces Chamu's "friend and partner" Kiki, a small little tuft of fur that they call a monkey, wearing a tiny top hat and vest, with a small yellow bow on the end of his tail. **

"Macock?" Obito asks.

"_Excuse me?"_ Tsunade and Minato ask slowly, the synchronization creepy but Obito holds his stoic face.

"The species of monkey. I'm wondering if it's macock, though usually it's bigger than a tuft of fur . . . I hear." Obito carries on, despite the reddening cheeks of Rin and the darkening expressions on his sensei's and Tsunade's faces. Kakashi bites the inside of his cheek, struggling not to make any sound or any sudden movements.

"**How long did they have to train Chamu not to try and eat Kiki?" Naruto asks aloud, a snort from Kakashi making him grin.**

**Chamu and Kiki play catch with a white and blue beach ball, hitting it back and forth between them. Ignoring Kyuubi's growls of subjugation and injustice for great predators everywhere, Naruto just enjoys the show, and when he glimpses down to the front row sees Hikaru watch with rapt attention. Chamu jumps through flaming hoops and does other great tricks, stopping every now and then to rouse the crowd with another majestic roar. **

**Kiki hops on Chamu's head and bites into a red apple in its hands, before raising it and letting an archer from the troupe shoot the apple clean through with an apple. The crowd just eats it up. **

"**If you think that's hard, watch this! We need absolute silence!" The ring master cautions the audience. Chamu rears up on its hind legs, Kiki holding up the apple as they weave and bob slightly from Chamu trying to keep balance. The archer waits, steadily, quietly, for an opportunity.**

**Hikaru takes it first.**

**The apple is sent flying by a suction cup arrow from a totally unexpected direction. Even Chamu and Kiki look at it with something akin to shock.**

"Nice shot kid!" Jiraiya feels it is safe to speak now, sure that the quiver of laughter is gone from his voice.

"**Whoo! Go bocchan!" Naruto and Katsu whoop. **

**The spotlight swings to Hikaru. The boy just exhales quietly and closes his eyes. "Easy shot." He dismisses, almost cocky with it. **

"**Nice shot sonny!" The ring master congratulates. "But, can you handle this?" With a snap of his fingers, Kiki and Chamu are off. Kiki spins the apple around in its tiny palms as Chamu runs around the ring. **

"Difficulty level: 8." Rin chirps, her cheeks still faintly glowing.

"**Well? Get this one right, and you win a prize!" The ring master invites Hikaru. **

**Everyone is silent as they watch, entranced. Hikaru draws back the string easily, calmly. He waits for his chance, not letting the tension in the big tent bother him. He'll shoot . . . when he's good . . . and . . . ready!**

**The arrow flew true, and the apple was shot out of Kiki's hands.**

The group claps, impressed with the prince who shoots like one who has practiced for a good few years. Perhaps he has?

"**W . . . Wow . . ." the ring master gulped into the microphone. A moment later, the tent erupted into applause at the incredible feat of archery shown from the young boy. **

"**Remarkable! The boy has talent." Lee commented as they clapped appreciatively. **

"**My, my . . . only person who could probably outshine him is you and Nami-baba." Naruto mentioned, Katsu nodding in agreement.**

"**Though that's hardly fair to say," she pointed out. "Archery is in the Kuroshio blood. You nins would call it a bloodline almost. Still, for one so young? He's amazing! Probably given some training, but there's a natural talent shining through." **

"Kuroshios who are famous for archery— ah!" Kushina slaps a hand to her forehead, eyes wide.

"What? Did the name ring a bell?" Minato asks.

"Yes! I've worked with her father once! He's rarely seen around by nins though . . . perhaps he's ANBU?" Kushina speculates, recalling a laughing, cheeky young man with spiky tangerine locks and merry green eyes.

"**That was incredible sonny! I've never seen a better shot." The ring master lamented, walking up to the princes, where Michiru still stuffed his face, a look of pride showing.**

**Hikaru lowered his bow and looked away from the man. "I've done harder."**

"Modesty is always nice." Kushina points out.

"**Well, let's see, what kind of prize . . . ?" The ring master wondered— but Hikaru knew exactly what he wanted. He turned and pointed directly to Chamu. **

"**I want **_**him**_**!" **

"**Chamu? Oh, he's too big and dangerous! Besides, without him I've got no show." The ring master tried to dissuade Hikaru, but the little prince would have none of it. **

"**I don't care, I want him! Father, please?" Hikaru turns to the elder prince, who still wines and sups, stopping only briefly to put in his bit of fatherly obligation. **

"What a selfish boy! Without that tiger they might lose a lot of customers, and what will happen to them then?" Tsunade growls.

"Well it seems like his father will straighten him out?" Rin reminded them, though she sounded unsure even to her own ears.

"**Why not? You know I've always wanted my own circus. Why don't we buy the whole thing, tent and all?" He suggested cheerily. **

"Parenting— you're not doing it right." Kakashi shakes his head.

**The young boy was glowing in triumph while the ring master still spluttered from the way it all escalated so quickly.**

**The end of the day approached, the sky darkening with a beautiful sunset off the hills. The tent, now that it was sole property of the royal family, was packing up and preparing to leave with the caravan. Animals were being put back in their cages, props and stands were being put up and folded, it was all a busy process.**

"**So this guy really bought the whole circus?" Sakura asked.**

"**Yeah . . . that's rich." Naruto said. **

**HIkaru and his father were walking through the packing circus as the two men talked about Tsuki no Kuni. Hikaru spotted his newest pet, the saber tooth tiger lying down on a crate. Hikaru walked toward it, and saw its eyes flicker up to watch him with a bored expression.**

"Why isn't anyone stopping him? That tiger is dangerous, he could get hurt." Kushina cried out, annoyed with his self-absorbed father.

"Never fear— Team Seven is always here!" Obito, Rin and Kakashi assure her, striking a good guy pose.

**He figured that if it wasn't trying to maul him yet, that means the cat liked him. Picking up an apple that had rolled away from its bucket, he held it out to the big cat with a small smile.**

"**Hungry?" Hikaru asked, holding the shiny red fruit aloft.**

**The cat growled, rising up, its body tensing and coiling. Hikaru gawked, taking a step away but too scared to run further. Behind him he hears footsteps running, hears the ring master and his father cry out for him— the tiger leaps, and he cries out, thinking the cat is going to eat him alive—**

**He is enclosed in arms and sees black fabric; Naruto has jumped just in time to save him.**

"Oh thank goodness. I hope they're not hurt." Kushina sighs, placing a hand to her heart.

**They roll until Naruto hits a fence, and he sits up to let Hikaru have some room. Naruto looks over Hikaru and sighs in relief when he sees no marks. The same cannot be said for his arm- he grimaces at the deep gashes, blood dripping to the grass below. They'd heal in at most two hours, but damn they stung.**

"It's the brat's fault for thinking his status matters to everyone and everything!" Obito snaps, wincing at the description of Naruto's injuries.

"**Naruto! You're hurt?!" Katsu calls for him worriedly, and he turns to grin reassuringly at her. He certainly wouldn't die— that's okay in anyone's book. **

"It's not enough in mine." Kushina murmurs.

"**Sonny, you can't get too close! That cat is wild and dangerous—" The ring master tries to explain, but Michiru angrily turns the man around and starts to have heated words with him. **

"**Listen you! You have got to do something about him! He's dangerous!" Michiru shrilly protests, and Naruto snorts derisively at the same time Kyuubi does. What does the man want? This isn't some cute kitten, it's a damned predator!**

**Hikaru doesn't turn away from the black cloth of Naruto's jacket for a while, too afraid to move. Eventually he turns his head to look back at the saber tooth, which has taken the apple in his teeth and snapped it up in two bites.**

"**That was a little scary, huh?" Hikaru jumps at Naruto's voice, and looks up to see the older boy smile at him. He can't help the embarrassed blush on his face.**

"**I, uh . . ." Hikaru tries to speak, but in the end he just pushes away from Naruto and runs. Naruto looks after him for a time, not turning until suddenly Katsu has dropped to his side and reached for his injured arm, some bandages and cloth in tow.**

"**Ooh, nasty." Katsu clucks her tongue. She wipes away the blood with the wet cloth and starts to wrap it as quickly as possible, wishing there was a proper first aid kit around.**

"Better to do what you can than wait for a first aid kit to be found." Tsunade nods approvingly.

"**Is he always like that?" Naruto asks. Katsu smiles at him, knowing who he means.**

"**Uh-huh. Cute right? He never speaks to me— if he so much as looks at someone who's nice to him, he blushes and runs off." Katsu chirps. Naruto smirks, understanding now a little more about Hikaru. He is taken off that train of thought when he's ambushed and fussed over by Sakura and Lee, who are sure his arm had been bitten off.**

"What's he understand?" Obito asks.

"That Hikaru is not a brat because he's just that selfish. Okay, yes he is selfish and naturally a bit of a brat— but that's been exacerbated by poor examples from his father, and the fact that the kid is actually pretty awkward and doesn't know how to make friends." Minato explains.

"Doesn't help that anyone he probably tries to befriend at his home automatically panders to his every whim because he is the prince. He just wants to be normal, have friends he can trust." Jiraiya adds.

**The next day is just as beautiful, and the next town even more so. They are told that the royal yacht was unable to make it due to a storm at sea, and that another ship would be used. Though it would take a while until it set sail.**

"**Not a problem. Meanwhile, I have an important call to make here anyway." Michiru agrees easily. The Konoha group walks with the carriage through the beautiful seaside town, up a mountain path through the cool shade of the trees.**

"**Wow, if only Konoha had such views. Closest thing we have is the Hokage Monument." Naruto remarks, looking with interest down at the colorful town right up till the very edge of the sea. He pushes down his headphones to listen to the faint sounds of the ocean for a little while, before returning to his rock playlist. **

Kushina looks mischievous as she turns to Minato. "Maybe I can convince him to be Uzukage of the new Uzu village. Sounds like Konoha's just not enough for him." She taunts.

"Nope— the Namikaze-Uzumaki family stays in Konoha." Minato denies her wish.

"You mean Uzumaki-Namikaze." Kushina corrects. Minato opens his mouth to counter, then thinks better of it, and just gestures to Obito to keep reading.

**The carriage is full with the most beautiful and luscious flowers Prince Michiru's bottomless allowance can buy. He sits inside combing his hair with a gold comb, humming pleasantly.**

"Who is _he_ visiting?" Rin wonders.

"You might have been right with Tazuna, but now you're just being mean." Obito warns her.

"**I wonder who would entertain his courting." Naruto muses quietly. **

"What was that?" Rin asked, looking knowingly at a put-out Obito.

"**That's not nice." Kakashi chides, not meaning it at all.**

"**You know you want to know too." Naruto shoots back.**

**They stop in front of a modest house, wooden and painted yellow with reddish brown shingled roof. In front of the house is a small field with a harvest ready to be picked. Crouched among the leafy greens is an attractive woman in a mint green dress, long dark brown hair loose along her back, and bangs framing brown eyes the exact same shade as Hikaru's. She looks at them in mild surprise as she holds a basket full of red berries. **

"**Think that's Hikaru's kaa-chan?" Naruto mutters softly to Katsu.**

"**Seems likely . . ." Katsu confirms.**

"What's she doing . . . not in Tsuki?" Kushina frowns. She couldn't imagine a mother who would willingly leave her child— not only as the future mother of Naruto, but as a proud member of the once-great Uzumaki clan, who were very close and tight-knit.

**The woman walks away from the plants to stand by her porch as Michiru comes out of the carriage, arms laden with the expensive flora. "How wonderful to see you again! Amayo!" he rejoices, small tears at the corners of his eyes. Amayo, however, pays no attention to the large man. Her eyes are solely trained on the little figure stepping out from the shadows of the carriage. She gasps, hand rising to her mouth in shock. **

**She drops the basket in her haste to get to Hikaru, blowing past Michiru who thinks she's rushing to him. She stops in front of Hikaru and crouches down.**

"**Hikaru?! Is that you?" She asks, but she really needs no answer. A mother could recognize their child in a heartbeat. She puts her arms around her child for the first time in so long, and cries happily. "Oh, Hikaru!" she softly rejoices. **

"She seems really happy to see him, like she was unable to before," Minato reflects quietly.

**Hikaru doesn't know what to do, he's so embarrassed. Amayo slowly lets go of the hug, just to lean back and put her hands on his shoulders. She smiles, eyes roving over Hikaru's face. **

"**Look at you, Hikaru. You've grown." She comments idly. Hikaru still blushing fidgets uncomfortably for a second. **

**Michiru clears his throat, this time brandishing an extra-large bouquet of roses. Amayo's soft look hardens to one of annoyance and her voice reflects it. "Who are you?" **

"She doesn't recognize the father of her child?" Rin asks incredulously, laughter breaking through.

"I guess he just recently packed on those pounds." Tsunade guesses, smirking.

**Michiru looks very offended and his arms drop in sadness. "How can you say that Amayo?! Don't you recognize me?!" he pleads. **

**Amayo looks at him in confusion, before it slowly clears up to blatant disbelief. "Impossible . . . Michiru?"**

"I guess he packed on a _lot_ of pounds." Minato chuckles.

**Naruto sniggers in the background and both he and Katsu put out a hand to Kakashi, who clucks his tongue and stuffs his hand in his pockets, then places fifty ryo each in their hands. **

"**Of course it's me!" Michiru claims.**

"**No! No, it can't be!" Amayo denies and pulls Hikaru closer. "You're too **_**fat**_**!"**

"Just what did he look like before?" Jiraiya wonders.

**Katsu puts both hands out to everyone with a cheerful giggle, and each ninja grumbles as they put fifty ryo in her hands. **

"**How unyouthful!" Lee laments, but quietly so as not to be overheard by the family ahead of them. **

"**Well if I am it's all because of you— ever since you left me, eating is the only thing that can fill the loneliness." Michiru explains, huffing slightly. **

"A likely story." Tsunade sniffs.

**Amayo doesn't look very convinced. Her sigh of exasperation and annoyance emphasizes that disbelief. She has no choice but to invite him in, since he insists to stay with Hikaru. Inside they argue back and forth while Hikaru sits on a stone wall that encircles the property in the backyard, seagulls flying past and announcing themselves.**

"**I miss you, and so does Hikaru! Please come home, where you belong!" Michiru pleads.**

"**No, I can't be with you anymore! My only regret is Hikaru— if I hadn't signed that stupid wedding contract, he'd be here with me and I would raise him myself!" Amayo laments. **

"Oh," Kushina realizes. "A pre-nup? That doesn't let her keep Hikaru? And if she stayed in Tsuki she'd have been hounded by Michiru. Poor Amayo."

"Can the prince really be so bad she'd leave her son behind? She seems to love Hikaru!" Rin protests.

**Hikaru just listens to them argue, wishing his mother would stop being so stubborn. Why didn't she want to come home, where father could give her everything she could want? Why didn't she want jewels and luxury? Why didn't she want him?**

"**Sucks to hear parents fight right?" Naruto's voice again makes him jump, and he sees those kids who father hired as bodyguards, plus Katsu, sit on the wall with him. **

"**Did your parents fight?" Hikaru asked.**

"**I'm sure they did . . . though they died when I was born, so I never heard them. But hearing adults fight as a child is pretty scary— I can only imagine how scary it is when it's the two adults you care for the most." Naruto answers sincerely.**

"Hmm, he's right." Obito muses thoughtfully. "It really sucks to have to be caught in the middle too . . . or to be the one they're fighting about."

"**I don't know. Mother had everything she wanted . . . why did she leave?" Hikaru wonders. **

"Some things are more important than money or jewels." Tsunade says softly.

"**Sometimes all the money in the world can't begin to try and substitute the most valued things. Love, for instance . . . or something so pure, so important to you nothing in the world could replace it. Perhaps that was what your mother never had." Katsu tries to explain, but Hikaru, who grew up in a place where money and influence solved pretty much every problem in his life— except for one very **_**important**_** problem, though he squashed that thought— he just could not understand. **

"**That's stupid, money can buy anything!" Hikaru objects. **

"Well, it's all he knows." Minato sighs.

"**Well, that's all you've seen," Naruto sighs, but makes no further comment. Hikaru huffs and returns to watching his parents argue— or more accurately, his mother fight his father and his father plead and cajole without success. **

**After another tearful hug from his mother, Hikaru leaves with his father to the docks, and they all watch as everything is packed and stowed away into the ship. The sun sets, sinking into the diamond waters as the crew of the ship works steadily. **

**Michiru and Hikaru sit on the edge of a pier by the ship, Michiru sighing away about his lost love Amayo. Hikaru just sits quietly, the sky reflected in his glasses. **

"It's in poor taste to talk about the child's mother when he misses her like that." Tsunade chides, disgusted with the prince's self-absorbed manner, even to his own son.

"**Prince Michiru, might I have a word about our departure?" an old man calls the prince from a few steps away, and Michiru acquiesces. They walk away talking about the trip, but Hikaru still stays behind. He takes out is Gamekid, and starts to play. Hikaru plays in an almost zombie-like fashion— bot seeing the game really, not really thinking about his moves. So, predictably, he loses early on. He stares at the game for a moment, before putting it away.**

**He gets up and turns around— and sees Naruto and Katsu sharing a bowl of ramen, looking as if they're enjoying themselves, even though they aren't talking or doing anything else but just eating, sitting on the cobblestones. They're happy— even without riches, and jewels, just like his mother. He walks up the pier, troops up the stairs, a plan formulating in his head . . .**

"**Ah!" Naruto sighs, finishing up his last swallow of ramen and teasingly holding out the last bite to Katsu. "No way, you've got to eat it like this."**

"Ooh la la!" Obito swoons, Kakashi snickering. Kushina throws a pillow at them.

"Oh stop, he's so cute with her!" Kushina huffs.

"When I try to feed you, you hit me." Minato mutters sullenly, gently tugging at a bloody lock.

"It's cute . . . when you see someone else. It's _not_ cute, when your idiot boyfriend doesn't let you finish your ramen _in peace_." Kushina corrects stiffly, taking the lock out of his hands.

"**I'm not a kid, Naru, stop!" Katsu whines, trying to grab at the chopsticks. Naruto laughd, but holds out until Katsu growls and obliges him, eating the last ramen as he holds it out.**

"**See, not so hard right?" Naruto asks, and Katsu pouts, looking away. As she looks away she spots Hikaru, and they both pause to look at each other. Naruto turns, feeling Katsu still, and catches Hikaru in his gaze as well. Hikaru pauses, and then walks toward them. **

"**Is it good?" Hikaru asks.**

"**Well, I'm extremely biased, but yes. It's very good— for cup ramen anyway." Naruto laughs softly. "I wonder if it would be your cup of tea though." **

**Hikaru seems to take offense to that, and looks away with a glare at the waters below. Naruto raises his eyebrows helplessly to Katsu, who merely shakes her head, and they rise up to head back to the ship.**

"Aw, he's so awkward anything that sounds like a counter hurts him." Rin awes softly, heart a little stung for him.

"**Come on, Hikaru, let's go aboard." Katsu calls him softly as she and Naruto walk ahead.**

**Hikaru takes two steps forward, and says something to them that makes them stop in their tracks. "You should be my vassal!" he declares with a smirk.**

"Oh, my feels . . . those awkward feels." Obito whimpers.

**Naruto turns with an irritated frown. "Kid, that's not how you go talking to a lady—"**

"**I meant you, if she wants to tag along that's fine too!" Hikaru cut him off. "Serve me as my vassal! And I can give you anything you want!" **

**Naruto has an idea of where this is going, but he prods a little more to be sure. "Not interested. I'm already sworn to another anyway. You know, my village."**

"**Don't you like games? Toys? Katsu, you could have dolls or whatever! I can give you all the toys and games and stuff you want!" Hikaru insists.**

"Jeez, that's how Naruto could be too . . . bribing people to befriend him." Kakashi mutters softly, so Minato and Kushina don't hear.

"Yeah? Who would accept anything from a demon?" Obito counters.

**Naruto and Katsu look at each other. Was this kid serious . . . ? A chuckle escapes from Naruto, who waves it away and apologizes to a shocked looking Hikaru. **

"**Hikaru-chan . . . I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh. Listen, kid, the first rule of making friends? Don't go calling them vassals. And if you have to bribe people to be your friends, they're not going to be very good ones, let me tell you." Naruto informs the boy, reaching forward to ruffle the black hair. Hikaru blushes under Naruto's hands, fidgeting.**

"**Hikaru-chan, we can be good friends without being your . . . vassals. I'll tell you now, after knowing this knucklehead for six going on seven years, that he'd make a terrible vassal." Katsu tells Hikaru, laughing at Naruto's loud protest. **

**Hikaru still looks vaguely uncomfortable, and a little sad so Naruto tries to clear it up a little easier for the child. "Hikaru . . . when you know how to ask properly next time, find me again— no matter the time. Ask and I'll give you the honest answer." He promises the boy. With one last look to him, he beckons Katsu and they walk to the ship. **

"How _cute!_" Rin and Obito coo.

**The ship sets sail, and as they slice through the waters day turns to cloudy night, the lights from the portholes the only illumination in the night. The guests to the ship are on the deck, enjoying the warm night air and each other's company. The circus members play music and invite everyone to dance, though only Michiru indulges after "two" (four) glasses of wine. Around them are tables swathed in purple tablecloths, and for once they are all invited to share in the feast of the princes. **

"**Mmm, this lamb is divine." Naruto murmurs between bites.**

"Never had lamb . . . you fancy huh?" Obito sniffs.

_**I remember what lamb tasted like . . . hmm, **_**Kyuubi sighs.**

_**Couldn't you connect to my sense of taste? **_**Naruto asks.**

_**A cheap imitation! There's nothing like sinking your teeth into a freshly killed lamb, the cottony wool adding the strangest yet not unappealing texture to the meat. Oh sure, picking it out of your teeth later was a bummer, but, it was great on summer nights! **_**Kyuubi recalled, and Naruto sweat drops.**

"I'm starting to regret what I'm going to have to do." Minato mutters sheepishly.

"To never eat again? Aye, there be hell!" Kakashi waxes poetically.

"**Ooh, Naru-chan, they say lava cake will be served for dinner!" Katsu chirps. "But aren't these lobster tails so delicious? The pomegranate really adds something." **

"**Ah, yes, this is the life . . . get your fill now. I remember how much lobster cost back in Konoha, and I can safely say you'll never eat it again." Naruto assures her, and Katsu throws back her head and laughs.**

"Jeez, it gets more expensive than it does now?" Minato asks with a shiver.

Kushina looks at him sharply. "You've never bought any; you have no reason to complain about the prices."

"Well when half my paycheck is already promised to a ramen budget I could never dream of lobster." Minato shoots back mulishly. His girlfriend and his students grin sheepishly, not saying anything.

**Hikaru looks at them from across the deck at his own table, and sighs.**

**An apple disappears.**

"**Huh?" Hikaru perks up, and sees the edges of the tablecloth shift a little. He crouches down and lifts the cloth, peeking under. Kiki the monkey is underneath; biting into the apple it'd just stolen. It freezes upon meeting Hikaru's eyes, then abandons the apple and runs to a shadowy corner. Hikaru grabs the apple then slowly stretches his arm out to the monkey, a friendly smile on his face. Kiki watches him for a minute, and then slowly starts to come forward. Hikaru smiles elated that at least he seems to be making some progress!**

**Kiki takes back the apple and chews on it a little. After a couple bites and swallows, Kiki starts to lead Hikaru to the cages, where the animals are. They walk straight to the saber tooth tiger, and now that Hikaru has befriended the little monkey, perhaps the tiger will be nicer to him. Friend of a friend and all that, right?**

"At least you're not totally spineless in every way." Tsunade concedes.

"It's probably for the best you have on children. They'd be . . . warmongers." Jiraiya shivers. The shiver becomes a full blown convulsion when Tsunade uppercuts him.

**Hikaru has made sure to bring along an extra apple, remembering the tiger had eaten it, only after he'd dropped it. Though now, he is ready to try befriending the giant again, especially since the animal is behind a locked cage door. **

**He steps forward and holds up the apple. The tiger growls and crashes his paws against the cage, scaring Hikaru badly enough to stumble back and fall. Tears threaten to fall, filling up his eyes. In his anger and sadness at being rejected for friendship once again, he throws the apple, making it splatter against the cage bars.**

"**Stupid tiger!" he cries, voice breaking.**

**The night turns darker, it gets a little cooler. The only ones awake are Kakashi, Naruto, and Katsu. Kakashi walks the front deck, noticing the changes in the skies. He spies the storm they are sailing closer too.**

"**I don't like the look of that." He murmurs to himself. **

**Katsu is awake for the same reason— that storm at sea. However, she loves storms at night, and does not want to sleep during something so beautiful; she and Naruto watch it from her room, so as not to disturb Lee and Sakura in his room. **

"**See that lightning? Whoa . . ." Katsu breathes, gazing out the porthole window raptly. **

"**I hope it's not too bad to sail through." Naruto mentions briefly. **

"**It's okay. If anything bad happens, I can count on you, right?" Katsu asks with a smile.**

"**Of course! I'll save the whole ship . . . with a little help from Kakashi." Naruto reassures her, and Katsu smiles even brighter. **

The room fills with sounds of heartfelt approval.

"A little help?" Kakashi repeats, an eyebrow rising. "Please, you need to take _notes_ from me."

**It is as Kakashi fears— the storm is a bad one. The waves rock the boat harshly, the rain lashes at the boat and the thunder and lightning attack your eyes and ears. It's chaotic for Naruto, who has burrowed under the covers to muffle the sound and better focus on Kyuubi, who is helping him grow accustomed to such loud sounds. Katsu, though nervous at the violent rocking motions of the boat, loves the storm. The thunder pounds with her heartbeat, and the lightning sparks dazzling light in her eyes. **

**Prince Michiru is like Naruto, huddled under the covers, though he suffers from sea sickness. His head dangles over the bed, and he clutches a bucket like it's a lifeline. **

**A valet of the Prince opens the door looking worried. "Prince, the cargo is in danger, along with the animals."**

"**Well do something about it," Michiru moans. "I didn't bring them all this way just to lose them!" he ducks his head just in time, hair sticking to his sweaty forehead as he's sick. **

**The valet rushes to the rooms he knows the ninjas are in. He knocks on the door rapidly, and Kakashi answers. "Please, Prince Michiru will double your fee— just save the cargo!"**

**Kakashi figured it would be something like this, so he had already woken up the kids a few moments ago— he knew Naruto was probably already out there helping, but he wondered if he'd managed to tie Katsu up so she'd stay behind. "We'll do what we can! It's the animals I'm worried about."**

"Well look at you mister humanitarian." Obito jeers lightly, nudging Kakashi's side with an elbow.

"That's me— sensitive, thoughtful, caring for the cute, furry animals." Kakashi agrees.

"**The circus people will help you. Hurry!" The valet assured them, and then scampered off to provide more assistance. **

**The team rushes out the room, though they pause when Naruto walks in already dripping wet. "Kakashi, tell me Katsu's in her room." He growls, shaking his head like a wet dog.**

"She can't have been foolish enough to go out in that. What can she do?" Rin asks.

"Yeah. She's a _lot_ like _you_." Minato sighs, staring dead at a sheepish, shifty-eyed Kushina.

"**I thought you tied her up, you know, because that's the only way she'll stay put." Kakashi sighed. Naruto growled, teeth bared. **

"**Okay, I'll kill her later. You guys hurry up out there, I have to grab my daggers— the axes are too big for most jobs." He told them, and ran into the room. Once he got the daggers he walked out and took a deep breath, preparing to head out into the cold, stinging rain. **

"**What's the point?" Naruto turned to see Hikaru looking unconcerned, irritated even, with the disruption. **

"**. . . What do you mean Hikaru?" Naruto asked the boy, straightening up slowly. **

"**Who cares about the stupid animals? Just let them drown." Hikaru says dismissively, **

"That's mean! That saber tooth tiger is just following his instincts, to protect himself against predators!" Obito protests.

"He doesn't really understand what he's saying." Minato tries to excuse him, but Kushina will have none of it.

"That's incredibly selfish and a terrible thought— regardless of any excuse!" she barks, cheeks red in anger.

**and it reminds Naruto of a very cold, very scary memory from his childhood.**

"_**Shouldn't we help him? It's snowing, he can barely move . . ." a feminine voice says this uncertainly, like she's not even all that sure they should help.**_

"_**Who cares about the stupid demon? Just let him freeze, do us all a favor and die." A man's harsher voice, and he feels something warm and wet on his face. The man has just spit on him. He curls his hand into fists, knuckles white—Why? He wasn't bad. Nor a demon. He was hungry and cold and so sleepy. He hated them . . . he HATED them! **_

"Don't baby," Minato whispers softly. "Don't hate them— that hurts you more than them in the end."

"Though the temptation is oh so appealing." Kushina growls, heart hurt for her poor son who must have been so sad and scared. Winter in Konoha, when it got cold enough to snow, was no joke.

"Not that he kept hating them," Tsunade points out. "He's better than that."

**He shakes himself out of his memory. That was a long time ago, and Kakashi had gotten him, taking him to the hospital and making sure the doctors didn't try anything. **

Kushina smiles at Kakashi. "Aniki to the rescue, huh?"

**There is an important lesson he can teach Hikaru now, one that will help the potential future King in the long run. He walks over to Hikaru, who looks up at him with some defiance, but he sees the nervousness. Hikaru was just a boy, which was why he wouldn't go hard on him . . . he really didn't know any better. **

"**You bought them because they were the amusement of the time . . . and now, when they require some effort, you throw them away like trash?" Naruto asks the boy quietly, who gets a scared look on his face, then looks away from Naruto.**

**Naruto sighs. "If that's really what you think . . . you'd let those animals die? They live and breathe just like you. Right now, they're scared just like you. But right now you are not worth my effort. Someone who has no regard for anything but himself is not worth my time. Go back to bed, Hikaru, you're wasting space right now."**

**He walks away, but he hears the slump of a small body to the ground, and a quiet sniffling noise. **

**Hikaru is left behind, slumped over and feeling the lowest he's ever been. The boat pitches and he topples over, face down on the floor as he shakes. "No. I'm not . . . I'm not a waste of space!" Hikaru growls quietly.**

"I hope you can prove it." Jiraiya counters quietly.

**He runs out into the storm, where so many people are working to save the many things his father had bought and the animals that are nervous and shying from any sound. He sees Naruto and his group working to move the animals from cages to the reinforced ones that are tied down. He moves further back to the ship— one destination in mind.**

**Hikaru is pushed and pulled by the wind, but he gets there eventually. He sees the large mammoth that is out of his cage, and clings to its tusk. There's a tug at his leg—**

"**Kiki!" he exclaims, looking at the little monkey. He is surprised the little thing hasn't been blown out to sea yet with the fury of the wind.**

"Proving yourself means nothing if you get yourself killed." Tsunade sighs in exasperation. "Kids, honestly! They just forget how destructible they are, and go for broke."

**He sees the ring master trying to open the cage to the saber tooth tiger, but he slips and falls. A wave pushes up and over the side of the boat, and Hikaru tightens his hold on the tusk as it rushes towards him. It totally covers him, and in a panic he feels his hold waver just as the water starts to recede, a powerful pulling motion. He almost slips— someone is behind him, squeezing him close and also holding onto the tusk with a stronger hold. The hand is delicate and tan— it's Katsu! He looks up and sees her eyes narrowed against the wind and rain.**

"Ooh, you're in trouble~!" Rin and Obito sing in low tones.

"Reckless," Minato sighs.

"**Hey, Hikaru! Let's get that tiger." Katsu grins down at him, and he feels his spirits lift a little. He suddenly remembers.**

"**Naruto's going to kill you." He tells her bluntly.**

"**Yeah . . ." She agrees, then winces and holds him tighter when a wave pushes them again. The cave slides to them and so does the ring master tripping over the tusk.**

"**It's hopeless!" the man proclaimed, scrabbling away.**

"**Not entirely," Katsu murmurs in Hikaru's ear. "See those keys?"**

**Hikaru looks at the cage. In the door is the key ring the ring master was trying to operate. The tiger growls, pacing the cage. The monkey squeaks, and Hikaru can imagine that Kiki is asking him to save its friend. He gulps and musters up some courage.**

"**Let's go!" he orders, and Katsu obliges, looping an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders as they struggle to the cage. They slip as the boat rocks, and then they slide forward straight into the cage, grunting in pain when they hit it. **

"**What are you kids doing? Leave it, it's too dangerous!" the ring master cries out, making Naruto and Kakashi turn. Their eyes widen when they see Hikaru and Katsu at the door of the cage.**

"**Katsu! Hikaru!" Naruto shouts over the wind, and Katsu turns to give him a sunny smile as Hikaru opens the cage door, and with her help swings it open wide enough for the saber tooth to leap out.**

"Great, now leap on over there too." Minato orders.

"**Way to go!" Naruto congratulates them, though he's not smiling. He beckons them with a frown. "Now hurry up, get over here!"**

"**Okay!" Katsu calls, gripping Hikaru's hand. "Come on, let's—" the boat is rocked violently by a wave that hits hard, and they hit the railing, dangerously close to falling over. The water hits them, stealing their breath as it washes over the deck. **

"**Hang on!" Naruto orders them, struggling to get over to them. He hopes he can get to them in time, otherwise it would be much harder to search for them in the turbulent waters below. **

"**No, Kiki!" Hikaru cries when he sees the small animal being washed away by the water. The monkey is close enough to grab, but the water that hits again pulls all three over the railing and down to the sea. They can't even scream, still submerged in the wave that's pulling them to certain death. **

"Eek! Kakashi, help them!" Rin yelps, tugging at the boy's sleeve.

"I will— in about twelve years damn it, let me go now." Kakashi reminds her, tugging at her wrist gently.

"**NO! KATSU!" Naruto yells, the water pushing him back as he struggles forward. **

**Hikaru and Katsu are certain it is going to hurt— until a tug on Katsu's collar stops them. She has her arms tight around Hikaru, Hikaru clutching Kiki. The one clutching Katsu then . . . was the saber tooth tiger. It has its paws secured in the netting on the side of the boat as he holds the two children up, and it's slowly backtracking back to the deck. But it can't hold— the net breaks and with screams they all fall into the raging ocean.**

"Ack! Oh no!" Kushina hisses hands, wringing together. Minato takes her hands in his own and presses them comfortingly between his to calm her. He's pretty sure nothing will happen to them so long as Naruto has chakra and a will of fire.

"**Hikaru!" Katsu coughs. "Hold on to the tiger!" she pushes him toward the animal.**

"**Katsu, you hold on too!" Hikaru cries out, reaching for her as she's tugged away by the current.**

"**KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!" Naruto's roar is heard over the water and win, and it rains Naruto's as they jump into the water; others holding onto the railing of the boat and forming a chain to bring them all back up.**

"**I am going to kill the **_**both**_** of you!" What can only be the original furiously swears as he grabs tiger and kids, and with a shout of effort the clones pull them forward, the group flying into the air and then crashing down to the wooden floor. **

"Oh thank goodness." Tsunade and Rin sigh under their breaths as the others whistle and call out Naruto's name.

**Naruto pushes himself up and crawls to the still Katsu and Hikaru. "Katsu! Hikaru!" Naruto calls their names. Hikaru wakes briefly, looking down only to see Kiki, and with a smile he returns to sleep. Katsu however pulls herself up with only minimal struggle and gives him a sheepish smile.**

"**I know you're mad." Katsu starts, but he cuts her off with a furious snarl. **

"**I. Am. So. Mad. At. You!" Naruto growls out, fists tight. "When I'm done with all this, we are going to sleep. And then I'll blow up at you in the morning. So Kakashi can get in on it too." **

"Yay!" Kakashi yips, actually brightening up at the mention of _Katsu_ and _blow up_.

**Katsu sighs gustily, but nods in agreement as he helps her up and they take Hikaru back to his room. The animals and cargo are safe— the others are doing the checks, and Naruto will join them after he's seen the two in their rooms. Once they door to Katsu's room is firmly closed, he leans against it with a sigh, and feeling drained of his energy.**

"**Why is there always so much to do?" He murmurs with a shake of his head. With a sigh he lifts up and ventures back outside to the rain that lightens the further they go. **

"A shinobi's job is never done." Kakashi quotes.

"That's only if you don't double tap," Obito counters calmly. "Never just assume the first kill shot is _the_ kill shot. Always make sure to double tap, thereby ensuring successful kill."

"Wise words." Jiraiya agrees.

**By morning you would have never known there was such a violent storm the night before. The only way of distinguishing what happened the night before was the tattered sails and beat up appearance of the crew. The sea was calm and smooth, like an endless mirror and the skies were so clear and blue you could feel the peacefulness in your bones. It was a disconcerting parallel for Hikaru to wake up to. Prince Michiru and Hikaru wake and prepare for the day, heading out to the deck with the rest of the boat's inhabitants. Outside, all the circus members, the ninjas, and the animals are all together. **

**Hikaru walks out and sees them all mingling, talking quietly together . . . well, Lee has been silenced by Sakura's warning fist, and Kakashi and Naruto look more like they're hissing and growling, while Katsu is murmuring and sighing. **

"Aw, we don't get to read _that_ conversation?" Rin pouts.

**She turns her head just slightly to meet Hikaru's curious eyes, and winks at him. **

"It must not be very effective." Kakashi sighs.

**Hikaru smiles, but a squeak catches his attention and he turns in time to see Kiki jump up to him. Hikaru laughs and catches the small thing in his arms, and for a moment everyone is distracted by the two recently bonded friends. Hikaru, however, is most anxious to see what his presence would be taken for by the saber tooth tiger that looks at him. **

**The big cat walks toward him slowly— Michiru jumps away in fear, and the ring master warns him, "Watch out sonny!"**

**Hikaru doesn't really fear the cat though— not anymore. And he's sure, the big cat doesn't fear him anymore either. The cat walks around him, body brushing against his, and circles around to look at him face to face. Hikaru looks down at Kiki for the briefest moment of doubt, looking to the monkey for assurance. Kiki screeches eagerly and mimes a petting motion with his paws. Hikaru gulps, and looks back up to the tiger. If Kiki says it's okay, then surely . . . ? **

"Generally, you don't want to trust a monkey with your life or at the very least your hand." Jiraiya points out.

**He reaches forward slowly, hesitantly . . . and places his hand on the cheek of the tiger. Without pause, the tiger pushes his face into the small hand, and Hikaru smiles in joy, having finally been accepted by the proud and fierce animal. **

**Chamu lies down by Hikaru's feet and Hikaru can barely believe it's the same Chamu.**

"Remember when he tried to kill you? Memories," Obito sighs nostalgically.

"**Whoo! Hikaru the tiger tamer!" Katsu whoops, keeping a wary eye on Naruto as she claps. Naruto snorts and gives the boy a nod.**

"**Looks like you found the right way to ask, huh?" he asks Hikaru knowingly, and the boy nods shyly, grin still on his face. "Man," he continues. "You were great! Maybe a little reckless, but . . . you sure get points for guts. So, you proved me wrong. I'm sorry for saying those things to you."**

"How very _Kushina_ of him." Tsunade laughs, looking at a proudly smirking Kushina.

**Hikaru chuckles nervously. His eyes start to well up with tears but he quickly wipes them away. "Thanks, and . . ." he rises up and bows to Naruto. "I'm sorry too! For everything I did and said."**

**Hikaru clears his throat nervously, and looks at Chamu's fur as if it's the most fascinating thing he's ever seen. "So, uh . . . Naruto . . ."**

**Naruto grins. "Yes?" he drawls slowly.**

"**Would you, um . . ." Hikaru clears his throat again— man this is harder than saving Chamu, he thinks to himself. "Could you, uh— no, will you . . . bemyfriend?" the last part is rushed and a little slurred, but Naruto can make it out just fine, as if Hikaru had said it loud and clear. **

"**Sure." He answers simply. "I'd love to be your friend. Let's get along well, Hikaru." **

"**. . . You mean it?" Hikaru questions, just to be absolutely sure.**

**Naruto chuckles. "I never say things I don't—"**

"_**Liar**_**." Kakashi and Katsu cough.**

"Points for _burn_!" Obito compliments, giving Kakashi a high-five.

"**. . ." Naruto takes a deep breath of patience. Lightning fast he reaches into his pocket and casually flicks a brace of shuriken in the direction of the two. Once he's heard Katsu's surprised squawk and Kakashi's fumbled muttered curse and deflection of the weapons with his Icha Icha, he returns to looking warm and genial. "I **_**really**_** mean it." **

"**And count on us too! You can't call yourself cool without having us as friends!" Sakura insists humorously, she and Lee walking up to crouch besides Naruto.**

"**Me too!" Katsu chirps, waving her hand. She makes it a point not to move from her spot as she juggles the thrown shuriken. **

"**I don't get paid enough to deal with this feel-good, sentimental crap." Kakashi mumbles behind his precious orange book.**

Jiraiya sighs, finding a kindred spirit in Kakashi. "Right?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Minato asks with a suspicious look.

"Oh, nothing, Mother Minato." Jiraiya placates, waving Obito on to read.

**Hikaru starts to brighten, but then the look of happiness fades. **

"**What's wrong?" Sakura asks.**

"**Once we got to my island . . . you'll all be going home? How can we be friends like that?"**

"**Duh!" Naruto scoffs, poking Hikaru in the forehead. "We write letters, we send post cards, and we make a solemn promise. A promise to never forget each other. Sounds good?" he suggests with a smirk. **

"**REJECTED." Kakashi coughs so loudly it's nearly a hack. Naruto places a hand on his weapons pouch, but then takes two deep breaths and ignores Kakashi entirely. **

**Hikaru looks at them: at the grins on their faces, and the sincerity that seems too good to be true. He smiles slowly, and nods in agreement. "Deal." He answers eagerly. **

"**Okay!" Naruto nods decisively. "Now let's stop this feelings crap before I start secreting estrogen or something." He dodges the shuriken from Katsu and the fist from Sakura neatly, without even looking away from Hikaru. He starts to take one step away, when Chamu rises. Chamu rises up on his hind legs and tries to put his paws on everyone, but just succeeds in knocking them all down. **

"**Good man Chamu." Kakashi congratulates the tiger, who purrs. **

"**Men." Katsu mutters disdainfully. "What's so wrong with feeling emotions?"**

"**Uh. Ew?" Kakashi acts like it's a justifiable answer, and pretends not to notice Katsu's look in his direction. **

"That's the best you can come up with?" Kushina and Rin ask the boy blandly, staring dead at him. Kakashi just shrugs, nodding.

**It takes another day for a sight of land. The Crescent Moon Island is fast approaching with the lively wind in the sails.**

"**Ooh! Look Naruto, look!" Katsu insists, leaning as far as she could without falling over the railing. "It's Crescent Moon! Oh, white sand beaches and seashells, and . . . and it's going to be great!"**

"**Yes, but you'll never be able to enjoy it if you fall overboard and get swept away." Naruto returns calmly as he pulls at the back of her dress, tugging her back down to the deck. "The captain tells us we'll be at the docks in about an hour." **

**When the boat lands, they are all eager to get off and feel land under their feet again. As the crew worries about getting the packages to the castle, Prince Michiru and Hikaru have already had the horses and carriage set up, ready to be taken back home. Before leaving, Michiru makes sure to have a final word with the ring master of the circus he purchased.**

"**You'll make a killing with your wonderful show here in Crescent!" Michiru assures the man. "Be sure to come visit us at the castle."**

"**Thank you Your Highness, we'll do just that." The ring master bows, and then the carriage sets off with the ring master waving goodbye.**

**Team Seven sticks close to the carriage, Katsu hitching a ride on top of it as they go through the streets, only . . . there's no one and nothing there. The kingdom is a ghost town, not a soul stirring. A large screen shows off aerial views of the island as a woman goes on about the coral beaches and the many wonderful things in Crescent, but by the look of the town it certainly seemed to be the opposite.**

"I have never ever heard of Crescent Moon being empty." Kushina mutters, shaking her head with furrowed brows.

"**Off season maybe?" Katsu asks with a shrug, gaining a snort from Naruto.**

"**Strange . . ." Michiru utters. "The streets are usually bustling, where did everybody go?"**

**Naruto looks at Michiru, and then turns to Kakashi. "Is there some long forgotten memory involving **_**this**_** particular monarchy that you neglected to mention until just now?"**

"**Hey, Yuki was the only time." Kakashi defended. "I've got no idea about here . . . though I could take a guess . . ."**

"Is he suggesting . . . a hostile takeover, like in Yuki no Kuni?" Kakashi asks, and it is Jiraiya and Minato who answers.

"That's exactly what I think he's suggesting." Jiraiya agrees.

"However, the whys and whether or not it's completely hostile is questionable." Minato adds in.

"**And your guess would be something similar to Yuki?" Naruto assumed. He didn't really need confirmation, which is why he quietly pulled on Kyuubi's/his chakra and brought out his ears, to hear anything that approached well before anything could happen. He flicked them down, hiding them amongst the spikes of his hair as he listened in. **

"**Sort of similar." Kakashi allowed quietly. **

"**This place is like a ghost town." Sakura comments, looking around.**

**Rather ironically, the moment she says that, a human figure flits between the backs of the buildings, and it is only that figure's misfortune that through the alleyway Kakashi had spotted and categorized it. A man— either a ninja or some sort of guard, but with enough skill to remain nearly silent.**

_**Nearly**_** silent, which is why Naruto heard the footsteps before they faded out in the distance, and he looked at Kakashi. The man hadn't even pulled out Icha Icha— so there was something going on? **

"**Oh my, oh my, looks like I got swindled after all." Katsu sighs, flopping down on the roof of the carriage.**

"Not the most pressing concern Katsu-chan." Rin chides.

"**You paid for that contest?" Kakashi asks with a raised brow. **

"**Well I had to buy something to play it . . . so in a way I did." She defended. "Are we to the castle yet?" she asks Michiru leaning down to get closer to the window.**

"**No, the castle is much farther from here. It's very far . . . but if we pick up the pace a little bit more we can get there in about half an hour!" Michiru prompts, and without even issuing a direct command the horses are made to go faster, at a quick trot, and Team Seven picks up their pace following suit. As Michiru said, they got there in half an hour, and the gates to the castle grounds opened automatically.**

"**Oh technology, where will you take us next?" Naruto jokes as he looks around. **

**The castle, only a few feet further ahead, is all cylinders and cool colors. The kids are a little shocked . . . though they'd only seen one castle so far, it fell in line with their beliefs on what castles should look like— tall spires and dark stone, cylinders and blocks. This castle looks more like a mod style. **

**But what strikes them even more, is the quiet— no, the stillness of the grounds.**

"**Did your servants take a vacation too?" Naruto asks Michiru, looking around.**

"I think they just walked into a trap." Obito notes quietly.

"**Not much of a welcome home, is it?" Michiru says in way of agreement as the carriage stops, he and his son getting out looking at the castle. But just as he says that, the sound of footsteps comes closer. A man with long hair and a beard walks out in plum robes, a funny little pale, gaunt-faced man with short brown hair walking next to him. They stop at the top of the stairs to the castle, looking down on them with a rather cold expression.**

**Michiru reacts to the man, seeming to know him. "Ah, Shabadaba!" **

"Is he really Japanese?" Jiraiya asks with a confused frown.

"A name like that . . ." Rin agrees.

**Ridiculous name aside, this man looks like someone who's made a fool out of them. "Well, well, if it isn't Michiru! Back from your travels, I'm sure you must be exhausted. You and young Hikaru are well I hope?" It sounded like he hoped for anything but. **

**Michiru nods, a happy smile on his face. "Yes, thank you Shabadaba! What's going on in town? Where is everyone?" **

**Shabadaba doesn't answer, merely looks down at the prince with a prim, smug smile on his thin fish lips. Michiru seems to finally get a reading on the mood now, because he seems to falter and become less sure of the man he's familiar with. "Shabadaba?"**

**The man doesn't answer, merely keeps his pose. Michiru suddenly seems to realize something, because he looks left and right, then back to Shabadaba. "Where is my father?" **

"**The king, I'm afraid . . ." What Michiru should be afraid of is the sudden happily psychotic twisting of the older man's face as he says these words with relish. "Is dead!" **

"A very hostile takeover." Minato murmurs.

"Poor Michiru and Hikaru." Rin whispers.

"**What?!" Michiru gasps— Shabadaba's words seem to be a cue, as lines of soldiers suddenly troop out of the castle, spears and shields in hand. Shabadaba looks down on them with that self-satisfied, twisted grin. They circle the princes, the ninjas, the carriage— some brandishing spears and others holding up swords.**

"**. . . I knew I should have just gone for second place— The Land of Hot Springs, what was so wrong with that?" Katsu muttered to herself as she eyed the turncoat soldiers.**

"**I rule Tsuki no Kuni now! Which means there's no need for you anymore!" Shabadaba proclaimed, shocking the two princes. Hikaru moves close to his father, clutching at his robes as the Konoha team huddle closer to them. "Kill them all!" he shouts, face twisting in his snarl of madness.**

**The soldiers yell and advance on them. Kakashi orders his team, "Get ready!" and then destroys the soldiers trying to advance on the princes.**

**With growls of determination Naruto, Sakura, and Lee meet the soldiers head on. Lee deals with his opponents like a fly swatter to flies, not even using the kunai in his hand as he strikes them all down three kicks at a time. Sakura handles herself well with a kunai, leaping up and ten throwing down an explosive tag. The resulting smoke is enough to camouflage movement, so without looking back Kakashi issues orders to the shell-shocked Prince Michiru who shields his son with his arms.**

"**Prince Michiru, get into the carriage and drive away! Katsu, you get in there too!" Michiru nods and puts his son in first, then himself, Katsu swinging in not a moment later. Kakashi orders the carriage driver to get moving, and the man does, racing through the path cleared by Naruto's kage bushin. **

**The soldiers see them escaping and run after the carriage, knocking off the driver and breaking the glass windows of the carriage.**

"**Get your own ride moochers!" A kage bushin yells as he tackles the soldiers, another coming in to bat them all away with its superior hand-to-hand skills. **

**The real Naruto, after roundhouse kicking a soldier to oblivion, spots an approaching object. "Don't look now, but it seems reinforcements have been called."**

"**Yeah, but who's side?" Kakashi questions as he narrows his eye at the speeding wooden carriage. **

**That question is answered when one of the two men hanging off the sides leaps off and charges the soldiers with his sword drawn, furiously working at drawing them away from the carriage.**

**Shabadaba's eyes widen as he leans forward, upper lip curling in disgust. "Koriga!" he sneers at the guard who charges through his enemies with single-minded intent. **

"**Captain Koriga! Sir!" one of the soldiers exclaims in shock as they pause. Looking at the man with an iron glint in his eyes. **

"Looks like the good guys have finally arrived." Obito sighs.

"Hero always arrives just in the nick of time." Jiraiya assures him.

"**What are you waiting for?!" Shabadaba yells. "He's a traitor! Kill him!"**

**Koriga takes offense to that, and yells, "I am no traitor!" The set of the man's square jaw, and the furrow of his thick eyebrows over dark glinting eyes adds credence to his words. It makes no difference to the soldiers, one running forward to strike the man down while he is turned. Koriga is no novice, he quickly turns and parries the attack, pommel of his sword hitting the soldier's jaw and knocking him down.**

"**Come to your senses!" he growls as he fights the soldiers. "It's Lord Shabadaba who's the traitor! This is madness . . . we're all brothers in arms."**

"Ah, conflicted foot soldiers that merely plays to the tune of the pied piper." Jiraiya sighs.

"Meaning?" Rin asks.

"That they don't want to think for themselves— they just fight for whoever wears a crown and calls themselves King. Even if they must have some misgivings to this, they still work for that Shabadaba. Well, some of them." Jiraiya explains.

**One of his "brothers in arms" tries to cut at his back, Koriga not being able to block with his sword stuck in the ground next to another soldier. Kakashi however is kind enough to plant an elbow in the offending soldier's face and knock him clean off his feet. He and Koriga move to stand back-to-back, eyeing the soldiers who are still standing. **

"**Thanks," Koriga grunts. "Who are you anyway?"**

"**Leaf village ninja hired by the Prince." Kakashi answers shortly.**

"**I see . . . I'm glad you're here." Koriga says, giving a brief glance back to Kakashi. **

"**We've got to move. Fast— can you drive that coach?" Kakashi asks the other man.**

"Showoff!" Obito snorts.

"Sounds like you're being a hater right now." Kakashi comments idly.

"**I'm on it." Koriga states, running to the driver's seat. He hops on while Kakashi deals with the soldiers, gathering the reigns and snapping the reigns. The horses rear with neighs, then gallop out of the castle courtyard. **

**Making sure his team is free and clear, running with the carriage, Kakashi stops suddenly, turning to face the soldiers. He lifts his hitai-ate, and tilts his head forward, so that they do not see his Sharingan.**

_**The only person who's seen it and lived to tell the tale is Zabuza, and that was not planned. Some things should be encouraged . . . retired ANBU or not! **_**Kakashi thinks as he makes his hand seals— he slams his hand onto the ground. **

"What are you talking about?" Kushina asks Kakashi.

"The only person who's seen it and lived . . ." Kakashi muses, then brightens as he puts together a theory. "Maybe like my Sharingan Kakashi name, I'm known for never leaving an enemy who's seen it alive?! Awesome!"

"You could be a little grateful to me," Obito points out. "I gave you that legacy."

"I would if you hadn't died for it." Kakashi reminds him.

"Point." Obito concedes.

**A pulse of chakra follows and moves forward. With it, so do the courtyard rocks as they are pushed up from the ground like some sort of controlled earthquake path. The soldiers are knocked out, or killed by the crushing stones and rocks. Kakashi is already gone by the time the jutsu ends. **

**Shabadaba blinks rapidly, shocked by what was the foiling of his perfect plan. "Who are those people?" he asks himself. It seems he made a mistake in underestimating the Konoha ninjas. He smirks to himself— that's why contingency plans were always a needed thing. And he had just such a plan to deal with those pesky shinobi. Glancing back at the three figures on a higher balcony, he smirks. Tsuki shinobi . . . he'd heard quite a bit about them. Here's hoping they were worth the money.**

**Koriga looks at the carriage, then back at the ninjas who trail him on either side. "Thanks for your help back there!" he tells Kakashi. "I'm sorry there wasn't time to send warning of what's happened here."**

"**Where are we headed?" Kakashi asks. **

"**I have men stationed in the mountains. We'll head there for now." Koriga informs them. To get to the mountains they must go through the town again, so they must be swift and on alert in case enemies are posted in the higher floors of the buildings. The mountains are far away, but they are going even faster than they came in so they get there in about half an hour. They are high in the mountains, in a cave near the top. The carriages are left at the front, another man with black hair coming to hide them in the forest. **

"**Hmm . . . not quite the five-star hotel you envisioned Kurohime?" Naruto murmurs teasingly to a pouting Katsu.**

"**I should have known. I should have known that if I was with you, my vacation would turn into work." Katsu grumbles, rolling her eyes.**

"**Let me pretend for a moment that I care." Kakashi butts in, adopting a pseudo-sympathetic look for just two seconds before returning to his usual look of uncaring. "Moment over."**

"Not nice. She's twelve Kakashi— you're twenty-six." Minato points out sternly.

"Whatever, not like she can't stand to lose every now and then." Kakashi dismisses.

"**I have pictures of you and Gai sparring . . . and the particular angles of said pictures make some stances look rather **_**interesting**_**. Did you know you and Gai have a yaoi fan club?" Katsu asks innocently, big dewy eyes blinking up sweetly at Kakashi.**

Obito must pause the scheduled programming to soothe the deep gut-busting guffaws that erupt from him. He puts his thumb in the page where he stops and closes it, pressing the book to his belly.

"Oh my, Kakashi, what could that blush mean?!" Kushina pounces on the moment of weakness with a wicked gleam in her eye, smirking at the trembling boy, whose face alternates sickly green and furious red.

"Let that be a lesson to you then Kakashi-kun . . . she's just not the girl to tease." Minato manages to murmur between breaths of laughter.

"Obito, can you continue?" Tsunade asks the wheezing boy.

". . ." Shakily, Obito pulls the book up, and opens it. He takes several deep breaths, and clears his throat. "Okay," he whispers shakily— clears his throat again— and reads in a clear voice.

"**What is your will Mistress?" Kakashi asks as docile as possible. He knows her well enough to figure that she **_**does**_** have such pictures, and to know she **_**would**_** utilize them. **

**Sakura's pointed throat clearing brings them back to a more somber moment, where they are already in the cave and on a thin futon lies an old, yet regal and strong looking man by a kerosene lamp. A guard kneels by his side, and looks up when he hears them. **

"**Put away your ears." Katsu whispers, and Naruto starts as he realizes he still had them out. Quickly doing so, they join the group.**

**It takes Michiru and Hikaru a moment, but when they realize who it is they run to the downed man's side. **

"**Papa!" Michiru calls anxiously, at the same time his son voices, "Grandpa?!" **

"**And the plot thickens." Katsu mutters.**

"**So . . . that man is the king?" Naruto asks quietly, as they start to walk forward to the Princes, who are anxiously calling out for the man.**

"And the King is . . . alive." Tsunade breathes, confused with yet another twist.

"**Mind explaining things to us now?" Naruto asks Koriga, who sighs heavily and nods. **

"**For a while now there have been clashes between the King and his Ministers, like Shabadaba. Each side has different ideas of where they want to lead this land. The King hoped to reason with them, and one day bring them around to his point of view. But Shabadaba took matters into his own hands. With a plot to overthrow the King! By chance, we discovered his plot in time, and informed His Majesty. He realized the time had come to confront his ministers . . . He knew this could be dangerous, so he sent Prince Michiru and his son on a tour of many lands. He wanted to protect them."**

"Protect them? More like shield them . . . his son could stand to learn the harshness of bureaucracy." Tsunade scoffs.

"With the threat of harm or assassination?" Minato points out. Tsunade just stubbornly shakes her head.

"As he is now, and with things going as they are . . . he'd need to do some serious shaping up to become King. If a crash course is what it'd take, then so be it." Tsunade maintains her position.

**Michiru looked shaken by the admission, and he finally leaned away from his father to join the conversation. **

"**That's why . . ." he spoke softly. "He sent us away. To protect us?" **

"**Once he knew you were safe, the King moved to finish this. But it was too late; Shabadaba had already hired shinobi mercenaries to secure his position." Koriga continued, distaste for Shabadaba's underhanded methods clear in his tone. **

**He kept on. "We were outmaneuvered and outmanned. We barely managed to escape in the nick of time. But the King, **_**to my**__**shame**_**, did not." **

**Michiru whimpers, but Naruto looks confused. "Is His Majesty severely injured?" **

"**Let me take a look," Sakura requests. "I have some medical jutsu, if I could maybe try . . ." She moves forward by the King's side, and pulls back the blanket. She balks, along with Hikaru and Michiru. His entire arm . . . !**

"When did she start learning medical jutsu?" Tsunade asks with a raised eyebrow. With her chakra control, it was highly possible. She got the tree exercise right off the bat, but medic-nin? She seemed a little too soft still.

"Well Naruto is a chuunin now and doing his own missions, so either he didn't know or it was minor information not relevant to his life, ergo the story." Kushina reflects.

"**It's turned to stone." Sakura utters softly in shock. It had even begun to creep up across his shoulder. **

"**Yes, one of the shinobi mercenaries has possession of a special jutsu. And due to my negligence, he was able to . . . use it on the King!" The admission is nearly torn from Koriga, such is his look of shame as he turns his head away. **

**Kakashi, who has remained silent, speaks to Sakura. "What do you think?"**

"**It's worth a try at least." Sakura answers, and preparing her healing jutsu, her hands join together at the fingertips, and at her palms for a blue chakra sphere, that she applies to the King's arm. **

Tsunade and Rin shake their heads. "It's been too long, I'd bet." Rin says softly.

**It is hours later, Sakura has long ago stopped the treatment . . . there is something she has to tell them, and she is reluctant to share it. There was so much hope in the eyes of the princes and the guards?**

"**So how is it?" Kakashi asks her after leading her over to the cave entrance, where the privacy she requests is good. **

"**I can treat petrification without a problem! But in order for me to do anything, it has to be treated immediately." Sakura answers.**

"**I see." Kakashi answers slowly. **

"**It's just that . . . so much time has passed. There's nothing I can do." Sakura admits softly, eyes downcast. **

"Never an easy admission for a medic to make," Tsunade sighs, Rin nodding in agreement.

**Kakashi would have said something else, but a soft voice from the patient they had just been speaking of catches the attention of all. The king awakes slowly, eyes still dazed and confused as they slowly blink him back to wakefulness. **

**His gaze slides over and he looks at his son Michiru. "You're home." He speaks softly, pain and fatigue wearing heavily on one if his advanced years. "Michiru."**

"**Papa!" Michiru yelps, moving forward anxiously. Hikaru scampers to his side as everyone else gathers closer. **

"**Grandpa!" Hikaru cries in relief.**

"**Hikaru, too . . . wonderful." The King smiles wanly. "What has gone on in my . . . preoccupation?"**

**Michiru tells him everything, his watery voice gaining a little strength as he continues. **

"**I see." The King turns his gaze to the group from Konoha. "You are the ones who protected them . . . and you too, child?" He directs this to Katsu.**

**Katsu laughs and shakes her head, bowing in respect to the man. "Oh no Your Majesty, I won a free trip here. I'm just a tag along."**

"**I see . . . then I humbly apologize for the inconvenience. We must assure you a wonderful vacation after this."**

"**Nothing is more important than your recovery, Your Grace, so please worry about that first." Katsu insists gently, bowing again.**

"**To you ninjas, I thank you for looking after Hikaru and Michiru." The King returns his attention to the Kakashi and his team. "My friends, I thank you all. Tell me, how fares the Land of the Moon?" **

"**Not well, Your Majesty. It appears that soon the island will be under the rebel's control." Kakashi answers with a serious look in his dark eye. **

**The King doesn't answer, just sighs. He turns to his son and asks a question that will soon reveal its weight and importance. "Michiru, what comes to your mind when you think of this fair land?" **

"**It's a beautiful place," not minding the strange question, Michiru answers his beloved father earnestly. "It's prosperous, and . . . wealthy." **

"Objectively, but what comes to heart?" Kushina corrects quietly.

"**Ah, that is true . . . but I see now that happy and wealthy are not the same." The King confesses. Michiru is confused, but the King continues. **

"**I envisioned a place of peace and happiness . . . joy and love." The King sighs softly. "I just couldn't get Shabadaba to see it. A pity."**

"**I'm not sure I understand either, Papa. You talk just like Amayo." Michiru admits, looking solemn and contemplative. **

"**Amayo?" the King questions. "Are you two . . . ?" but the shake of Michiru's head makes the King nod understandingly. "A shame."**

"**She told me that I don't have any clue about what really matters." Michiru adds.**

"That's why she left." Kakashi realizes.

"**Amayo was always sensible." The King recollects. "What really matters . . . Michiru."**

"**Yes?" Michiru perks up.**

"**One request. My last wish . . ." That threw the princes in a tizzy, who kept trying to convince him to keep going, and not to leave them, but the King was adamant. "I know it will be hard, but you must face it." **

"**Michiru, it is time . . . you are the new King." Michiru's tears overflow down his face, Hikaru's eyes as well overflowing. **

"Work hard." They all mutter in sympathy.

"**You . . . Konoha shinobi." The King calls.**

**Kakashi moves to his side quietly, kneeling and utters a respectful, "Sir."**

"**I know I have no right to ask this of you . . . but as you are an honorable man, I make this last request."**

"**Of course." Kakashi dips his head.**

"**Look after them— protect them, please." The King does not plead, but there is a definite sincerity, something that doesn't need beseeching or begging to convey.**

"**With our lives, Your Majesty." Kakashi assures. **

**The King's eyes start to close. "I thank you. Michiru . . . I depend on you." The eyes close.**

**It is the last words, the last breath, of the King of Crescent Moon.**

**Michiru gasps, and the tears pour down his face faster. "Papa!" he wails, collapsing by his father's side as he sobs. **

There is a pause as they acknowledge the passing of a strong, honorable man.

**There is little anyone can do though. While the guards mourn, the ninjas guard the perimeter. Hikaru moves outside with them, if only to let the tears flow in peace, Naruto with him. He took the small boy up to the top of the mountain, where they overlooked nearly everything. The beautiful waxing crescent moon seems to lend the stars some of its radiant glow as the sky is practically filled with the tiny pinpricks of silver light, and somehow it almost seems unfair such a beautiful night heralds the journey of the old King's soul.**

"**My grandfather was always kind to me," Hikaru sniffles. He made that bow for me— he always used to watch me practice." The memory makes him chuckle shortly. "And when I hit a bulls eye, he was even happier than I was! I loved him so much." **

**Naruto gazes at the deep, endless blue sky— not at Hikaru's crying face, which the boy appreciates. His friends figured, he'd be the better one to help Hikaru through this. "Did you understand what your jiji was trying to say?" **

**Hikaru looked up from his knees, turning to look at Naruto. When he shook his head, Naruto smiled and turned to the sky again. "Well, it was a very important lesson. Since you loved your grandfather so much, you must remember it always. It's about your heart Hikaru."**

**Naruto rises up, and stretches. "Back in Konoha, the late Sandaime Hokage, was like my jiji. He looked after me sort of, when he was alive. When he died . . . it was like he'd entrusted things to us shinobi. I felt like he'd personally entrusted something to me, as well. What your grandfather left you is something very precious. So it's up to you, and your father, to keep it safe."**

"The old generation always entrusts the future to the new generation." Minato murmurs, smiling at his students.

"**But, if it's really that precious . . . I'm not sure . . . I'm ready for that." Hikaru mumbles.**

"**Of course you are! Or at least you will be." Naruto encouraged, spreading his arms wide.**

"**But . . ." Hikaru hesitated. Wasn't this all too much? He was just a kid. **

"It's amazing what kids can do," Kushina muses softly. "They're resiliency makes things a little easier."

**Naruto crouched down and leaned close, as if he was telling Hikaru a secret. "Well . . . if it ever gets too much— when you need a friend, you look to me first. Write down everything you feel, everything you love and hate, wish for and desire. Okay?"**

"**Yeah." Hikaru sniffles, giving Naruto a small smile. **

**A noise from down below grabs their attention, and when they look down, it is Katsu beckoning them. Naruto helps Hikaru onto his back, and makes his way swiftly down the cliff to land by Katsu.**

"**What's up?" Naruto asks as Hikaru clambers down.**

"**Captain Koriga has an announcement, so you'd better meet up with them." Katsu explains. They rush over, Hikaru moving to his father's side and the other two standing by their friends.**

"**There are simply too few of us," Koriga starts, a muscle twitching slightly in his jaw. "Our best option is to get the princes out of Tsuki on Kuni. We'll go to the other lands, our allies. Perhaps they'll aide us with more troops." **

"The only option, besides trying to take back the palace." Tsunade says.

"Their priority is the princes, the return of the throne can come later." Jiraiya counters.

"**Then we should leave immediately, while night can still cloak us." Kakashi suggests.**

**Koriga nods. Alright, Prince Michiru and Prince Hikaru— please get into the guards wagon. It's bigger, so we guards can stay with you. Konoha shinobi— we'll be setting a quick pace so I trust you can keep up with us?"**

The past Team Seven snorts. "A student of Namikaze Minato who can't keep up?" Obito says it like the very idea is ludicrous.

"I never!" Kakashi gasps, affronted, a hand to his chest.

"**Don't worry about us." Kakashi waves away the questioning tone. "We're trained to handle such things."**

"**Sensei, what about her?" Sakura points to Katsu who looks a little irritated at being referred to by a pronoun rather than her name. **

"**Don't worry about me either— I can keep up. I can't stay back here and going into town is just as useless." Katsu assures her, with a flat look at Naruto. Naruto restrains a snigger and looks ahead. Keep up, indeed . . . **

"You poor thing, is my sochi a slave driver?" Kushina coos, though an amused smile grows on her face.

"**Then go!" Koriga orders, and everyone moves at once. The princes clamber into the wagon and immediately it sets off. The princes huddle together and hold onto the wagon, the ride bumpy and harsh. There are two guards on horseback ahead of them, and in back is the Konoha group keeping a steady pace as they guard the rear.**

"**Let me know when you get tired." Naruto murmurs to Katsu. Katsu lets out a very unladylike snort.**

"**Remember," Kakashi's voice comes to the ninjas from their headsets. "The enemy has hired shinobi mercenaries, so be on your guard— it won't do to have a surprise attack from them." **

"**Hai." Naruto, Sakura, and Lee confirm quietly. **

**They reach the shoreline just as the sky begins to lighten, turning a deep shade of purple, and the skyline just above the mountains a lighter shade. The group huddles in the shadows of the forest line as they observe the waters and the land. **

"**Where are they?" Koriga mutters. In a few moments his eyes widen as they spot two small sailboats turning around a cliff. Koriga jogs out to meet the soldier manning the two vessels. The soldier jumps out into the shallow waters and meets his superior on land.**

"**Captain Koriga." A buzz cut youth greets respectfully. There's a ship waiting for you all just beyond the bay."**

"**Excellent, well done." Koriga commends the youth, who bows and runs to the sailboats. Koriga turns and makes a forward motion with his arms, gesturing that it was safe to come out. **

"**Let's go." Kakashi orders, and the ninjas go first, the guards keeping the princes between them as they run. Or, one prince, at least.**

**Hikaru turns back when he doesn't see his father beside him, gasping when he spots the man still sitting in his spot by the tree. He turns back and calls for the man. Michiru sits with his head downcast, looking rather pathetic. "Father! It's time to go, come on!" **

"Stupid fat bastard!" Tsunade hisses.

"They're wasting time, and the enemy could be zeroing in on them." Jiraiya frowns.

"**Huh?" Michiru finally seems to awaken from his stupor, and slowly gets up at the insistence of his son who pulls his arm. They manage to catch up with the others, but that amount of effort has already winded the large Michiru.**

**He pants, struggling for breath at the back of the group, all who are much fitter and lighter than he. His heavy footsteps get heavier with each movement, as the effort to lift his legs and push forward becomes more cumbersome. Michiru has a look of struggle on his face as he pants heavily. "Don't— run so fast!" he pants out.**

Kushina snorts, a disgusted moue on her face. "You're just weak willed." She mutters.

"Not everyone has the . . . conviction of shinobi Kushina. That's why they don't become shinobi." Tsunade mentions.

"Yeah? Well everyone has self-preservation instincts," Kushina argues, ignoring Minato's mutter of the questionability of her having said instincts. "And that should carry him to the boat. It isn't even that far, I bet."

**Kakashi looks back to see Michiru giving up, collapsing to the floor. "Go on ahead." He tells the guards, who run closer to Hikaru now as they do as Kakashi says.**

**Naruto, Sakura and Lee are gathered around Michiru, and they try to pull him up. "Get up!" Naruto grunts. Even Lee is struggling, and finally Michiru lurches but instead of getting up he falls flat on his back. **

"**I know, I know! Just a minute," Michiru begs.**

"**We don't have a minute," Naruto barks, before taking an offensive stance just as three blurs shoot up from out of the forest— the Tsuki mercenary shinobi!**

"Agh! They were so close, stupid Prince Michiru!" Rin growls, rubbing her head and mussing her hair.

**The smallest one, a pale female with white, long spiky hair flips in midair and throws a kunai at them. The kunai hits the sand just in front of the group, and an explosive tag flutters in the air behind it. It explodes, but the shinobi had enough time to grab Michiru and jump back. **

**When the explosion clears and the sand settles, they are able to get a good look at their opponents. They are mostly uniform— turtlenecks, though they are in different colors, tan vests, and long spiky hair with metal bands on their foreheads. The biggest one is a dopey looking man brunette with small beady eyes, a big nose and thick lips. The other man has rose colored hair and a fairer face. The last one is the diminutive female with the pale hair, and she is the first to speak. **

"**Are you really that stupid?" she giggles in a high, perky voice.**

"Ugh." Kushina and Tsunade grunt.

Jiraiya throws them an amused look. "You two ladies aren't exactly base."

"**We knew you'd arranged for a ship," the rose haired man is next to speak. "We've been watching the coast, just waiting for you." **

**He turns light blue eyes to Michiru, and then Hikaru. "Now, hand over the prince and his son."**

"**You know damn well a shinobi never forsakes his mission just because the enemy tells him to," Naruto chides, taking a few steps forward. "Now get lost."**

"Why are you always the first to offer?" Obito sighs.

**He hears the other soldiers getting Hikaru on the boat, and casting off to a safer distance until the enemies are dealt with. **

**The man smirks. "Aren't you the spunky one?" Naruto's eyes widen when the man seems to disappear— but not out of surprise. He saw the man make a move to the side, so he instinctively brings up an arm to block a blow. Lucky too, for the man is behind him, and aims a punch for his jaw, but is blocked by the forearm. The punch is still strong enough to send Naruto off his feet, flipping to a few feet away. He is ready for the next hit the man tries, blocking that too and aiming a hit of his own for the man's right kidney. The hit is batted away and Naruto leans back to avoid another blow to his jaw.**

_**He is so lucky I'm in the middle of another level now, otherwise I would be way faster, **_**Naruto grumbles to himself as he jabs at the man's inner elbow and finally lands a hit to his stomach. The nin grunts but does not let himself be deterred, moving to the right to avoid a hit and bringing his knee up, sinking it into the boy's stomach.**

**Naruto coughs and stumbles, a knee hitting the sand. The enemy nin chuckles, his laughter stopping but his smile never leaving his face even as a kunai is poised to cut his throat. Kakashi is behind the man, face severe. **

"**That's enough." He states quietly. **

"**Oh really?" the man counters. As if a call, the big dope from before is suddenly in front of Naruto, and Naruto has to duck and jump away from the hit that would surely have knocked him halfway across the beach. **

"It's like he gets the biggest opponents to prove something." Rin sighs, shaking her head.

_**You'll want to be careful with this one Naruto, **_**the Kyuubi comments.**

_**You've been awfully quiet, Kyuubi, **_**Naruto notes as he tries to land a high kick. **

_**Well, things were rather quiet. I'll just let you focus, I'm enjoying this fight, **_**Kyuubi leaves his mind with that last word, and Naruto is fully focused on the fight again. **

"**Hey, got a name buddy?" Naruto asks, dodging a kick. "No? Then I'll call you Big Dope— BD for short. Hey, BD, where are you swinging? I'm right here!" he laughs freely, taunting the bigger man as he ducks and rolls, jumps and contorts impressively. **

**BD smirks and is suddenly gone— "How the fuck does a big guy like you move so fa— GAH!" Naruto is cut off by an impressive uppercut that knocks him close to the others.**

"**Naruto!" Sakura yelps, but Naruto waves her away.**

"**Sakura trust me if that hurt me that bad, you don't want to know how they'll hurt you." He grunts, struggling up. BD is on him again, and he's about to sink his fist into Naruto's gut. Just before the big man can do that, however, Katsu leaps into the air and smashes the entire bottom of her foot into BD's face, making the man take two steps back. **

"No!" Rin barks. "Civilians don't fight, that was the point of everything!"

"No sense of self-preservation," Kushina murmurs with a sly wink to Minato, who just rolls his eyes in exasperated amusement.

"**Stay back!" Naruto coughs, leaping up. Katsu growls and goes in, her smaller frame allowing her to bypass a roundhouse from BD. She kicks at the back of his raised knee, making it swing off and allowing her to dart in and make a jab at his throat. The karate chop worked, but at a price. In BD's slight panic at his throat being hit, feeling as if it was closed up, he lashed out and sent one good hit into Katsu's stomach. She flew back immediately, a spurt of blood coming from her mouth and she would have flown down the beach if Lee hadn't unfrozen and caught her.**

"Oh!" Kushina gasps, flinching. "That has to hurt."

"The stomach is a bad place for a female to get hit," Rin explains upon seeing the "so?" expressions on her teammates faces.

"**Fucker!" Naruto spat, releasing two levels of his seal. He was getting serious now.**

"Kill the bastard musuko!" Minato sings happily.

"**You're gonna pay for that," Kakashi promises the rose-colored nin. **

**The man just chuckles, and suddenly he fades out. Kakashi growls and his kunai catches the enemy's as the man tries to slash him. They burst apart to gain room, and then clash again and again as they fight.**

"**Heh heh, did I hurt your pretty friend little bo—" BD's supposedly clever zinger was abruptly cut off by a chakra-enhanced fist **_**to the face**_**.**

"YEAH!" Obito roars, jumping up and fist pumping. "_Fist_. _To_— _the face_!" he yells, jumping around.

"Sit down and keep reading baka!" Kushina laughs, throwing a pillow at Obito.

**Naruto growls and attacks again and again, his sudden increase of speed and absolute refusal to let the man gain ground working in his favor. Whatever hits he nin can get in are negated by the fact that Naruto will **_**not let go**_** under any circumstances, even going so far as to stick to the man with chakra. His wounds are healed quickly by the Kyuubi who delights in his human's particularly brutal vigilante justice. **

"Cooperation makes it happen!" Obito sings.

"That's the worst kind of opponent," Minato chuckles. "The ones who won't stay down and keep on getting up . . ."

**Sakura and Lee watch the fight with wide eyes, until Sakura feels a presence behind her.**

"**Feeling left out?" the pale woman with the manic lavender eyes grins her painted lips as Sakura turns quickly, lavender meeting green. The woman lashes out with a kunai and Sakura just barely avoids it by flipping away. The woman engages the girl, sure she'll be quick and can deal with the weird green-jumpsuit wearing boy who's guarding the other girl and the prince. **

**The fight between Kakashi and the rose-haired man has paused. "Konoha shinobi," the man drawls. "I hear you're good. But I wonder, are you as good as I am?" **

"**One way to find out." Kakashi invites. **

**They run forward and pass each other, the clang of their kunai a sharp sound. They pause a few feet after passing each other and wait. **

**Only Kakashi bleeds, a small cut on his bicep.**

"**Huh?" he mutters, surprised. The rose-haired man turns and smirks. **

Minato frowns at Kakashi. "You got careless, and underestimated your enemy didn't you?"

"It doesn't seem that way, but maybe I did." Kakashi acknowledges with a soft frown.

**With Naruto and BD, it is quickly becoming clear that this is going to be a battle of stamina and who hits hardest. BD might win with his girth behind each hit, but Naruto can and will take it and come back for more. BD is growing annoyed very quickly, and Naruto is growing more bloodthirsty. He'll see this man's blood run and stain the white sands of this beach. The cocky BD is still grinning, thinking the blows he gives the blonde will eventually bring him down.**

"**Not so tough now are you Dope?" Naruto growls, smashing a fist to the man's jaw. "Once you find a bigger bad guy than you, you get scared quick. Funny isn't it, that the bigger, bad man is a **_**thirteen year-old boy!**_**" **

_**But it's definitely strange, **_**he thinks, **_**even with my extra speed I'm not as fast as I thought I would be . . . I should be wiping the floor with this guy but there's something more going on here! **_

Minato frowns again, but this time in contemplation.

"Sensei?" Kakashi prompts.

"Read on Obito," Minato mutters.

**Sakura defends against the more vicious woman, who seems to want nothing more than to carve her face off. The woman spins, and from the long fold of her cloak-like vest another kunai comes out and catches Sakura. She thought she'd dodged it, but when she sees the line of blood on her arm, she pauses. **_**I thought I'd dodged it!**_** She thinks to herself. **

**Kakashi is also starting to realize it when he watches his opponent with a wary eye, panting and adorned with shallow cuts along his arms from the enemy's kunai. "Something's wrong," he growls. **

Kakashi realizes it when he sees Minato's face clear of any confusion. "Ah! Sensei, you think the enemy has something to do with it?"

"Yes . . . but what is it? Something is making you slow . . ." Minato murmurs.

"A genjutsu?" Kushina asks.

**Sakura falls to her hands and knees as the stinging pain of the shallow cuts— on purpose she realizes— and looks to the ground. She glances between her knees and sees the figure of the woman, practically . . . skipping? But her body language indicates a full run!**

_**What's wrong with us? **_**She gripes.**

_**Everything's moving so slow, **_**Naruto growls in his head, taking a bigger hit from the man and skidding away, falling to his knees. **

**Kakashi is the first to realize it. "Must be some sort of genjutsu . . . release!" he cries, forming the hand seal to gather chakra. Whether it works or not he's not quite sure as the nin merely smirks. He brings his left hand up, and on the glove a glowing orange eye snaps open and lines form circuits on his glove. The nin's sudden burst of speed catches Kakashi off guard since he'd been so slow mere moments ago— he tries to dodge but the nin turns and grabs his wrist. **

**Kakashi grunts in pain when the lines crawl up his hand, and his arm starts to petrify. **

"No!" Minato growls under his breath.

"You have to get that treated quick!" Rin frets, glancing at Kakashi's arms out of reflex.

"**Sorry," the rose nin mocks. "But this **_**isn't**_** genjutsu." **

"Poison!" Tsunade realizes, eyes wide.

"Far harder to remove in the midst of battle." Minato grimaces.

**Sakura, who has overheard, growls as she rises up to face the woman again. "Now I get it— it isn't a genjutsu it was that paper bomb!" **

"**Are you kidding me— did they poison us?!" Naruto gripes, stumbling back from a glancing blow by BD.**

"**Exactly," the woman smiles, her lavender eyes lighting up. "Effective isn't it? An odorless poison that slows the reflexes."**

"**And until it wears off," BD jeers, running for Naruto. "You're all sitting ducks!" BD tries to hit Naruto directly in the face again, but the boy dodges, unfortunately leaving himself open to another it that makes him a rolling ball sending up clouds of sand as he rolls away, and with a splash hits the water. **

**Kakashi pants, gripping his useless petrified arm. Exhausted, he sinks to one knee, gritting his teeth to keep only pants from leaving his mouth. **

"Come on, just get up!" Kakashi mutters, urging his future self not to die so pathetically.

"**So much for your strength," the rose-haired nin mocks. "It was over before it even began." The glove glows again, the eye opening to lock Kakashi in its glowing gaze. He walks forward, reaching for Kakashi's face.**

"Get up. Get. Up." Minato mutters softly to himself, one hand tightening into a fist.

**Koriga shouts and gets in between the two shinobi, making to slash the rose-haired ninja. The hit of course misses, but it does what Koriga intends to do.**

"**Not yet. You must still face me. I will avenge our King, or die!" Koriga informs the smirking nin.**

**Koriga charges, swinging the sword at the nin who seems to dance away. Always jumping around, and it is clear he is toying with Koriga. As good as the man may be for a non-shinobi, that is exactly why he can't win. He **_**isn't**_** a shinobi. **

**Koriga fights on, though— until a cry is heard from the other side of the beach. **

"**Help!" Michiru cries. "They've got me surrounded!" Indeed, circling around him on horseback are the soldiers turned traitors by Shabadaba. **

"**Where is Lee?" Kakashi wonders. He sees clearly a pile of knocked out bodies that are the boy's work, but no sign of him or Katsu.**

"Katsu was knocked out!" Rin gasps, but Kakashi reassures her.

"It's Lee— the unofficial lovechild of Maito Guy. Nothing is getting past that machine." He is sure.

"He was there when the paper bomb went off too!" Rin argues.

"**Prince Michiru!" Koriga turns from the fight— that is his mistake.**

**The rose-haired nin smirks and pushes his gloved hand into Koriga's back. The lines crawl around Koriga, and his entire body is petrified. The look of surprise and pain on his face is forever preserved by the stone.**

"How terrible," Tsunade murmurs.

"Another end to a good man. This one before his time." Minato mutters sadly, shaking his head.

"**Captain Koriga!" Kakashi cries out, shocked. **

"**CAPTAIN!" A soldier from the boats cries. **

**The rose-haired nin smirks, and picks up Koriga's fallen sword. "Such an interesting look on his face," the man muses, walking around to the back of the statue. "If I didn't know any better I'd say I created a work of art." **

**He taps the sword on his shoulder twice, then raises the weapon high in the air. "Almost . . . it's not quite right." And the blade swings down, turning what was once Captain Koriga into crumbled fragments of stone. **

**Kakashi is frozen in shock. For Koriga to end like that . . . **

"That's despicable." Jiraiya mutters in disgust.

"**Get back here!" Naruto snarls when DB makes a giant leap away. He snarls when the jump lands the man in the boat Hikaru is in, and the burly man throws the soldiers like toys away from him. Hikaru struggles to be brave, and fires an arrow at him.**

"Unless that suction cup is lined with poison, it will do little." Obito sighs.

**DB plucks the toy arrow away from his forehead and snaps it, chuckling.**

**Naruto prepares to go and battle the nin, taking him away from Hikaru, when the Kyuubi speaks up again.**

_**This is getting boring . . . have you forgotten? **_**Kyuubi asks, yawning.**

_**Forgotten what? **_**Naruto asks.**

_**You can end this fight . . . easily, **_**it's a dark whisper, and Naruto realizes that he can. There had never been a hesitation, and what was so wrong with it? It must have been the heat of battle; he'd lost sight of his advantages. He had home field advantage anywhere! He'd never been ashamed . . . **

**They'd never been ashamed.**

**Around him, as Naruto gears up, his comrades are falling. Sakura is on the ground, unable to get up again.**

"**That's all? How disappointing." The lavender-eyes woman simpers as she lifts her kunai, ready to kill Sakura. **

**The rose-haired nin looks at Kakashi and asks amiably, "So that's it eh?"**

**DB creeps closer to Hikaru and rasps, "It's over, kid." **

_**Nothing is over until **_**we **_**say it is! **_

**A burst of chakra alerts everyone, even Hikaru can feel it, it's so powerful. The water by the shore ripples intensely and there is almost a wind that is created from the force and power of it. Naruto looks up this time, and in place of the crystal blues is brightest, glowing scarlet. **

"You mean after all that, he just pulls up Kyuubi's chakra and goes bat shit?! Come on! Cheats! I call it!" Kakashi throws his hands up.

"Ninja— we are cheat codes." Jiraiya reminds him.

"**Time to play!" Naruto growls sadistically, a fanged grin on his face. When he moves, there is only a high whistling sound to indicate that he didn't just teleport to BD's side. He lands a kick on the man's side, and BD is the one to get sent flying this time, making furrows in the water as he crashes. Naruto follows him and wallops the man, BD becoming a human plow as he plants it, and skids across the sand. **

"Ooh, all that sand in so many places." Rin fake sympathizes.

"**Kongo!" the woman shouts in alarm. Kongo starts crawling, pulling himself along his belly in his haste to get away.**

"**Kongo? Is that your name BD?" Kongo turns in alarm, to see Naruto grinning down at him. Kongo starts in fear and turns to crawl again, panting harshly. Naruto grins and walks toward the man, also sensing the woman running up behind him. **

"Looks like Konga just got a new meaning for his nickname BD," Obito pauses with relish. "Bitch Dope."

"Obito, please." Minato sighs, though his words are lost from the others hoots and agreeing jeers.

**She releases something— petals- and runs in a circle, throwing petals up in the air around him, like a cyclone.**

_**Genjutsu, **_**Kyuubi whispers. **_**Dispose of it.**_

_**With pleasure, **_**Naruto agrees. He waits, until the woman cuts him, and then he knows she is close. He shouts and releases another wave of chakra, blowing away the petals and the genjutsu. The woman shouts out in surprise, and is knocked off-balance. Naruto takes the opportunity to take ground and plant a fist into her stomach, smirking when she goes rolling away from his rather light hit. **

"K.O!" Rin yips, clapping.

"**Where'd that come from?" The rose-haired man asks in surprise. He turns in surprise when a faint crackling sound comes from behind. His eyes widen when the previously downed Kakashi is speeding at him with incredible speed, his hand glowing with crackling blue chakra as he thrusts it forward. He dodges at the last minute and is unharmed, but he is definitely wary now. What was up with these Konoha ninjas?**

"We are a suicidal bunch aren't we?" Minato frowns, spearing Kakashi with a glare. "You're exhausted. And you charged a chidori?"

"You know . . . my will of fire was carrying me through?" Kakashi asks rather than states, nervous under Minato's eyes.

**His arm though was still too close to the lightning chakra, and is therefore temporarily paralyzed. He grits his teeth, seeing the soldiers riding away with the trussed up Prince Michiru.**

"**Kongo! Karenbana, let's go!" he orders. The two are quick to get up from their slumps, courtesy of Naruto, and quickly follow after their leader. **

**Naruto releases the Kyuubi's chakra, his appearance returning to normal. "Lucky . . . I thought the tail and ears might come out for a second." He mutters. A grunt of exhaustion makes him turn. **

"**Onii-san!" He shouts, running to Kakashi when he sees the man on his knees, arm struggling to hold all of him up.**

"Hear that? Onii-san!" Obito mocks the shout, his voice going up a little to accommodate the gap between his age and Naruto's.

"You sound jealous, let me just tell you that right now." Kakashi growls.

"It's cute!" Kushina insists, smiling.

Minato looks at Kakashi with a sly glint and a smarmy smile. "Yeah, Kakashi-_chan_ . . . _cute_."

"**Sensei!" Sakura staggers up and runs to Kakashi as well, healing jutsu already in place. **

"**Naruto . . . find Lee and Katsu." Kakashi orders from where he kneels, watching his arm slowly but surely turn back to normal.**

**Naruto balks, eyes widening. "What do you mean . . . ? Shit, first Michiru— not them too!" he growls and runs to the forest line.**

"**Lee! Where are you?" he shouts, searching first the very line of the forest and shore, and then going deeper.**

"**Up here!" a tired whisper sounds from above him, in the trees. He jerks his head up to see a panting Lee and Katsu who looks half-asleep, slumped over and only held up by whatever branches are near. **

"What happened to them?" Kakashi wonders, echoing his future self's question from before.

"**My poor hime," Naruto whispers, jumping up to where they are. He first grabs Katsu and gently deposits her on the ground, propped up by the tree trunk. Then he gets Lee who stands on shaky legs. "Thank you for looking after her, Lee." **

"**No, my friend," Lee denies. "It is I who should thank Katsu."**

"**Hime?" Naruto asks.**

**Katsu turns weary, half-lidded eyes to him. "That poison affected everyone near you guys. I was still close enough, but only got a small dose . . . Lee was right there, he got the full thing, so he experienced that slowness too. While you guys . . . were busy with the nins, Lee was . . . protecting Michiru and I, though I had to beat down a straggler or two," a small smile flits across her face. "Still, there were so many . . . and some got behind and Lee was slowing . . . they had already dragged Michiru away, so I could only save me and him . . . with kawarimi. Then I dragged him up this tree." She whispers tiredly. **

"**Ah," Naruto murmurs softly. He crouches down and picks her up, eyes soft as he looks down at her tired face. Pulling Lee along was no easy feat, with his absolutely ridiculous weights. **

"**Lee, come on, we should get back to sensei." Naruto walks on, Lee following. When they get back, the soldiers are like zombies, their sorrow so great for the fallen Captain Koriga. Add to that they failed to keep Prince Michiru safe?**

"Mission failed and _really_ failed." Obito mumbles. "Not that it's their fault." He adds.

"**This day really sucks." Katsu grumbles, sighing softly as she relaxes in Naruto's arms.**

"**You said it." Naruto agrees, sighing sadly as Hikaru runs over and burrows his face in Naruto's side, to hide his tears. He adjusts his hold on Katsu and runs a hand through Hikaru's hair, patting his head soothingly. **

"**So . . . what now?" he asks out loud. There was silence.**

**Someone finally answered, and it was Kakashi, flexing his newly healed arm. "We regroup, and think about our next step."**

"Thank goodness they didn't have to amputate your arm." Rin sighs in relief.

"Amputate?" Kakashi repeats incredulously.

"Well, yes, if you want to live . . . an infection must be cut off at the source." Rin speaks matter of fact.

"**And where do you suggest . . . we do that?" A guard speaks up after wiping away his tears. **

"**The forests, near the mountains again but not there . . . the enemy might have tracked us." Kakashi murmurs. "Help the injured, otherwise move out and quickly." **

**There are plenty of injured, so the going is slower than Kakashi would have liked, but they make do. By the time the sky has brightened into a beautiful and sunny morning, they are in the shade of the trees canopy. They find a spot to recover, a small clearing with lots of shade and foliage, and one large spot where the sun breaks through. Here is where Hikaru sits, face in his knees and arms looped around them. The others sit in the darkness, resting and gathering their thoughts. Koriga's men sit solemn and silent, lost without their leader. Kakashi left them not an hour ago, to scout out the palace.**

**There is a rustle in the foliage that gets closer to them, and everyone except Naruto tenses.**

"**Stop, it's just Kakashi." He reports quietly. They relax, and watch the area the sound comes from. Eventually Kakashi appears, looking unruffled and refreshed as if he hadn't been battling earlier, and had gotten a full rest.**

"I take power naps . . . in thirty seconds," Kakashi promptly informs the others, to their amusement. "Just so you know."

"Teach me your ways of awesome sensei!" Obito wails, grabbing onto Kakashi's sleeve.

"It will be hard, but it can be done young grasshopper." Kakashi assures.

"**Sensei," Sakura pipes up. "How did it go?"**

"**Security is too tight," Kakashi informs them. "I couldn't get close. One thing is for sure . . . time is running out."**

**They sink back, disheartened by the news as they sigh sadly. **

"**Maybe," a light brown-haired man shifts nervously. "We really should surrender."**

"After all that?! What a coward!" Kushina yells, shaking her fist.

**Immediately another man is on his feet, fist tightly gripping the vest of the man who spoke. "Coward!" he yelled.**

**The other man pushed him. "Well what do you suggest—"**

"**Keep your voices down." Naruto cuts them off curtly, glaring as Katsu shifts in her sleep, obviously bothered by the disturbances outside her dreams.**

**The man glares and yells, "What the hell do I care about that kid's beauty sle—" he chokes to a stop when a kunai is suddenly quivering to a stop right by his head, lodged deep into the wood.**

**Naruto's arm is still held up. "I said, keep your voice down." He repeats in a velvety tone. **

Rin turns to Obito. "We haven't done it in a while." She prompts.

Obito nods, and he and Rin turn together to whisper, "Like a . . ."

"_BOSS_." Kushina cuts in, laughing as their faces drop.

"Woman! Why do you steal our thunder?" Obito demands, hands spread out in the injustice of it all.

"**You're not only bothering us, but **_**your**_** Prince." Here guilty glances at a still quiet Hikaru are made. "So if all you're going to do is bark at each other, I request that you move somewhere else, preferably far away, so that the people who are actually **_**interested**_** in doing something can do so with rationale and composure."**

"Ooh," Jiraiya winces, clutching at the spot where his heart is. "That was so Minato it hurts . . ."

"Thanks sensei." Minato drawls dryly.

**Sakura opens her mouth, ready to scold Naruto but is frozen by the glare he casts her way. "What did I just say?" he whispers. **

**A guard with a shaved head, and a big structure, looks at Hikaru. "Well, at least we must get Hikaru-sama out."**

**Those words seem to be little Hikaru's breaking point as first one choked sob comes out. He tries to stop, but then sobs burst out from him, arms coming up to rub the tears away.**

"**I want my father!" Hikaru sobs, loud cries seeming to beat everyone down.**

"Poor thing, and so young too." Rin clucks, heart going out to the little child.

**Naruto sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Well, okay then." He decides. "Let's go get him back!"**

"**But how?" the bald man from before asks. "It's impossible!"**

"**It is if we just sit here," Naruto agrees. "But once we get the ball rolling, it's all a matter of time and execution."**

"**But what if they are right?! It's too late to save my father . . . !" Hikaru wails.**

"Make up your mind kid," Kakashi snorts. "Do you want your father or don't you?"

**Naruto snorts, gently moving Katsu to lie on the grass and walking over to Hikaru.**

"**Hikaru." He says quietly. Hikaru continues to cry.**

"**Hikaru." He calls again, and the sniffles quiet down.**

"**Get up." Naruto orders softly. Hikaru sniffles a few more times, and then shakily gets up. He rubs his tears away.**

"**Hikaru, was I wrong about you? I thought you were braver than this." Naruto rebukes quietly. Hikaru stares up at him in wonder. Naruto frowns softly.**

"**You just are going to let him go? Let your father go? There are kids I know, who would have done **_**anything**_** to be in a position to save their fathers like you are." Naruto pauses, seemingly considering his words. "You are going to throw that away too? Like those animals . . . remember?"**

"He's speaking about Inari?" Rin asks.

"I think he's speaking about any orphan." Tsunade corrects softly. _Is he also speaking about himself? But that's crazy, he was a newborn. _She thinks to herself.

**Naruto sighs, rubbing the back of his head. "You still don't know what really matters."**

**Hikaru was wide-eyed and silent as he listened. For a few seconds the silence is tense and precarious in the clearing, the others watching this intently. So they all see when Hikaru's face starts to change little by little. His eyes flare up, and his eyebrows slowly start to sink into a determined frown, mouth straightening. He stands up, looking up at Naruto with a clear gaze . . . burning with the will of fire.**

"**Alright. Let's go." Hikaru confirms, with all the determination his little body can muster. "Let's go save my father!"**

"Atta boy, Hikaru-chan!" Kushina cheers, eyes blazing with energy.

**Naruto looks at him closely, gaze analyzing . . . and then he smiles. "Okay then." He says simply.**

"**Hikaru-sama, don't be hasty!" A guard advises.**

"**Relax!" Naruto scoffs before the man can say anymore. "No harm will come to him. I'll see to that." He promises. **

"**Count me in!" Sakura cheers.**

"**Let us be off!" Lee insists.**

"Why don't we all just jump on the bandwagon?" Obito mocks in a falsetto.

**Kakashi snickers and takes a few steps forward, looking at the guards. "Are we going to let these kids show us up?" he asks. "We all made a vow to the late King, right?" the men chuckle and agree.**

**Kakashi eye-smiles, then looks to his left and twirls a kunai in his hands as something approaches them. Soft sounds approach them, almost like . . . padding. Around a tree, first one large grey paw appears, then the whole body. It is Chamu the saber tooth tiger, and on his head rides Kiki.**

**Hikaru laughs. "Chamu! Kiki!" he runs forward and hugs the tiger's head, Chamu giving him a lick in greeting.**

"**Hey Chamu!" a voice comes closer.**

"**Where is that cat?" another voice. They are two stage hands who the ninjas and Hikaru vaguely recall seeing in the circus.**

**The man who spoke last, wearing a wide brimmed straw hat, chuckled. "Well what do you know? It's you guys!"**

**It's like those two men are a beacon because once they find the group, suddenly the Ring Master finds them too. And the ring master, is certainly not a happy camper. With him comes the rest of the circus who settles around the group and watches the ring master complain.**

"**I thought it was strange seeing the prince's carriage running through the streets so I went up to the castle to see what happened. Couldn't even get through the gate— they threatened to arrest me!" the ring master snaps.**

**Hikaru is paying them no attention, as he pets Chamu and laughs whenever the tickly, raspy tongue passes over his face or Chamu's tail lightly bats against his head. The Konoha group all take up different positions. Sakura and Lee sit with Naruto, who reclines beside a still slumbering Katsu. Kakashi stands a few feet away from the ring master, just watching over the ragtag group and leaning lazily on one hip. **

"All-nighters suck the first time." Rin murmurs, Kakashi and Obito nodding in agreement.

"**What's going on around here?!" The ring master demands to know.**

"**When do we get paid?" he wanted to know. "We should have never come to this stupid island . . ."**

**Kakashi suddenly takes interest, and hums in consideration. "Hmm . . . yeah."**

"Brain blast!" Rin cries out.

"Lame." Kakashi sighs.

"**Listen here we aren't a charity!" the ring master continues to scold. "When are we getting our money?!"**

"**Ring master, your anger is understandable . . ." a guard starts uncomfortably.**

"**Hey, you're right, you are right. I don't blame you for being upset," Kakashi walks up to the guards and ring master, smiling as he chats amiably. "You were promised payment and you should get it right? Let's see if we can't do something about that."**

**The ring master suddenly gets a confused look on his face. **

"**Nii-san is up to something again." Naruto sighs. Sakura and Lee turn to look with interest. What did Kakashi plan?**

**A few hours later, they all thought the plan was ludicrous, but Kakashi cheerily assured them each time it was **_**absolutely foolproof**_**. **

**His plan was very simple: the circus would play at the palace for Shabadaba, with he and Katsu posing as partners in an act for the circus (not that she agreed, just that Kakashi took advantage of her slumber, which she was mad about when she was abruptly awoken), whilst Naruto, Sakura, and Lee snuck in with Hikaru to go and save the prince. **

"It's like you got stupider as you got older." Jiraiya gruffly insults Kakashi.

"Is that the jealousy talking?" Kakashi asks, smirking nastily.

"**Easy right?" Kakashi asked them all once he and Katsu had changed clothes. He now wore a plain, cotton orange jumper over his dark blue shinobi-issued long sleeve, and an eye patch in place of his hitai-ate, a headband keeping his hair up.**

**No one said anything, and Katsu who was still half asleep and very cranky about being awoken to be stuffed into a skintight leotard glared at Kakashi with enough hatred to make his skin fry. **

**The night had come, the waxing moon again keeping its squinted gaze on the city and its inhabitants. The guards at the palace gate were keeping a close watch, spears up and close to them. They heard the circus before they saw it, a culmination of accordion, drums and tambourine. When they were close enough, the guards stopped them.**

"**Hey what are you doing here again?" one of the guards asked the ring master.**

**The ring master chuckled nervously. "Well, you see I . . ." he trailed off when a spear was pointed at his throat.**

"**Get lost." The guard dismissed.**

"**Whoa there brother!" the cheerful, laid back voice made the guard pause and look up. Kakashi walked through, a friendly hand raised. "We were summoned by your boss for a command performance."**

"Eugh, did Kakashi just call someone brother?" Obito asks with a shudder.

"**We received no such orders." The other guard said suspiciously, coming to stand beside his fellow guard.**

"**You didn't?" Kakashi asked. "Are you **_**sure**_** about that?" he raises up his eye patch and the friendly smile goes away as the Sharingan spins, placing the two guards under a genjutsu. The guards stiffen, caught in his spiraling eye. Without a word they return to their posts and open the gate.**

"Sharingan— when the minor characters start to catch on." Obito advocates with a thumbs-up to Kakashi.

**The music starts up once again, and the circus walks in through the courtyard. Up above in the balcony of the King's office, two guards look down in shock.**

"**What the . . . ?" Shabadabah trails off, shocked to see the circus from before.**

"**Should we send them away my lord?" a minister asks in a reedy voice.**

"**No . . ." Shabadaba pauses, seeing a girl flip high into the air and land on the back of an elephant. "That's entertainment. Quite honestly he was beginning to bore me."**

**Shabadaba is referring to the still form of Michiru who balances on the very end of a plank, a noose around his neck. Should he make any movement, or struggle, the plank will break and he will hang from the balcony.**

Rin shivers. "Not something his little son needs to see."

**Kakashi sees this, and his chin dips a little in consideration. He is broken of his concentration when a hand suddenly grabs his side, squeezing uncomfortably on his ribs, and he is suddenly spinning.**

"**Wha—?!" he gasps. Katsu grins up at him unrepentantly as she forces his body to move, gesturing grandly with her hands to the other acts.**

"**If you're going to play a circus act, be a damn act stupid Kakashi!" she hisses under her breath, all the while maintaining a winning smile as she hoists herself up his body, standing on his shoulders. She flips and lands on his hands that shoot out instinctively to hold her up, and he grunts with the effort. They are rewarded with claps and whistles. **

"You are so whipped." Obito snickers.

"Honestly, I'm not even sure why I want to get her approval still." Kakashi grumbles.

"Future you, or you now?" Minato asks.

"Does it matter? She's such a brat." The silver-haired boy shoots back.

"You know it's love. Admit it." Rin laughs.

"**You . . . idiot." He growls. Still, he can't be too mad as his plan is working perfectly. People are pouring out of the castle, eager to watch the circus act. He nods thoughtfully as he and Katsu do triple backflips between the polar bears. The only ones left would be the enemy ninjas, and he knows his kids can handle them. As a matter of fact, they should be inside now.**

**Just as Kakashi says, inside of an abandoned junk room, a small metal door that hides a secret passage creaks open. The bald guard looks around before climbing out and standing. He says softly, "It's all clear."**

"**We of the King's guard, are the only ones who know about the passage," he informs the shinobi kids, peeking out to ensure the hallway is clear. Before they leave, a guard kneels down by Hikaru's side.**

"**Hikaru-sama," Hikaru turns to the guard, who hold something out for him. "Before we go, please take these arrows. I made them especially for you."**

**Hikaru smiles in delight. They are not toy arrows, which can do no damage or help in anyway— they are real arrow, arrows that can pierce and distract. He takes them in one hand, nodding to the guard. "Thank you." **

"Always important to arm your kids." Obito agrees with a nod.

"**Let's go," the guard at the door orders, and they run in a tight group.**

"**According to Kakashi-sensei," Sakura informs them, "Prince Michiru is being held in the upper terrace. Remember everyone, there's no time to waste!"**

**They run down the hallway, slowing as they approach the main entrance. A guard creeps up as the others stay behind, observing the entrance. Once he is sure the last guards have walked past, and no one else is coming or going, he looks back and waves the rest forward. Sakura relays the information to Kakashi. **

"**Sensei, we're ready to go!" she whispers. **

**Outside Kakashi hears this, and his eyes narrow as the main event begins. He starts to walk forward, but before even one step is taken he hears a dainty throat clearing directly behind him.**

**He sighs, rolling his eyes as he looks over his shoulder to Katsu, who is giving him a pointed look. He growls, narrowing his eyes further. Katsu just raises her eyebrows, smiling prettily.**

"**. . ." Kakashi gives her a flat look. "You do double, and I'll triple."**

"Whipped." Minato and Jiraiya sing.

**Katsu giggles, clapping delightedly. They execute a series of back flips and twists, Katsu double flipping to the fountain in front of the castle and Kakashi tripling over her. They land right next to each other, bowing graciously to the thunderous applause. Kakashi steps up onto the rim of the fountain, raising his arms as he speaks to the audience. **

"You can make it big in show business kid, just follow me and I'll make you a star!" Jiraiya proclaims, laughing as Kakashi hurls a pillow at him.

"**And now ladies and gentleman, our grand finale!" he declares, bowing theatrically. Straightening up, he lifts his hand to his eye patch. "So sit back . . . and enjoy." He pulls up the cloth, showing his Sharingan. Immediately afterward he performs three hand seals and the water from the fountain bursts out, taking a vague form of some sort of monster. The monster rises and releases a gush of water that moves high speed towards the guards at the front of the castle.**

**The guards panic and run, but the water is on them and hits like a freight train in its intensity. Kakashi takes off the costume to reveal his uniform.**

"**Wait, how'd you hide the flak vest under the cotton . . . ?" Katsu trails off, confused.**

"**Trade secret." Kakashi mutters distractedly. "Um, find cover. No fighting, or so help me . . ."**

**Whether she follows his word or not, he doesn't look to see because a line of soldiers are now running toward him with weapons aloft, shouting raucously. He grins, both eyes glinting wickedly as he lets the circus deal with them. The circus isn't doing badly either; the contortionist is choking soldiers with arms and legs, the elephants are rampaging, all the animals are badass and everyone is basically getting in their pound of flesh. **

**Inside the castle, the rescue team is waiting tensely for the right moment. Naruto hears a faint chattering sound behind him, and turns. Hikaru is trembling, fists to his chest as he struggles to overcome his fear. **

_**That was his teeth, then, **_**Naruto guesses, and with a smile he moves down to Hikaru's step to whisper to the boy.**

"**You trust me don't you?" he asks.**

"**Yeah." Hikaru answers resolutely, quickly.**

"**Then I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you. Okay? So stick with me and you'll make it." Naruto whispers, and Hikaru's lips quirk up in a small smile. **

"You make the most outlandish promises, and yet somehow you keep them. That's the real surprise." Tsunade sighs.

**A guard calls their attention. "Let's do it." They file out quickly, quietly. As they run to the stairs the guard gives them more information.**

"**The terrace is just outside the throne room. The guards are all outside, it should be unprotected." He tells them.**

"**Don't forget the shinobi." Naruto reminds them softly, making them all frown. **

**Just his luck, immediately upon reaching the next floor there comes Koga, previously known as BD. Koga chuckles, seemingly forgetting the thorough ass kicking he received from Naruto just the night before.**

"I think he needs a reminder," Rin advises innocently.

"**So he was right, that Ishidate," Koga muses as he takes a couple steps forward. "He guessed that all that ruckus outside was just a diversion."**

"**Oh, what I'm going to do to you is gonna be a fun diversion from this mission!" Naruto promises wildly, but stops when Lee throws an arm out to block him.**

"**No, stay back. This one is mine!" Lee demands sternly, serious eyes never leaving the dopey Koga's. **

"**Okay!" Naruto chirps, thumping a fist against Lee's back. "He's all yours!" **

**As the rest of the group runs down the next hall, Koga sneers and runs forward, Lee doing the same. "Oh no you don't!" Koga threatens. **

**Naruto and the rest don't look back, only forward with determination. Once they reach the next level, Sakura immediately flings a kunai to the adjacent wall, high up for seemingly no reason.**

"**Sakura?" Naruto questions, but his eyes widen when the form of Karenbana fades into existence right by the kunai.**

"**Ugh, I suck so hard at genjutsu." Naruto groans, rubbing his head harshly.**

"**How did you know then girlie?" Karenbana asks lightly, smiling.**

"**I smelt you— you stink!" Sakura sneered, nose crinkling. "Little girls wearing heavy perfume, that's **_**so**_** tacky!"**

"Oh snap!" Kushina and Rin gasp delightedly, snapping their fingers.

**Karenbana looks extremely annoyed, and cries, "What?!"**

"**Go on ahead, I'll take care of **_**her**_**." Sakura orders Naruto and the rest, seemingly ignoring the woman's irritation.**

**The woman snarls and shoots forward to land on the ground, the groups splitting to let Sakura have the fight. As the men leave to rescue the prince they can hear the woman exclaim, "I'll have you know I'm twenty-two!"**

"**Girls are scary, Naruto." Hikaru mutters, running close to the blonde boy's side.**

"**An important lesson for you to remember, Hikaru." Naruto advises, chuckling nervously as the sound of the fight fade with distance.**

**They finally reach the turrets, leaving the interior of the castle for the stone pathways between the structures. Running forward, they see Michiru on the edge of the plank, still and silent.**

"**Father!" Hikaru cries. They round a bend and the bald guard rushes ahead to take the stairs.**

"**Hurry! The throne room is this way." He orders. He never even made it to the third step— Ishidate, the rose-haired ninja, has jumped down and shoved his glowing glove on the man's face. The guard now shares the same fate Koriga did, being totally petrified from head to toe. Ishidate lifts up the stone man and throws him to the side, the body breaking into pieces upon contact.**

"That's just so callous." Minato scoffs. _And also lacking in elegance, _the colder, more ruthless part of his mind whispers.

_**It'd be cool to learn how to do that, **_**Kyuubi suddenly pops up in Naruto's mind.**

_**Not now, later, please! **_**He insists, shifting in front of Hikaru. His eyes widen when suddenly a few guards pop up around Ishidate. Then more guards come to surround them in a loose circle. Ishidate smirks and speaks up.**

"**A clever ruse, but it didn't work." He murmurs, walking forward slowly. He raises the glove up, charging it again and opening the eye, before rushing forward. "Now, die!" **

**A roar grabs their attention. Chamu is racing around the corner and making for the group, snapping and roaring at the cowardly guards on his way. Naruto takes the opportunity to throw down a smoke bomb, obscuring the vision of the enemy. Chamu picks up Hikaru, who swings onto Chamu's back as the tiger turns on a dime to escape with the others. **

"**Fools." Ishidate mutters.**

**Back on the second floor, Lee and Koga are going at it. Lee dodges the man's forceful hits and keeps up with the speed now that he isn't poisoned. Lee manages to hit the man, Koga falling heavily on his back. Taking advantage, Lee takes his weights from his legs and throws them to the side, each weight creating a deep crater wherever it hits.**

"Ooh, it's about to get real." Obito taunts.

"**You punk," Koga growls, getting up. Lee simply swings his nun chucks, facing the man. To Koga, it's as if Lee has suddenly disappeared, but Lee is just using his full speed. He runs around the man to confuse him for a bit, then goes in for a hit. It hits and sends Koga flying across the room, though he manages to his feet. Lee is like a green shooting star as he flies around the room, picking up his weights. He attaches the heavy metal rods together, forming a staff. **

**He races towards Koga and hits the man with the staff, Koga flying up into the air with a yell. Lee jumps up after him, impressive leaps taking him above Koga. With a yell of concentration, Lee swings the staff again and jams the end into Koga's midsection, the man plummeting to earth with a bone-crushing, of not outright shattering, force. **

**The explosion of smoke and debris from the resulting contact is sure to knock Koga out, and Lee hits the ground safely.**

"**That ought to do it." Lee harrumphs, grinning.**

"Don't be so sure of that." Minato murmurs with a frown, shaking his head.

**Outside Kakashi's monster, now taking on the more solid form of a wolf, is sweeping away soldiers. It suddenly dissolves into a great shower of water when it sweeps away a line of soldiers, Kakashi unable to hold it. The jounin in question has sunk to his knees a little, panting.**

"**Must have overused my Sharingan," he pants. He looks up through a narrowed obsidian eye, closing his Sharingan. Another batch of soldiers is creeping through, and a rush of irritation fills him. They just don't stop, it's like somebody's spamming them!**

Obito frowns. "Kakashi, you're chakra levels are rather . . ."

"Yes, I know." Kakashi sighs.

"**Need me to help out?" Katsu calls out from her leisurely spot on a polar bear.**

"**Nope! I got this," Kakashi sighs, standing up and preparing to battle the soldiers. Maybe they weren't as skilled as he, but they had a clear advantage in numbers . . . too bad that wouldn't mean anything. He was still Hatake Kakashi— soldiers were like genin to him. **

"Like a boss." Obito compliments Kakashi, nodding in approval.

"I do try." Kakashi mutters humbly.

**On the third floor of the castle, Sakura and Karenbana go head to head. Sakura shows the impressive force behind her hits, leg sweeping over Karenbana as the woman dodges— but she is still able to feel a strong breeze kicked up from the force of it. And when se dodges a punch and lets it sink into the wall? A giant crater explodes from it.**

"**Wow!" Karenbana compliments, smiling. Inside though, she's flailing. What the hell is a kid doing with that raw strength?!**

"How very interesting." Tsunade utters softly, with a crooked smile.

"Oh, no, not another one." Jiraiya mumbles under his breath, rolling his eyes.

**Sakura thinks she has dodged a kunai, but her shirt tears and she feels a thin slice sting on her upper ribs. "Posion gas again?" she snaps as she holds a hand to the thin cut. Karenbana just laughs as flower petals suddenly appear, her form dissolving into them as she giggles.**

**Similarly, Lee is also finding out his opponent is much tougher than he originally thought as the big man gets up with a groan. **

"**Stupid . . . brat!" Koga yells, rising up. Lee just pants, inwardly cursing himself for not doing a more thorough job. **

**With Naruto and his group, they are currently in one of the turrets directly across from Michiru's terrace. As the guards take care of Shabadaba's soldiers down below, Hikaru rides Chamu up to the roof of the building, moving to the edge.**

"**Father!" Hikaru's voice carries over the gap to Michiru's ears. The man's eyes open slowly, and he turns wide eyes to his son.**

"**Hikaru." He breathes.**

"**Father!" Hikaru shouts again, this time close to tears. Suddenly, the edge explodes from some unseen force. Chamu backs up to avoid the falling rocks, and Ishidate appear over the edge, leaping over them and landing on the opposite side of the roof. He walks forward calmly, slowly, as Chamu growls threateningly. **

"**Now then . . ." Ishidate begins, getting closer. It is instinct that has him leap to the side to avoid what could have been a painful blow from Naruto as the boy runs up behind him quietly, moving between him and Hikaru. **

"**You want to get to him, you go through me first." Naruto orders, taking up his stance.**

"**With pleasure." Ishidate grins.**

_**Can't afford to underestimate this guy, so it's better to overestimate! **_**Naruto decides, and twenty clones pop up. As one they charge, intent on keeping the man from Hikaru.**

**Ishidate is loath to admit he's having difficulty defeating some brat, but the taijutsu style is one he's never seen before and it is damn effective. He has no idea what the next move might be, each one seemingly unconnected and totally unpredictable. And with twenty damn clones he's starting to lose. Growling out loud he leaps up and makes a jerking motion with his gloved hand to the ground.**

**The clones are confused, until the ground underneath them seems to explode, rocks moving or bursting from the ground. Some clones are lost to the unexpected attack, leaving about fourteen left. **

_**That damn glove does more than petrify?! Shit, I did not plan for that! **_**Naruto growls, getting up from the ground.**

"So there's some kind of absolute control over stone?" Minato guesses, shaking his head. "I doubt you could have planned for that Naru."

**Ishidate stands on one of the floating rocks now, and makes another gesture with his hand. The remaining rocks suddenly crumble into tiny pellets, and they shoot forward, hitting the clones with such speed and force they pop on contact. Soon only the original Naruto is left, hunching and covering himself from the attack. Ishidate grins and takes full advantage, striking Naruto.**

**Naruto hits the ground heavily, groaning. Ishidate gives no quarter, on Naruto again and again. **

_**That's the sucky thing about giving your enemies quarter— it's really hard to get back, **_**Naruto reflects dimly as he can only blink rapidly up at the stars he sees for a brief moment before Ishidate hauls him up again. He tries to strike the man but Ishidate has learned his lesson and is first, second, third to hit. **

**Ishidate roars, then punches Naruto so hard the boy crashes into and then through the barrier around the edge of the roof, falling to the stone floor below. **

Kushina winces, curling in on herself just a little. It never got easier, no matter how far in they got into the book, to read— or hear— about her son in pain or hurt.

"**Naruto, no!" Hikaru shouts. **

**Sakura isn't having an easy time of it either as she's once again finding herself riddled with cuts and gaining more as Karenbana immerses herself in her genjutsu. Lee is also getting pushed around, looking similar to a ping pong ball as Kongo gets his second wind. All three— Naruto, Lee, and Sakura are knocked down and still. **

**So imagine the surprise of their opponents when they struggle back up again?**

"That's no surprise, it's the Will of Fire!" Rin whoops.

**Naruto growls and his arm swings out, though he only meant it for a symbolic gesture. Imagine his surprise when a gust of chakra hit Ishidate and threw the man. He looks at his hand curiously.**

_**Oh . . . whoops, **_**Kyuubi apologizes, though it sounds nothing close to an apology. Naruto smirks, accepting it. With a deep breath he realizes he's caught his second wind, and is ready to go round two— only this time, he'd be sure to win. **

**Before he can go after Ishidate however, he hears a cracking sound.**

_**Breaking, not cracking, **_**he corrects himself. **_**Breaking . . . wood?! **_

**He looks up quickly, cursing when he sees the plank Michiru is on starting to break under the weight of the man.**

"**Father!" Hikaru cries.**

**Michiru slowly looks at his son. Then at the city of Crescent Moon, resplendent and dazzlingly lit in the night.**

"**Hikaru," he murmurs. He looks up at the sky, where the crescent moon hangs to illuminate the sky. He closes his eyes.**

"**Goodbye, my son." **

**The plank breaks, and the rope spins up to its last bit and makes an audible snap as it stops. Michiru hangs, swinging back and forth from its end. **

"Oh no!" Rin gasps, horrified.

"I can't believe it. After all that, they were too late?!" Kakashi groans, hitting the arm rest.

"That poor child." Kushina murmurs, a hand to her mouth.

**Hikaru's mouth parts open slightly in shock, a tear coming down his face. He had been . . . too late?**

"**Hikaru!" Naruto yells, snapping the boy out of his shock.**

"**He's still alive, you can save him!" Naruto shouts, running to take out Ishidate, who is starting to get back up again. **

Tsunade frowns. "The chances of your neck not breaking after such a fall is very slim . . . then again; Michiru does have a sizeable layer of fat protecting his bones. It might be so."

"**Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!" Naruto calls, throwing one shuriken that soon becomes twenty, Ishidate jumping away with some new, shallow cuts.**

"Cripes that's like the first jutsu I've seen Naruto do all chapter besides his kage bushin." Obito mutters.

"Perhaps he's getting too dependent on his trademark." Minato laments.

**Hikaru watches Naruto rush into battle, before getting a hold of himself. Naruto wouldn't lie— if he could save his father, he would do it!**

"**Chamu, I need your help!" Hikaru runs to the tiger, hugging it tightly. "Can you take me to my father?" he asks.**

**Chamu responds, a deep rumbling in his throat. Hikaru smiles and jumps on the tigers back. Chamu runs to the other end of the roof before circling around and sprinting to the edge, planning to leap. Hikaru readies his bow and notches an arrow, waiting for the leap. **

**He makes the leap.**

**Hikaru loosens his drawing arm, and concentrates on his target. Not the smallest target— not the hardest. A simple rope . . . he unleashes the arrow.**

"Let it hit!" Rin and Kushina breathe, leaning forwards in their seats.

**The arrow flies true and straight, going straight through the rope like a knife through butter, and Michiru falls with his son and the tiger. **

"**Move over Ishidate!" Naruto roars tauntingly as he makes several hundred clones. The clones trample over the rose ninja, trapping him on the ground and under their feet. Michiru, Hikaru, and Chamu fall in the sea of Naruto's, the shadow clones cushioning their fall and allowing them to hit the ground safely. **

"Not bad brat!" Tsunade congratulates, sighs of relief and surprise coming from the rest.

"**YEAH!" The clones roar. The air is filled with the sound of dispersing clones, like firecrackers in the night.**

**Lee has thrown Koga up in the air once again, but this time he has learned the lesson of the double tap. Or, shall we say . . . the twenty tap. Lee reappears in a burst of blinding speed over Koga, and drills the man back to the ground with a barrage of punches, making the man hit the ground so hard they collapse through to the floor below them.**

"Double tap, taken way too far." Obito points out.

**Sakura has figured Karenbana out. She waits patiently for her opponent, and throws a kunai to the chandelier above. The chandelier breaks and shatters, falling to the floor. The room is dark, with only the petals and the moonlight. **

**She listens.**

"Very clever." Minato praises.

**A sharp, yet small sound of glass shifting. Sakura zeroes in, and sends her fist forward with all her might— and it hits a cheek. Karenbana is propelled backward into the wall so hard a spider web of cracks appears behind her. She is knocked out, and practically melded to the wall. Her wig of white spikes falls off to reveal a head of close cropped brown hair as her head hangs. **

"A wig?" Kushina laughs.

**Sakura smirks, panting as she wipes a trickle of blood from her lip. "You should have watched your step!" she taunts. **

**Back on the stone bridge, Hikaru is just stirring from his fall. He blinks, looking around.**

**His eyes widen as he remembers, "Father!" he cries, scrabbling up and running to the still man.**

"**Oh no, father please wake up!" he begs.**

**Michiru's eyes flutter open, but then they bulge. He makes a choking noise, and he begins to turn blue as he . . . tugs at the rope still around his neck?**

"**Oh, right!" Hikaru realizes, and pulls to help him. They struggle with it for a few seconds before Michiru lurches up and loosens the rope till it dangles around his chest.**

"**Phew!" he breathes. "I thought I was dead."**

"Hooray, he's not dead!" Obito hollers happily.

"**Father!" Hikaru celebrates, jumping on the man to hug him tightly. Michiru blinks in surprise, and his eyes soften when he sees Hikaru crying.**

Kushina looks up in confusion when she feels the ever so slight tensing of Minato's body. His face reveals nothing but compassion for Hikaru, but Kushina has known him for a very long time . . . long enough to see the pain lurking in the depths of his blue eyes. She discreetly moves her hand over his and squeezes, waiting until he looks at her to smile reassuringly at hi. Minato smiles back, returning her squeeze.

"**Hikaru, thank you." He says into his son's black hair, hugging him close. **

**Hikaru smiles, still crying, when he hears a monkey's chattering. Kiki? "Ah!" he realizes, and feels bad for forgetting. He lets go of his father and runs to Chamu, hoping the animal is all right.**

"**Kiki! Is he . . . ?" Hikaru asks. Cham answers that himself by getting up and shaking himself like a wet dog. He licks Hikaru, rumbling.**

**Naruto yawns in boredom, giving the guards around him only a cursory glance once he's seen Hikaru and his father reunited. He walks to where Ishidate lies, his rose hair actually a wig that has fallen away to reveal a brunette buzz cut.**

"**How sad," Naruto mutters in disgust. The man is still, and looks dead asleep. Still, he knows how deceiving looks can be, so he pulls out a kunai to finish the job.**

_**I did not sign up to be a butcher, I signed up to be a ninja, **_**Naruto grumbles.**

_**What's the difference? **_**Kyuubi asks darkly.**

"There is," Tsunade insists.

"Easy for the medic nin to say," Kakashi remarks. "I find a valid point in Kyuubi's question."

"A well-made philosophical debate, best left for another time." Obito smoothly interrupts before anyone can answer.

"**SHABADABA!" Michiru's roar makes Naruto look away— a mistake, he'd soon find out. While Naruto looks away, Ishidate's eyes snap open to and his glove glows. The gloved hand shoots out and grabs Naruto's ankle.**

"**Aah shit!" Naruto yells in pain, glancing down at his leg as lines of light crawl up it, and his leg from the foot up begins to petrify. Ishidate rises up and swings Naruto away, lifting the boy's entire body to throw him, straight into the royal office. Naruto skids and tumbles across the bridge, before crashing to a stop in the office.**

"Oh Kami, his leg doesn't break does it?! It'll be destroyed!" Kushina squeaks worriedly, eyes scared.

"It's alright Kushina-san, nothing like that." Obito soothes her, before continuing to read.

"**Naruto! Are you alright?" Hikaru cries as he and his father run to Naruto. Shabadaba, now more confident with Ishidate awake, runs over to him chortling with his funny-looking advisor. **

"**Ishidate, good! Go on, finish him off!" Shabadaba urges, prodding the man forward as he hides behind him.**

"Punk ass." Jiraiya grunts.

"**You son of a **_**bitch**_**." Naruto growls, holding out his left hand to make a rasengan. The swirling ball of energy forms in a matter of seconds, and Naruto grits his teeth as he tries to move forward. With his whole right leg from the thigh down turned to stone, it is far more difficult than he'd like it to be. He stumbles and falls as he tries to move forward, but he just can't make it more than two steps without falling, and soon he's concentrating more on keeping the rasengan than getting forward.**

"Ooh, that is so unlucky!" Rin whines.

"He's a sitting duck, but Michiru or Hikaru can help him!" Kakashi growls.

"**Whether I come to you, or you come to me, I will end this!" Naruto snarls, infuriated.**

**Ishidate says nothing, his eyes wide with anger and something a little like madness as his glove glows again. He'd enjoy crushing the boy with his bare hands once the little pest was turned to stone. **

**Michiru watches Naruto move forward inch by painful inch, the look of determination never leaving the whiskered face. Michiru trembles, overcome with some emotion. **

"**Ishidate stop!" Command Shabadaba. "Leave the boy, kill Michiru! Forget about the boy, Ishidate! Have you forgotten what you owe me? You were nothing but a renegade when I found you, exiled from your homeland! Who took you in?! Ishidate!"**

"**Will you shut up!" Ishidate roars, rounding on Shabadaba and holding the man by the front of his robes. He just so happened to be holding it with the gloved hand. **

"Poetic justice?" Obito asks.

"No, it'd be poetic if Ishidate himself was petrified by his own hand." Jiraiya corrects with a weak chuckle.

**Shabadaba now completely petrified and totally silent, Ishidate releases the stone man and lets it crash to the ground as he turns around to move forward to Naruto once again— to kill him. **

**Naruto falls, again, struggling up. Michiru growls and runs forward, hauling a shocked Naruto up and putting the boy on his shoulders. Michiru yells out his courage as he runs to Ishidate, not stopping or faltering one step. **

"That's the way!" Kakashi rallies.

"Way to go Michiru!" Kushina cheers, rooting for the prince.

**Ishidate growls, anger rising. His glowing glove sinks into the ground, pulling up a large chunk of stone. He lifts it up and releases it, punching it before it could fall. The stone glows and becomes a hail of projectiles headed straight for Michiru and Naruto.**

**Michiru flinches and turns his face, but he is unfortunate. He is stabbed— three times in the stomach, and once just above his left knee.**

"Ooh!" the group winces, shaking their heads. Such an injury is painful for any of them, but for a pampered prince? It must be _agony_.

**He roars in pain, tears coursing down his face. "It hurts!" he cries, stumbling back.**

"**Father!" Hikaru yells, running forward to push against the man's back, keeping Michiru from falling back. "Father, come on, you have to keep going!"**

"**He's coming!" Naruto warns, rasengan held aloft. **

**Ishidate's glove burns even brighter, the eye becoming black with an inverted pupil, the glove glowing with livid red lines. **

**Chamu roars, running up from the side as he attacks Ishidate, sinking his teeth into the man's arm. In his pain, Ishidate loses control over the glove and it returns to its original form. He shakes his arm, trying to disengage Chamu. Kiki dives in to help, landing on the man's head and scratching everywhere he can reach on the man's face.**

"**Chamu . . . Kiki . . ." Hikaru whispers, voice trembling. He renews his effort to push Michiru. "Come on father, you can do this! Look at them, at Chamu and Kiki and Naruto. They've been protecting us . . . our land! We owe it to them to stand and fight!"**

"Strong and wise words." Tsunade nods.

**Those seem to be the key words, because Michiru finally moves— forward. He shouts and runs forward again, tears and sweat intermingling on his face as he rushes forward again. **

"**That's the way, King!" Naruto hollers, grinning savagely at Ishidate. **

**They run forward as one, Naruto holding his rasengan up high. They are illuminated by the light of the crescent moon . . . and so is the rasengan. It glows, then grows to three times its size— the color changes from chakra blue to silvery moonlight.**

"Ah! The rasengan changed again!" Minato exclaims, turning to his sensei. "Just like the time in Yuki . . . the first might be a fluke, but a second time? This bears some investigation."

"Definitely," Jiraiya mumbles. "What shall we call it? Ah let's see . . . Lunar Rasengan!"

**Chamu and Kiki finally disengage from Ishidate. Their job is done.**

**And as the rasengan descends, so is Ishidate.**

**The area explodes, a cloud of dust and debris immediately rising up and surrounding all, masking everything. **

**It's over. And they must all realize it too, as the King's loyal soldiers start to mill around, looking for the Konoha shinobi and the princes— ah, sorry, King Michiru and Prince Hikaru.**

**Sakura is the first to get out of the castle, and she blinks in confusion when she sees a giggling Katsu poking an unresponsive yet still conscious Kakashi-sensei on the cheek.**

Obito chokes on a snigger, and mutters a hurried apology as he clears his throat. Ignoring the dirty look Kakashi is giving him, he continues on reading.

"**Phwoo, boy Kakashi!" Katsu whistles, grinning as she continues to poke Kakashi's masked cheek, despite his venomous glare. "You sure are beat. **_**Up**_**!" **

"Way to kick a man when he's down, brat." Kakashi growls.

"**By all the kamis above and below, I hate you." He growls tiredly.**

**Sakura walks up to them, and crouches by the side of Kakashi. "Uh, sensei? Are you okay?"**

"**Oh, sure," he answers tiredly, voice ragged. "Nothing a couple weeks of intensive care won't fix."**

"**Sweet, that means a couple weeks of vacation duty!" Sakura cheers.**

"**Did someone say vacation?! Hell yes!" Katsu whoops, jumping up to spin around the fountain.**

"**Ungrateful brats." Kakashi chuckles tiredly. **

**The soldiers have found the King and his son, along with the last shinobi of Konoha. The first thing Naruto says?**

"**Ugh, SAKURA! Someone get Sakura, I **_**cannot**_** lose this leg! I'm too handsome to be crippled like this!" **

"Damn straight." Kakashi, Obito, and Rin advocate. They blink at each other in surprise, before laughing.

"You kids are so shallow." Minato mockingly chides them.

"Whatever sensei!" They snort.

* * *

**And Gaurdians of the Crescent Moon is . . . not over yet! There's still an extra isn't there?! On to chapter twenty-five people!**

**But please, before you go, do leave a review.**


	25. Chapter 25

**OK folks! Here we have the extra to Crescent Moon? Remember the scenes they'd show us in the end credits of the movie? It really made me wonder what they did during the two week vacation duty. So, this is my little chapter just for that. Well, it's not little, it's about 70 pages. Still, this was just my way of letting the creative juices flow, a sort of drabble thing, you know? **

**Everyone needs a break, even Chosen One's like Naruto. So enjoy, my light hearted chapter. Next Chapter: the first (and only canon) "filler" chapter! Which filler you ask? Ngh. Nah, fond out for yourselves. Expect an update . . . meh. Whenever. Middle of April perhaps? That should do nicely. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

"Oh, looks like another extra to the chapter!" Obito pointed out, and then promptly thrust the book to Tsunade.

"Take this part please, Tsunade-sama." Obito requests cheerily, and Tsunade smiles as she grabs the book.

"Great, I get a good part to read!" She chirps, and then takes a deep breath as she starts to read.

**Naruto awoke slowly, peacefully, to sunlight gentled by the silk curtains in his room. At first, he was confused. He certainly didn't remember buying silk curtains for Katsu (and he'd remember shelling out the cash for that), and while comfortable, the bed they had never felt like a cloud . . . and then he remembered where he was.**

**After saving their kingdom from that evil what's-his-face, Michiru in all his generosity and awesomeness, granted them the use of rooms in the castle whilst they were in two-week vacation duty for Kakashi's recovery.**

"Hell yes!" Obito and Kakashi yell high-fiving.

**Hell yes.**

**Naruto arose, glancing down at the rich blues and golds of the sheets he had been practically swathed in just a little while ago. He surveyed his room, just to see what he'd missed from last night. He slept in a large bed, easily king-size or bigger, with detailed posts on each corner. Next to the beds rested nightstands with wood lamps on either side, detailed designs of waves carved into them. The room was as big as the living room of his home back in Konoha, and on the wall opposite his bed were large glass doors leading to a balcony. In one corner stood a table with a couple chairs around it, and in the other corner was a writing desk, close to the balcony. **

**Naruto only gave this a few moments thought before he slipped out of bed, walking towards the door that would lead to the hallway. Right as he opened it, a maid froze outside his room, hand raised to knock.**

"**Oh! Good morning, Uzumaki-san, I . . ." the maid glanced down then quickly back up with a red face, eyes averted from Naruto's shirtless form. "I t-trust . . . you slept well?" **

Kushina's head tilts back as she laughs. "Honestly, it's not his fault this time is it? Poor sochi just has his father's luck."

"Well that luck got me you, so I'm not complaining." Minato murmurs, rolling his eyes playfully.

**Naruto realized he was shirtless at the same time the maid did, and was privately amused at her sudden bashfulness. He was only thirteen, what was there to blush about quite yet? **

"That's an excellent question." Rin giggles, and Tsunade laughs.

"Exactly." Kakashi mutters in an exasperated tone. Obito hears him and is quick to swoop in on the opportunity for teasing.

"Poor Kakashi-kun . . . too good-looking for your own peace of mind, have to look over your shoulder every minute to make sure you don't get molested!" Obito simpers, eyes widening to large, watery puppy dog eyes. Kakashi's right eyebrow twitches and he swipes at Obito, who dodges with a laugh.

"He just doesn't understand sensei." Kakashi sighs.

"I know, my student . . . he is lucky." Minato commiserates, nodding his head sagely.

"**Yes, it was wonderful thank you."**

**The maid took a deep breath and nodded, sternly reminding herself of her job. "I came to inform you that breakfast is served, and while you can take it up here, the royal family insist that you join them in the dining hall. I shall escort you if that is your wish."**

"**I think then, I should probably freshen up . . . but I don't wish to trouble you." Naruto said.**

"**Not at all Uzumaki-san! I will just wake up your friend in the room next to you— the others of your group are being awoken by other maids." The maid cheerfully replied, though she still wouldn't look at him.**

"**I see. Thank you, er . . ."**

"**Hanazuki Kaede, Uzumaki-san." The maid gave her name with a curtsy.**

**Naruto smiled. "Thank you then, Hanazuki-san. I won't be long." With a smile Naruto closed the door and started to get ready. Instead of a bath with a connecting shower, there was just one very large shower, with the toilet and sink next to it. Though it slightly intrigued him that a castle would have a western style bathroom, Naruto found he enjoyed the several shower heads far too much to really focus on it.**

"Ooh that sounds wonderful." Kushina sighs, a dreamy smile on her face.

**He put on orange swim trunks and a black A-shirt. He brought his usual stuff with him, just in case a good opportunity for a fight arose. **

"But he's on vacation duty!" Rin protests.

"Unless you're home in Konoha, you never lower your guard. Vacation duty or no, it's caution— you can call it paranoia if you want— that keeps you alive." Minato warns his students, not looking away until they'd nodded or given some verbal agreement.

**Once he left the room, he paused; hearing footsteps in the room next to him get closer. The door opened to reveal Hanazuki and Katsu, who looked refreshed and perky in a blue sundress.**

"**Ohayou Naru!" Katsu chirped, skipping to his side as soon as she saw him. Naruto grinned at her.**

"**Ohayou! Let's head down for some breakfast shall we?" Naruto invited, and Hanazuki escorted them down the winding flights of stairs to the incredibly huge, indescribably elegant dining room. The ceiling stretched up far above their heads, and the room stretched to house an impossibly long table, where everyone else sat. **

"**Naruto!" Hikaru chirps his name, and Naruto greets the little boy with a big grin and a peace sign before addressing everyone else. **

"**Ohayou everyone, what's the plan for today?" Naruto greeted them all. With a murmur of thanks to Hanazuki, the two found their seats next to Sasuke.**

"**Well, I feel like I've been trampled on by five elephants and then put through a wood chipper— as opposed to the horde of elephants, being chewed on by a tiger, and then pulverized and ground by a meat grinder. So Sakura suggested we stay in the garden today." Kakashi answered in a casual tone, thanking the butlers who laid out breakfast before them, opening the silver trays and bowing as they discreetly moved away.**

"Can I be as cool as you one day Kakashi?" Obito asks earnestly.

Kakashi thinks about it, then slowly nods his head. "If you really work for it, you can achieve it."

"**That's cool. Katsu and I are going to the beach. We'll probably be there all day, so if you get bored of the garden come find us." Naruto informs them.**

"**We might head over there in a couple of hours." Kakashi proposes, smiling at the excited cheers from Sakura and Lee.**

"You, of course, won't be swimming. Forget about tanning, that milk white skin of yours would only boil." Obito teases, whining at the slap from his silver-haired friend.

"**If you walk to the town square there's a nice shop to buy some beach supplies to make the day more enjoyable." Michiru— The King, Naruto reminds himself— tells them, smiling at the way the children's faces brightened. **

"**We will head there straight after breakfast, Your Excellency." Naruto thanks Michiru. Once he and Katsu have finished, with a quick chirp of thanks and a bow, they hurry to leave the castle and get their day started. **

**Throughout their walk they are greeted, almost lauded by the citizens of Tsuki, which is quite the embarrassing novelty to Katsu, and a minor pleasant distraction to Naruto. The shop is full of other beachgoers, and they link hands to keep together. Naruto grabs a cooler, two red-and-white striped beach umbrellas, and a large donut ring float. Katsu grabs two beach towels, and eyes the rack of surfboards contemplatively before grabbing the air pump and a beach ball.**

"Sure it'd be cool to learn surfing, but they'll likely never have another opportunity to surf after they leave. Plus it'd probably take two weeks to learn anyhow." Kakashi rationalizes.

**They slip into another store a few doors down and stock up on food, certain they'd eat it all after a full day, and make sure to get some for the others who will come. **

**There are just about thirty different beach sites they can go to, and it's both an adventure and a hassle finding out which one they should visit first. They eventually decide to go to the beach directly behind the castle, but keep in mind a lagoon on the west end of the island for tomorrow. A spot just in front of two palm trees is chosen, and once everything is settled a dress flies and a top is chucked as two laughing teen's race towards the crystalline waters of the ocean.**

"The ocean . . . yeah, it is pretty cool." Obito sighs, eyes misty and faraway.

"How crude . . . that doesn't do the ocean justice. It's so . . . beautiful!" Rin sighs dreamily, hands twisting fanciful curls and waves in the air to describe the apparent beauty.

"Heh. You guys enjoy the ocean?" Kushina asks with a knowing smile. She used to live on an island after all, and after being moved to Konoha her memories of it were that much more precious.

"Yeah! It must have been pretty wonderful living by it every day, huh Kushina-san?" Obito asks thoughtlessly, only realizing how insensitive it might be to bring up her childhood home when Rin elbows him in the side rather harshly.

"I'm sorry . . ." he trails off.

"Nah, you're right! It was awesome, couldn't have wished for a better childhood than swimming from the moment I could crawl, searching for sea glass . . . it was wonderful." Kushina answers, her smile carrying only a trace of melancholy.

"**Aiee! It's cold!" Katsu shrieks, giggling as she forces herself to wade into deeper waters.**

**Naruto laughs and dives into the waters, immediately popping up again. "Ack! You're right, but the shock fades . . ." He shudders, but shakes it off and smiles.**

**Another dive affords him a beautiful new world, crystal clear and beautiful. There were no fish around in the shallower waters, but farther out in the darker depths he could see colorful flashes dart to and fro, wary of the human legs and feet that entangle far from them.**

**He swims past Katsu, brushing against her leg and grinning when she jumps, and swims a little further ahead before he surfaces. Katsu pouts at him, the water now waist-high as she walks forward.**

"**Just dive in! Real quick, like a Band-Aid." Naruto promises her, and Katsu shakes her head, preferring her slow and easy way. **

Kushina hums in disagreement. "Much better to just jump in, it's easier that way."

**Naruto splashes a little water her way, laughing at her hasty backpedals, before he resumes his exploration of the underwater world. He swims around and torpedoes for Katsu, who spots the quick flash of orange heading her way and raises her leg to stomp him into the sand— but Naruto is too quick, and with a roar he jumps out of the water and traps her in his arms, falling backwards into the water.**

"**AHH! DAMN IT— NARUTO!" Katsu wails, surging up and shaking her head like a, well, wet dog. **

"Ugh, hate that." Kushina and Tsunade grunt with a shudder for good effect.

"**See? Easy right?" Naruto asks with an unrepentant grin, and Katsu growls, splashing him. They swim and play in the sea, sometimes floating and sometimes going back to lie for a bit on the beach towels, snacking. Naruto and Katsu make a game out of racing to climb the palm trees— far more difficult with the rule of no chakra— and grabbing as many coconuts as they can. They are surprised at the taste of coconut water, but find it pleasant after a few swallows. **

"Oh, I haven't had fresh coconut in ages. There's a meat inside," Kushina explains to the kids, who look mystified, "it's a bit of an acquired taste, but the water inside the coconut that's flavored by the meat makes it great. It's a . . . think of it as a large nut. It grows on palm trees."

"I suddenly wish I'd grown up on an island." Obito murmurs much to the amusement of the adults.

"**Hey you guys!" Naruto and Katsu turn at the sound of Sakura's voice, and Katsu struggles not to choke on a combination of coconut water and laughter. Naruto shoots her a look and a reproachful mutter of, "Don't be petty," but she can't help herself. Sakura in her red bikini— whereas she is dressed in a more conservative white and blue tankini— just tickles her funny bone. **

It tickles Rin's funny bone to, because something between a low guffaw, and a gasp escapes her mouth. She claps a hand over her mouth when she sees everyone looking at her, and there is a muffled, "Sorry."

Minato gives her a disappointed look. "Rin, there is no need for that. What Sakura chooses to wear is her choice."

Kushina can't help but add in, "I don't really see what a thirteen year-old needs with a bikini anyway."

"Girls are vicious to each other." Obito remarks with a mildly bemused look on his face.

"But they're even worse when they band together against a common enemy, so take care to never let it be you." Jiraiya advises him with a chuckle.

**Lee dashes towards them in green swim trunks, reaching them before Sakura, and salutes them with an enthusiastic greeting.**

"**Yo, Lee, how about some coconut water? Then we can race a couple laps." Naruto challenges the bowl-cut boy with a wicked grin, and Lee grins back. **

**Kakashi saunters towards them in a sleeveless top with an attached mask, and his jounin pants. "You've been having fun I take it?" he asks the two, eyeing their messy hair, drying in wild ways from the saltwater. Their bright eyes and bodies tensed with energy yet to be exhausted by the sun and surf.**

"**The ocean is so cool nii-san!" Naruto exclaims, hands moving rapidly as he recaps what he and Katsu have done, what they've seen and noticed. ". . . and I swear I glimpsed a dolphin but Katsu doesn't believe me!"**

"He's so excited." Kushina giggles fondly.

"You'll have to take him on trips to the ocean before he goes into the Academy." Tsunade says.

"**Well now, I'm sure you can see another dolphin more clearly with those eyes of yours over the course of our stay here Naruto." Kakashi cuts in smoothly, ruffling the slightly crisp hair of Naruto, who wrinkles his nose a little at the action.**

_**He's still just a kid. He's seen a lot, he's done a lot . . . but he's not ready to push into manhood just yet. **_**Kakashi realizes as he watches the blonde and ginger run into the water after their friends, shouting happily. He sighs and flops down on the beach towels, grabbing a coconut and cracking it open as he watches over the kids. **

"Hatake Kakashi," Obito deepens his voice and speaks in an announcer's tone. "He cracks open coconuts . . . with one finger."

**He glances up at the sun, high in the sky but starting to sink into late afternoon and resides himself to waiting a long time for dinner. **

**For two days after Naruto and Katsu hit the water hotspots of the island, the lagoon holding a special place in their heart. They took Hikaru along with them to the lagoon on the second day, even managing to get out of taking guards with them as Naruto assured he was more than enough for any straggler rebel. By the morning of the fourth day Kakashi figured it was time to curtail the beach visits, if only to save himself the exhaustion of having to look all over the island for them, to make sure they were safe.**

"Oh, they're just trying to get in as many memories as they can. It's not like the beach is close to home." Kushina allows, a fond smile warming her features.

"It's best to take a break before they catch a fever from the sun, or heatstroke, or . . . something." Kakashi argues, only stumbling when he realizes how much he sounds like a fretting mother. Judging by Minato and Kushina's sly smiles, they realize it too.

"**You've been going to the beaches from morning till night, for three days already. How about trying something different? We're here for eleven more days, the beaches aren't going anywhere." Kakashi persuades, observing the kids— already naturally tan, they'd taken on a shade or two from their excursions and their bright eyes and hair seemed to glow against their skin. Naruto and Katsu look at each other for a minute before shrugging and turning to Kakashi.**

"**Well what else is there to do?" Katsu asks.**

**Michiru answers. "There's the marketplace, it's always very cheerful and bustling— every day down there is like a festival! I remember you also telling me you enjoy karaoke . . . there's a place for that where you and your friends can go!" **

"**There is also the hot springs owned by the royal family." Hikaru added.**

"Hot springs after a dip in the sea? Just heavenly." Kushina sighs.

"**Not to mention the casinos—"**

"**Which they are too young to go to." Kakashi cuts in with a stern look to Naruto and Katsu.**

"**Right. Oh, and the mall—" Michiru was cut off by the loud clattering of a fork as it fell to a plate out of boneless fingers. As one they all turned to look at Katsu, whose bloodless face and saucer eyes scared a good few of them. Sakura, though she had no fork to fall as dramatically as Katsu's in her hands, still looked rather manic.**

"Ugh." Minato groaned. "My son's poor bank account."

"Hey!" Kushina snaps, poking Minato's side.

"**There's a mall?" Katsu whispered, head turning slowly, like something out of a horror movie, to hold the royal family in her stare.**

**Michiru gulped, stuttering out a reply. "Y-yes. Just about a thirty minute drive by carriage."**

"**So close? A real mall?" Sakura piped up this time, voice awed. "The nearest mall to Konoha is a two day walk. We only have marketplaces and little shops in Konoha . . ."**

"That mall . . . my first time there was like . . . reaching Nirvana, or something." Rin recollects with an uplifted face, eyes closed in the bliss of the memory.

"Nothing— that's nothing compared to the mall in, of all places, Tea country." Tsunade tells her wisely.

"**My money . . ." Naruto muttered, tears streaming down his face. Kakashi makes a sympathetic noise and pats him on the back, but there is little he can do. **

"**Ooh, can I come with you?!" Hikaru pleads.**

"**Hikaru, remember you had your holiday. Now you've lessons to work on with your tutor." Michiru reminds him patiently. Hikaru wilts and agrees with a wistful look and a mumbled assent. Naruto smiles and ruffles the child's hair, silently appealing to the boy to perk up.**

"**Well," Katsu swallows a gulp of orange juice, a thoughtful look on her face. "We can just hang out wherever today!"**

"**YOSH! Let us go and fan our flames of youth with the culture of this beautiful island!" Lee exclaims, shooting a fist into the air. **

"**Oh Lee, if you'd just tone down the volume and your eyebrows you'd be a wonderful catch." Katsu sighs, making Lee and Sakura gawk and Naruto splutter with laughter into his cup of oolong tea. **

"I don't think she was saying that to tease either . . . does she really believe so?" Rin wonders.

"Well, Gai does lots of exercises right? Lee must follow suit . . . and I once heard Gai proclaim he'd do a hundred push-ups _with his tongue_. Judging by his downright repugnance to all things flavorful the following three days afterwards, I assume he completed his task." Kakashi informs her.

"With his tongue?" The woman all mutter, heads tilting to the side in consideration.

"Um, right here? Remember me? Handsomest non-Uchiha in Konoha?" Minato waves his hand in front of his girlfriend's face, looking perturbed.

**They spend the day taking a group trip down to the Royal Gardens— a breathtakingly beautiful testament to landscaping and design. There were all sorts of flowers in bloom, archways made from the hedges, vines and clusters of flowers that hung overhead. There was even a maze in the garden that they turned into a race course, marveling over the hidden alcoves and fountains surrounded by benches hidden away in the maze. **

**That evening they, with the exception of Kakashi, headed out to the Karaoke bar Michiru had spoken of, and they tried to dress it up a little. Sakura had on her usual pink dress that she took along, her hair pinned up in a bun with her bangs down and slightly curled; Lee just wore his ninja uniform, the only thing flashy about him was his extra bright white teeth that sparkled in any light; Naruto had on a deep blue button-up— and blue was apparently his color, if the blushes of the females he passed were any indication— **

"See, I told you blue is a perfectly acceptable color." Minato taunts, lightly poking Kushina's cheek. She slaps the offending appendage away with a faint scowl.

"Sure for you, because it doesn't look _quite_ so boring on _you_. For everyone else? Well, that's all perspective isn't it?" Kushina argues.

**shirt and faded blue jeans; Katsu went for a long fluttery yellow skirt that swished around her ankles at every movement, and a sleeveless off-shoulder black and yellow top. The place wasn't empty but nor was it terrible packed, so they were able to find a nice booth to order and watch others come up and perform. Sakura insisted they all sign up to sing, and put them all up. **

"**Ah!" Katsu mewled, stretching like a cat after she'd finished her meal. "That was delicious, and . . . ha, Lee is really giving it his all." She says this with an indulgent tone, smiling at Lee as he wows the crowd with a flurry of kicks and punches in time to "Kung Fu Fighting." **

"Perfect song." Rin, Obito, and Kakashi chime.

"**He's terrible but his showmanship more than makes up for it." Sakura agrees, giggling at Lee's double backflip.**

"**He sounds like a dying animal, but . . . I love it." Naruto mumbles around a bite of seasoned potato. **

**Lee finished with a grand sweeping kick, the applause for his performance loud and pleasing enough to the boy for him to backflip off the stage and rush over to their booth. **

"**Guys! How was that?!"Lee asks them, eyes shining.**

"**Oh, it was **_**awesome**_**." They all agree, nodding their heads. They chuckle at Lee's enthusiastic shout, and watch as Naruto goes up for his turn.**

"Oh, can't we hear him? Please?" Kushina begs the TV, but pouts when it gives its answer.

_Not this time . . . you'll surely be more entertained later. _

"Well, we'll just have to imagine it. We heard his voice before, we just have to imagine that voice singing!" Obito says optimistically.

"**Is he any good?" Sakura asks Katsu, figuring she'd know best.**

**Katsu gives her a secret smile and a lofty, "He's alright."**

**Naruto was better than alright— Lee and Sakura's jaws dropped— he was **_**amazing**_**. He had the voice of a devil— where an angel's would be smooth and pure, Naruto's was an almost rough purr, loud and full. He belted out "Akai Hana" with a confidence, almost arrogance, that had the whole place crowing.**

"Oh, those missed opportunities for research." Jiraiya mumbles sadly, shaking his head at the sheer waste of it all.

Kushina's eyes shine like stars, her smile sappy yet undeniably sweet. "My baby— my perfect, wonderful baby. But I wonder where he gets his singing from, certainly not me . . ."

"I've never heard you sing . . . I just can't see you being bad." Minato confesses with a thoughtful frown.

Kushina spears him with a sullen glare. "I bet he gets it from you. He got just about everything from you."

"Just his looks. And probably some of his intellect— he does have to actually think about things." Tsunade reminds her.

"**LET YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY NARUTO-KUN!" Lee shouts exuberantly as Naruto serenades the crowd. **

**Naruto returns to the table afterwards, laughing at the all-encompassing blush on Sakura's face and the ever excitable Lee still crowing. "I take it you enjoyed?" he asked rhetorically, but they answered anyway.**

"**Ah, I just love Last Alliance! You picked a good song, though I thought Prometheus was more your style." Katsu sighs.**

"**N-Naruto . . . that— that was . . ." Sakura mutters, tongue twisting for the right words.**

"Don't go falling in love with him now Pinkie, he's taken." Rin chides, chuckling.

"**Amazing? Fantastic? Freaking awesome?" Naruto supplies. **

"**. . . Yeah." Sakura says faintly. She doesn't have too long to be faint though, as it's her turn on the stage, so she skips up after a couple deep breaths and gives the audience a cute smile. Her choice is "Itazura na Kiss," a cute bubblegum pop song that suits her, and her sweet voice.**

"Itazura na Kiss . . . hmm. I feel like it's familiar . . . or maybe I'm thinking of another kiss song." Rin mumbles.

"**Huh, so she can sing." Katsu murmurs thoughtfully, tapping a finger to the beat.**

"**You sound shocked?" Naruto asks, ducking out of the way of Lee's flaming windmill arms of youth.**

"**Well with the way she can screech— you just never thought something so nasty could turn into something so nice." Katsu explains. Naruto looks at her for a moment before sighing and shaking his head.**

"Too true." Rin and Tsunade agree, nodding their heads in a solemn fashion.

"She's _thirteen_. You're _terrible_." Minato scolds them.

"**I never noticed . . . but she made as bad an impression as Kakashi somehow, didn't she? Only unlike nii-san . . . you have yet to grace her a trial period." He deducts correctly. Katsu merely shrugs, clapping along with everyone else when Sakura finishes her song and bows with flushed cheeks, rushing back to their table. **

"**My turn now!" Katsu chirps, throwing up a 'V' for victory before climbing up to the stage. Their table has been recognized now for good entertainment, so the rest of the room is eager to test her. Katsu doesn't disappoint with her pick of "Love is War (Future Retro Remix)" that she hits perfectly, her voice just as enthralling as Naruto's. **

"**Ooh, I love karaoke! We definitely must come here one more time before we leave." Katsu exclaims as she bounces back to her seat, eyes bright. **

"And we definitely want to hear!" The group shouts.

"**Oh definitely. And now, we must go, it's getting rather late." Naruto points out, and after clearing their bill they return to the palace, eagerly awaiting the newest adventure of the next day. **

"**Why are we here?" Sakura asks with an annoyed scoff, lounging on a beach towel draped over hard stone. Sakura's main annoyance is the fact that instead of lying on softer, white sands, they're probably hurting their backs on the hard cliffs.**

"What are they going to cliffs for?" Rin asked, wrinkling her nose.

"You'll see." Kushina said vaguely, smiling.

"**Lee and Katsu wanted to check out the cliffs, and I didn't care either way, so you were outvoted." Naruto reminds her, just barely able to hear her over the blaring of his own music. Heavy metal was just so much more appreciable on cliffs, really. **

"**What for?" Sakura pushed, but she scoffed when Naruto didn't answer, realizing he'd turned his volume up. She turns on her side to watch Katsu and Lee huddle together, discussing something. Then looks over to see Kakashi-sensei snoozing on a large rock, Icha Icha book covering his face. **

"That's showing a great deal of trust, isn't it Kakashi?" Obito asks.

"Not like they'll ever see what's under my mask, _right_, Obito?" Kakashi asks in a needling tone, smirking at the boy with a pointed look. Obito grumbles and looks away angrily, not answering.

**She leans up on an elbow and reaches for the picnic basket, grabbing a bottle of chilled pineapple juice. Sitting up and folding her legs to the side, she takes a swig.**

**Only to promptly spit it out when Katsu makes a running leap off the cliff.**

"They wanted to go cliff diving? That's dangerous if you don't know how to properly do it, isn't it?" Tsunade asks Kushina.

The Uzu princess shrugs. "Not hard, just feet first into the water. The only tricky part is if you wanna do tricks before you hit the water. Then timing's important."

"**N-Naruto!" Sakura shrieks, gesturing wildly as Lee follows Katsu with an excited yell. Kakashi picks up his book and looks over to where she's indicating, snorting when he realizes what's happened. **

**Naruto's head pops up, looking around as he pushes the headphones down again. He frowns. "Did they just jump off the cliff?"**

"**Yep." Kakashi mutters, settling in for another satisfying snooze under the baking sun.**

"I hope you slathered on sunscreen milky." Obito sniggers, yelping in pain when Kakashi's fist nearly dislocates his shoulder.

"**Why are you being so calm?!" Sakura yells, scrabbling up to run to the edge of the cliff. All she can see is the foam ripple left behind by two bodies that plunged into the briny depths— no bodies. "They just— just jumped!"**

"**It's called cliff diving Sakura, they'll be fine." Naruto sighs, scrolling through his songs. As Sakura gapes at him, Naruto fishes through the picnic basket for a strawberry juice and a sandwich. **

"**How do you know?" She demands.**

"**Well, Lee is just too damn tough to die from . . . heights. Also, Katsu and I dived off the smaller cliffs around the watering hole. Remember that lake?" Naruto asks her.**

Tsunade snorts in amusement. "They still call it the watering hole?" she mutters, with a look to Jiraiya.

"No one ever bothered to make a better name for it?" Jiraiya questions back, chuckling.

"The watering hole is perfect. Perfectly describes that little lake." Obito states.

"Got to love the watering hole." Minato and Kushina echo, nodding their heads.

**Sakura snorts. "Yeah, I do. But those cliffs were like, ten feet up! These are more like ten miles!"**

"**Psh— physics," Naruto waves away her arguments like smoke clouds. "Just watch, you might be tempted to try yourself."**

"**How are they getting back up?" Sakura asks.**

"**Cliff walking, my dear. Now, uh, just relax." Naruto murmurs, lying back and putting his music back on. **

**The next day: Hide-and-seek in the castle. **

**There's no adequate way to describe it to the readers. Things happened that should never be mentioned again, and . . . things were seen that could not be unseen. But above all, there was much fun and laughs to be had. **

**The new morning sees Sakura pausing outside of Naruto's door, chewing her lip nervously. **

_**I have to know . . . do I really want to know? No . . . I need to know, it'll explain so much! **_**Sakura tells herself determinedly. However, her gearing up does not help her fist move any closer to the door. **

**Naruto heard her outside his door when she stopped in front of it roughly ten minutes ago, and decides to put her out of her misery. He opens the door and feigns a surprised look. "Oh, Sakura . . . ohaiyou, what can I help you with?"**

**Sakura takes a deep breath. "I was wondering if we could talk . . . about you, and . . ." she trails off uncertainly. **

**Naruto's eyes widen. He'd thought for sure she'd just push it away until whenever. "I've been waiting a while. Come on in then, this conversation is better done in privacy." He opens the door wider, allowing her to slip in. Naruto closes the door and they take a seat at the table in the corner. Sakura perches at the edge of her seat and sits tensely, her level of discomfort showing itself plainly. Naruto thinks about taking pity on her again, but shakes the thought away. This was her problem, not his. **

"**You . . . in Yuki no Kuni, you said something about the Kyuubi." Sakura begins. She clears her throat. "You told me to figure it out, and I wondered what you meant. What connection you could possibly have to a demon, and that demon in particular."**

"**Have you come to a conclusion?" Naruto speaks after an awkward pause.**

"**A few theories, that you can confirm." Sakura hedges. "Are you . . . a relation to the Kyuubi?"**

"**Nope. Interesting how you came about that, but I'll leave it for later." Naruto muses.**

"**Then . . . I thought about that word you used in the Chuunin Exams. Jinchuuriki, which literally means human sacrifice. And your birthday is the same day as the Kyuubi's death. Were you meant to be a sacrifice for it? Like, some sort of meal?" Sakura feels stupid and incredibly dreadful just speaking the theory aloud, but she's running out of steam.**

**Naruto laughs. "What could a baby do to quell that demon's hunger? No . . . but you're close with the jinchuuriki thing. I have already been sacrificed."**

"**Already . . ." she murmurs, looking to the side. "I'm out of ideas."**

"**I'll tell you then." Naruto settles back into his seat, getting comfortable. Of all who he wondered about telling this too, it was Sakura he was the most doubtful of. Not because he considered her that shallow, or a bad person, but simply because of her civilian upbringing.**

"**Kyuubi is a being of chakra, and therefore he is unable to be killed. Still, he needed to be stopped, so there was little else the Yondaime could do but seal the great demon inside a newborn baby. A newborn who had no chakra system properly defined, otherwise it wouldn't work."**

"**And he chose you." Sakura whispered.**

"**Yes." His voice had dropped too.**

"**Why?"**

"**He had no other . . . well, he had choices. I was easily available at the time though." Naruto answers. **

"**But then . . . all the times you got in trouble at school, even when you hadn't said anything, or done a prank? And the way people glared— still glare? They . . . think you are Kyuubi don't they?" Sakura whispers, horrified. All those times her own parents had warned her against Naruto, and the way everyone had just sneered and rejected him. She thought it had been retribution for pranks, but even she knew at times that those stares and whispers were undeserved. She just never knew.**

"**Whether it's because they think I am Kyuubi, or I am just a memory they wish could fade away, is debatable. I am a reminder of something so very painful. Every breath I take is a slap in the face of those whose loved ones lost in the attack, can never breathe again. It hurts, and I get that." Naruto explains simply.**

"**That's no excuse." Sakura states lowly, staring at the marble top of the table in front of her. Naruto's soft laugh makes her look up to his grinning face.**

"**As long as you think so." Naruto assures her, and Sakura understands.**

**The day after that? Naruto has discovered three different waterfalls on the island, and he quickly scoops up Katsu and makes for them with the intent to get some opportune training in with his wind chakra. **

"Good use of your time." Jiraiya commends.

"**. . ." Katsu's head tilts in contemplation as she watches her best friend— and about twenty other copies, fifty at the other two sites— try to split a waterfall in half with their chakra.**

"_**How**_** does this help?" she asks.**

"**I told you— the sharper my chakra, the cleaner and longer the cut. Once I completely split it, I'll know I've completed this phase of training." Naruto reminds her, focused on the task set before him.**

"**Oh. Well, you should be able to do this second nature right?" Katsu insists.**

**Naruto sighs, "Yes, hime, I should." **

"**So . . ."**

"**Katsu. Busy. Entertain yourself, take some pictures or something!" Naruto cuts her off.**

"That's rude Naruto." Kushina frowns, crossing her arms.

**Katsu huffs and throws a pebble at his shoulder. It hits target and the flinch breaks his concentration. **

"**What the hell?!" Naruto asks her.**

"**Concentration training." Katsu shrugs, bored. She couldn't swim and enjoy the waterfall with all of them taking it up, and the water was too cold for such a windy day. Why **_**not**_** take out her boredom on Naruto.**

**Naruto growled. "Quit it brat, and just keep quiet. You can still swim!"**

"**Too cold." Katsu complained.**

"And you do care about her health, don't you?" Tsunade asks with a raised blonde eyebrow.

**Naruto's head tilts back, a growl begging to be released. "How . . . **_**is that my problem?**_**"**

"You brought her there." Obito and Kakashi point out.

**A snarl of "You brought me here!" and two more pebbles to his lower back is the response.**

**Katsu is still mad at Naruto the day after, so she takes Sakura in the early, golden dawn hours out to breakfast before they start their mall excursion so that she can avoid Naruto.**

**When Naruto awakes a few hours later at a more normal time, he only rolls his eyes when he sees her and Sakura's spots open at the table.**

"Second fight, his fault." Rin murmurs, as if keeping tally.

"**So they left this morning?" Naruto asks, digging into his plate of poached eggs. **

"**Yes, but not to worry!" Michiru chirps, poking at his breakfast of fruit and a cream-cheese bagel, a large leafy green salad. It was decided that he ought to lose weight, to keep their new King as healthy and vital as possible— and while he appreciated the thought, he never quite imagined he'd have to . . . suffer. "I gave them an allowance, seeing as Katsu was inconvenienced by our rebellion, and her vacation was put on hold." **

"**An allowance?" Naruto echoes, giving Michiru a quizzical look.**

"**Yes, of about . . ." Michiru quote the number. Naruto chokes on his swallow of orange juice, Lee drops his slice of melon, and Kakashi snorts, shoulders shaking as he presses a fist to his mouth.**

"**Why?!" Naruto whimpers. Michiru doesn't answer, just gives a confused and nervous smile in replacement. **

"**You all are welcome to the same, when you decide to go souvenir shopping." He mutters. **

**The day drags on, and without Katsu and Sakura the boys see no reason to go out, and merely spar. Naruto has sent out thirty clones to each waterfall, and he's working in one of the gazebos in the Royal Garden. He is sure he's near a breakthrough with the letter communication seal he'd been working on . . . if it worked, it would change communication between ninja teams, hell the ninja world! Hmm . . . quick mail sent via seals . . . maybe s-mail? He sighs . . . Katsu hadn't yet seen this part of the Garden, she should like it when he shows it to her . . . after he apologized. **

"Uh-huh." Kushina and Tsunade hum, glad Naruto's seen his wrongs.

**He is brought out of his work by a heavy, troubled sigh and heavy footsteps that approach the archway in his section of the Garden. To his surprise, in walks King Michiru, who is looking stressed? Naruto rises, and the slight scuffling noise makes Michiru jump, yelping.**

"**Oh!" Michiru sighs. "Naruto, it's you. Did I disturb you?"**

"**Never, Your Highness." Naruto demurs, and gestures to the seats in the gazebo. "Looking for a good place to rest? The wind is perfect today; it practically tastes of surf and the barbeques on the beach."**

"Um, don't mention barbeque!" Obito whimpers, looking at the snacks on the table out before them. PB&J just does not compare to barbeque.

"**Don't mention barbeque in front of me." Michiru groans, dropping into the seat, making the wood creak.**

"**Something troubles you Your Grace?" Naruto asks, sitting back down and picking up his ink brush again. **

"**You could say that . . ." Michiru mumbles, rubbing the top of his capped head, looking out among the bright blooms around them. Naruto waits patiently, for Michiru to speak. The man came out here for solitude, but it was clear as day that he could also use an ear to unload on.**

**Michiru sighs. "This King business— well, I knew it was hard just looking at my papa. But this! He depended on me to handle all of this! And everyone has differing opinions that they unsuccessfully try to curb for the sake of what my father died for . . . I don't know who to listen to, or even if anyone is willing to listen to me. They still see me as that stupid prince who didn't care about responsibilities and maybe they're right. I just . . . don't want to disappoint anyone, especially Hikaru! He looked at me like I was really cool that night you guys defeated the Tsuki nins. I don't want to lose that look.**

**On top of that, I'm just . . . I am not cut out for King! It seems every word out of my mouth is wrong or ill-suited. I don't have any sense of grace or subtlety . . . the whole business of politics is too much!" Michiru stops, panting slightly after his rant.**

"Tell me how you really feel." Kakashi mutters.

"Well, putting it like that, without his father to help him, I bet it seems pretty scary." Tsunade sighs.

"Sink or swim in that kind of business, huh?" Kushina asks no one in particular.

**Naruto does not respond immediately, eyes tracing the whirls and characters of his prototype seal. He speaks quietly, "No one was ever born for leadership. Despite what anyone says, I don't believe it. What I believe, is that we are born for lives of purpose, of intent. And, slowly, in one of every hundred men or women . . . that purpose matures and shapes them into leaders. Their purpose is to not to lead— but to protect, to persevere and to change. The people **_**around**_** them recognize this, and lift them to the position of leader, whatever the title may be. Perhaps they choose to lead, or maybe they are chosen. Either way, rather than seeing it as a job, they see it as a responsibility they must take care of, as something valuable rather than worrying." **

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Minato swells with pride, and says with a smile.

"You're not born a natural leader?" Obito asks.

"Well, I can kind of understand that . . . like Inuzuka. They're born with instincts to lead the pack and protect, to guard and keep. That doesn't make them Hokage material, or even Clan leader material. That's just their way . . . not their intent?" Rin struggles to make convey her own instinctive understanding.

"Exactly, Rin." Tsunade nods, smiling at the girl.

**Michiru is quiet, staring at Naruto. After a minutes passes, Michiru laughs. "I wish I was more like you Naruto. You'd make a good King— no, what was the leader of your village? Ah, yes, you'd make a good Hokage." **

"That's what we've been saying this whole time!" Obito laughs.

**Naruto blinks. "What makes you say that?"**

"**You're everything anybody would want in a leader. What I wish I could be . . . smart and confident, you don't let anyone shake you and see it. Even when we met, you looked at me not as a prince or even a client who controlled your mission— but an equal man who you would judge the worth of. You never backed down from those ninjas! You're eloquent and graceful, and you probably never fumble your words in front of your leader right?"**

"**The fear of a stapler to your head is powerful indeed." Naruto murmurs, before shaking his head. "You got it all wrong! I am what I am, not just because my parents were very strong people, but because my experiences . . ." realizing he was about to contradict himself, Naruto tried a different tactic.**

"Oh sochi, sometimes Fate shouldn't be fought against. Sometimes, it knows what it's doing." Kushina chuckles.

"**My experiences leave me ill-suited to lead a population. I am a leader, in my own right. I protect my family, and one day I'll have a team to lead and guide, like Kakashi-sensei does. We can all be leaders in our own small way, I was just saying that in the case of leaders like King or Hokage, it is a matter of belief and conviction. Michiru, do you want to be King?"**

**Michiru sighs. "I'm not sure . . . I have to be."**

"**Why? Why can't you just up and leave, let someone else take the reins?" Naruto presses.**

**Michiru gasps, looking scandalized by the very idea. "I could never! My papa wanted me to become a good King! And Hikaru! One day he also might sit on this throne, and I want to give him that chance."**

"That's not obligation, that's responsibility." Jiraiya pinpoints, nodding. He smirks at the confused look on the kid's and Kushina's faces.

"**You're adamant on that? You won't abdicate the throne, because your tou-chan wouldn't have wanted that?" Naruto asks.**

"**Yes." Michiru states firmly.**

**Naruto smiles. "Then, you have your conviction."**

"**Huh?" Michiru asks dumbly.**

"**You are firmly set in your belief to see this thing through. It is your conviction, why you will keep getting up to learn the ways of Kingship, because there are people who depend on you. The previous King, your son." Naruto answers. **

"Oh, okay." The previously confused ones echo each other now, nodding in understanding.

**Michiru thinks about this for a few minutes, before smiling. "You sure you don't want to be Hokage? We'd have lots of fun making treaties."**

**Naruto laughs. "Denied."**

**They laugh and walk back to the castle together at Michiru's request, parting ways at the staircase. Michiru went down the halls to return to his office, while Naruto went to his room, to put away his notes, brushes and ink.**

"**I can only hope Jiraiya will be back when I get there, it seems like I'll need his help for this last bit." He murmurs to himself. He looks out the window and sighs upon spotting the afternoon sun. Still so many hours left . . . he knew for a fact Katsu wouldn't be back until evening— huh?**

**He cocks his head to the side when the loud sounds of girlish laughter and whinnies from horses reaches his ears. They're back already? Curious, Naruto walks down to the courtyard to see Katsu and Sakura.**

**Outside, the scene is quite tamer than he'd expected. Only one carriage filled to the brim with packages, the two girls walking alongside it as they reach the palace. In their hands are a few bags, and Naruto wonders if they couldn't fit them in the carriage.**

Kakashi gulps. "That's tame?" he repeats incredulously.

"**I didn't expect to see you until dinner," it is his way of greeting them, once they look up and see him leaning on the stone column at the top of the stairs. **

"**We . . . decided not to waste all our money today." Sakura answers, sharing a look with Katsu. Naruto raises his eyebrows— he thought they weren't very friendly, but apparently shopping is a big enough truce.**

"A very temporary truce that can break at any moment depending on who wants what." Rin corrects.

"**Okay." He shrugs simply. Sakura skips past him trilling something about lunch, and he waits for Katsu to walk up to where he is.**

**Katsu looks at him briefly, then looks away. Naruto knows he will have to apologize before she gets any madder—**

"**Here." She mutters, pushing a blue gift bag with yellow gift paper into his hands.**

"Aw!" The females coo.

"**For me?" he asks dumbly, looking at her. Katsu looks at him, nods, then looks away again. **

**He looks into the bag, and pulls out a small cerulean gift box. He opens it, and laughs softly. "You got me some sea glass too," he teases good-naturedly, taking out the ring. **

**A gentle blue sea glass, looking almost like a pinkie-sized stone, wrapped around in real gold wire. He smiles and puts the ring on his right middle finger. **

"Aww!" they go again, longer and higher-pitched than the last one.

"**You knew my ring size?" he asks with a curious look. Katsu was looking at him now, and nodded as if it was perfectly normal. The best friend excuse covered quite a bit, Naruto realized with some private mirth. **

**Naruto sighs. "Thank you . . . and I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have been like that yesterday."**

"**I'm . . . sorry too." Katsu mutters, but she looks directly into his eyes so it's sincere. He smiles— wickedly— and the glint in his eyes sets a chill down Katsu's spine. She hastily steps back, but too late as Naruto lunges forward and traps her in a bear hug, cheek rubbing onto the top of her head as he practically strangles her in his hold.**

"**Ack!"**

"**You are **_**soo**_** cute!" Naruto gushes with a big, goofy smile and a blush, eyes scrunched closed happily shut as he rocks exaggeratedly from side to side. **

"I've seen that before . . . when Obito found an abandoned kitten. It was hilarious!" Rin laughs as she recalls the sappy look and cherry rush across Obito's face, as he tenderly snuggles the affectionate kitten.

"I still have her." Obito informs her.

"Oh you kept it? That's nice of you, Obito!" Kushina congratulates, smiling prettily.

"**Young miss, shall we put these in your room?" an attendant asks with a sweat drop as he watches the young girl be smothered by the enthusiastic blonde. She manages to give a brief thumbs up before she returns to trying to pry herself from Naruto's grip.**

**Naruto final relents and laughs when Katsu takes a big gulp of air. **

"**So, what was with the shopping day? I thought you were going to bankrupt the King." Naruto asks her. He is greatly unnerved by her secret smile.**

"**You know I always look for the better opportunity Naru-chan." Katsu says merrily, and skips into the castle to get some lunch.**

**Naruto stops an attendant walking by laden with bags, and enquires, "Did the girl with orange hair . . . did she act strangely at any point in the day? Made any seemingly normal gesture or sound that made you uneasy?"**

"Are you really that concerned?" Minato asks with a sweat drop.

"**That's a rather funny question . . ." the man starts suspiciously, but then he pauses. "Actually, there was one time today."**

"**Well?" Naruto prompts.**

"**Well, she and the pink-haired girl were obviously very excited. They looked about ready to fly off the handle when they entered the mall. They flocked straight over to the directory— a list of stores and restaurants in the mall, and they were marking "hits", what they called the stores they were going to go into. But then the young miss froze, and looked very carefully at a store. She asked us about The Hammock Emporium. It's a furniture store, and we told her so. We took her there to look around, and there was such a look on her face . . . like one of peace, but it . . . set my nerves on edge." The man seemed flustered to have revealed so much, and quickly troops into the castle with the rest of the attendants. **

**Naruto has gotten the information he needs, and quickly drops his face into his open palms. So that was her plan . . . Katsu was going to use the King's dime to get new furniture for the entire house.**

"That's very clever!" Kushina defends.

"Just how big was the allowance the King gave her?" Jiraiya mutters, shivering at spending that amount of money.

"That's also taking considerable advantage . . ." Kakashi makes a rather unkind statement, but his smirk and the look of approval in his eyes is a total contradiction. "Well done." He chuckles.

"**Oh Katsu . . . if you weren't so clever with your selfishness, it would be a problem." Naruto mutters, then walks into the castle to try and convince her not to buy a whole new house on the King's dime. **

**The next day, Katsu leaves immediately after breakfast, Sakura asking to come along, and they don't return until noon. Katsu wears a look of accomplishment on her face— like one who has climbed a mountain with only a rope, an ice pick, and a sandwich. But she has nothing with her, not a bag or box in sight, and Naruto shivers as he realizes she shipped everything back home to Konoha, because **_**the King could afford it**_**. Sakura looks cheerful, and carries a few bags and a box, containing a pretty driftwood lamp she bought for her mother.**

"**You can stop looking at me like that, you know," Katsu informs Naruto rather waspishly. "I bought everything, **_**within budget**_**."**

**That just makes Naruto pale more, if anything. If it was so much that she had to haggle prices for it . . . ?**

**The days pass with beaches, barbeques and fun. It is the last week of their vacation. What will the Konoha group do next?**

**Funnily enough, it is Kakashi who supplies the answer. Or at least, he points them toward it. **

**The entire group decided to go into the Marketplace, and do a little souvenir shopping. There was only a brief hitch in Kakashi's gait, the smallest pause that lasted half a second. Naruto saw it though, and zeroed in.**

"**Did you see something, nii-san?" Naruto asks, looking toward the shop window Kakashi had glanced briefly at, and then glanced **_**very quickly**_** away from.**

"**Nah, nothing important." Kakashi dismisses.**

"You never get things for yourself." Rin sighs, shaking her head.

"Don't really need it." Kakashi answers.

"**What was it sensei?" Sakura asks, she and Lee pausing just in front of the group when they realized they weren't walking with them.**

"**Come on Kakashi, you don't ever look around for something for yourself. You did get something for Gai though," Katsu murmurs innocently.**

**Kakashi drops his fist onto her head, smirking at her yelp, but keeping a wary eye on Naruto's glare. "I got Asuma and Kurenai something too smartass. If you must know . . . it's that." He points to the object of interest.**

**They turn and look at the object in a comparatively normal store in the glitzy, lavish shopping plaza. In the window is a normal, red scarf.**

"A scarf?" Minato echoes.

"I remember you wearing a scarf when I first saw you," Jiraiya recalls. "Sakumo was bragging about you, and your face was nearly swallowed by that thing. But, it wasn't red?"

"Oh, I remember that faintly. Was it blue, or green?" Kakashi struggles to remember. More importantly . . . "We met before?"

"**Why did that catch your eye Kakashi-sensei?" Lee asks, big eyes blinking in confusion.**

"**Well," Kakashi pauses. Really, why did it catch his attention? "I had one very much like it— probably exactly like it— when I was in ANBU. I didn't wear it often, but it was something like a character staple."**

"A red scarf . . . in ANBU." Minato says this very slowly, expression perfectly conveying what he wasn't saying.

Kakashi shrugs. "Beats me."

"I thought ANBU were supposed to be secret shadows. You know, invisible." Rin supplied.

"With that hair?" Kushina snorts.

**Katsu tilts her head in consideration. "It's pretty."**

**Sakura gives Kakashi a considering look. "I can't imagine it . . . is red really your color?" **

"You wanna try my hair and see Kakashi?" Kushina jokes, lifting the heavy weight of her hair with one hand.

"Pass, before sensei hits me." Kakashi cracks, the others snorting as Minato blatantly rolls his eyes.

**Kakashi gives Sakura a flat look, but ruffles her hair. ". . . irrelevant."**

"**Why did you wear a red scarf?" Naruto asks.**

"**It was a gift from someone I knew, when I got into ANBU. Even though she wasn't supposed to know . . . and I mainly used it when guarding the village or Hokage, and I wore it to the Yuki mission. She bought it as a joke, such a bright color for me." Kakashi answers.**

"She?" Rin and Obito drawl with matching leers. Similarly, Kushina and Minato give the boy teasing glances and snickers.

"**She? Was she a **_**friend**_** sensei?" Sakura asks teasingly.**

**Kakashi's gaze slides over to Naruto as he answers. "Hmm . . . not like you're thinking Sakura, she was taken." **

**Naruto doesn't understand the look at first— like he should know who Kakashi is talking about. So what if some lady gave him a red scarf? Hmm. Red?**

_**Ah. **_**He smiles in understanding, and Kakashi smirks as he looks away. **

"Oh," Kushina draws out, a blush on her cheeks as she sheepishly knocks her knuckles against her head. "I gave it to you."

"Ew," Minato crinkles his nose. "I just inadvertently suggested you and Kushina were more than friends. Ew."

"**Well then, let's keep going— where did Katsu go?" Kakashi sighs in exasperation, looking around for a flash of tangerine. The sound of a bell brings their attention to the door of the store they had just been looking at, Katsu opening the door as she walks out with a red bag in her hands.**

"**You found something quick." Kakashi comments. Katsu smirks, but she gives the bag to him.**

"**I'm not your valet." Kakashi points out.**

"**I bought it for you, stupid." Katsu rolls her eyes.**

"You and her are like the you and me from before." Obito tells Kakashi.

"I doubt I hate her quite as much as I hated you." Kakashi counters.

"True." Obito nods.

**Kakashi raises an eyebrow, and reaches into the bag, feeling something very soft and almost silky, but it was cotton he could tell. He pulls it out, and dangling from his hand is the red scarf. He blinks twice, then looks down at something that catches the light at the end of the scarf. On the end are two plain, button-like pins one in orange, the other in gold. **

"One more time, I swear to KAMI if you make that stupid, 'aww' sound!" Jiraiya warns the women. His masculinity takes hits with each coo and squeal of the ladies, he was just too close to their estrogen fests!

"But that is very nice of her." Minato maintains, smiling nervously when he practically feels Kushina bristle by his side.

"And the pins," Rin adds. "Orange for— Naruto? Gold for her. Now it can remind Kakashi of Kushina and sensei, Naruto and Katsu!"

**Katsu puts her hands on her hips and leans back on one foot. "As I thought, it suits you." She sighs and puts a hand to her cheek delicately. "You're so lucky Kakashi— pale with silver hair, and red still suits you? What a girl would give for that kind of versatility. It's from me and Naru, by the way."**

**Kakashi looks at the two carefully, putting the scarf back in the bag. **

"**Just in case you're ever without your mask, that scarf is big enough I think to cover you." Naruto jokes, grinning.**

**Kakashi smiles. "Thanks. That's my souvenir then— now onwards ducklings!" he orders cheerfully, inwardly sniggering at the affronted looks on all but Lee's face, who shouts enthusiastically and troops forward. They carry on, but are stopped again by Kakashi.**

"**What now?" Katsu asks in annoyance, growling when she sees the perverted look on Kakashi's face, who is looking at a line of bikini-clad, generously endowed women on a stage. **

"Wet Tees!" Obito whoops, only to get smacked upside the head with a pillow by Rin.

"**What's going on over there?" Sakura wonders.**

"**Wet T-shirt contest? Who cares," Naruto shrugs, starting to walk forward.**

Jiraiya gasps dramatically, hand clutching his chest. "No, my young protégé! Such thoughts— they cannot be allowed! Care, and DEEPLY!"

"**No, wait!" Katsu says quickly, grabbing onto the hem of his t-shirt. "Look, at the flyers their handing out."**

"**If I'm looking up there, it's definitely not for the flyers." Naruto chuckles.**

"Much better." Jiraiya sighs in relief.

**Katsu scoffs in annoyance and lets him go, boldly rushing straight into the crowd and immediately being swallowed up by it.**

"**Oh dear, I hope she doesn't get trampled." Naruto sighs. She was just so small!**

**Katsu reappears a moment later, scurrying back to them and giving the still leering Kakashi a sharp kick to his shin. She brandishes the flyer to the other three, looking interested. **

"**Look! It's some sort of competition, for boys and girls, on the other island site." She informs them.**

**Naruto reads through it quickly and looks up to notify them of the full details. "It's tomorrow— it's called Skins. They compare it to capture the flag, but there's going to be a lot of flags and . . . the flags are going to be your clothes. More details are given at the site, but girls will use their swimsuits and guys will use their swim shorts."**

"Sounds interesting." Kushina and Jiraiya muse in unison, the others choking on air or beverages when they hear Kushina say it.

"Got your competitive streak going, Uzumaki?" Jiraiya asks with a smirk.

"You know it . . . Ero-sennin." Kushina grins evilly as Jiraiya twitches.

"Man, that nickname really is annoying." The sage grumbles.

"**Sounds embarrassing!" Sakura complains. "Who would ever want to join up?"**

"**I did/I do." Coming from Katsu and Naruto respectively. Hearing that Katsu had already joined, Naruto cackled and raced into the throng of people signing up, returning quickly with a challenging look in his eyes.**

Tsunade grumbles under her breath. "This story is not light on the flirtation is it."

Jiraiya wiggles his eyebrows. "No pupil of mine is anything less than a red-blooded male . . . even if Minato won't admit it."

"Shut UP sensei."

"**Sounds like a lot of fun." Kakashi comments, then sighs. "Too bad I have to be checked out by the Royal Physician tomorrow, despite my insistence that I am fine."**

"**It's completely stupid!" Sakura scoffs, flouncing off. Lee looks rather conflicted as well, wishing to congratulate Naruto and Katsu on their Flames of Youth, but actually understanding what the contest was about. So he simply walked off after Sakura, Katsu and Naruto following and dragging Kakashi with them.**

"Prude." Rin mutters. Minato raises a brow, and Rin wisely keeps her mouth shut and face innocently open.

**Naruto and Katsu left early in the morning, before breakfast to the dock where their ferry for the contest would be. Already there was a crowd, milling around and chatting excitedly, sounding almost like a low chirps and tweets of a flock of birds. The young men and teenagers, like Naruto, were mostly wearing board shorts in every color under the sun. The young women and teenage girls were all in bikinis.**

"**When did you buy that?" Naruto asks her, gesturing to the royal blue rashgaurd and bottoms. **

"**Last week— there was a sale at the beach shop, so . . ." Katsu shrugged. "And I thought for sure you'd wear your orange trunks."**

"**Well, why be predictable." Naruto shrugged, looking down at his red trunks.**

"I'm sure you look good in any color Naru-chan." Kushina chirps proudly.

"**I hope this isn't a bust." Katsu sighs, hopping up to sit on the railing of the dock.**

**Naruto was about to respond, when a burly, sun-tanned man of at least late twenties or early thirties appeared from the ferry, grinning widely. He waved in a grand fashion and shouted, "How are you guys doing out there?!" **

**The crowd responded with more enthusiasm than ones who woke up that early really should. The man was apparently pleased with this and nodded enthusiastically.**

"**That's great! Now, the rules will be fully explained when we get to the island. Make a note of this folks: just because you signed up, does not mean you are required to play. If you think the rules will be too difficult or uncomfortable to follow, then you are free to back out! Now without further ado, let's load you all up and head over to the Jewel Cove!" the man unclipped the rope that separated the crowd from the ferry, and let the cheering, excited crowd through. **

"Man I'm sort of envious. Konoha is just too stuffy and traditional to have cool things like this." Obito huffs.

"Festivals aren't enough for you?" Rin asks.

"We only have like, one festival. And the only reason the future has two is because of the Kyuubi's attack, a pretty poor way of memorializing that day in my opinion. Other places have cool night parties, or something. We only have a girls-choice dance, and a festival . . . why the hell don't we even celebrate Tanabanta?!"

"Ah, the elders disapproved of the fanciful tale back when I was a girl. No one cared enough to change it." Tsunade answered.

"But we can do it now. You're right, Konoha is way too stuffy!" Kushina advocates.

**The ferry ride takes about twenty minutes to get to the Jewel Cove, a little island untouched by man and seemingly a relic of a long ago past when the Earth was just born. Naruto loved it upon sight.**

**Since there is no dock, the captain of the ferry asks the contestants to wait while he pulls out the dinghies. The crowd of excited youths crow with laughter and just jump off the boat, diving into the crystal blue waters to make the short swim to the island. The shoreline is taken up by milling bodies, flitting to and fro as they wait for the contest to begin. The burly host joins them after a few minutes, having waited for the little boat. He walks onto the golden beach and makes a tut sound in mock chiding as the crowd faces him. **

"**You guys sure are excited!" he hollers, the crowd responding back with fervor. He raises up a hand, calling for silence. Once he has gotten it, he lowers the hand and projects his voice.**

"I'm glad Naruto can have so much fun in his life . . . I fear it will be harder to come by as he grows older." Minato murmurs, his words a bittersweet compromise.

"**Ok, listen up to the rules! Now, we will give you all a five minute grace period to either find or at least get a head start on finding a good spot to call your own for the game. This will be your flag site, and though you are not required to stay within your flag sight I wouldn't suggest leaving it all day. The objective of the game is to acquire the other contestants' flag. What is the flag, you ask? Simple! It's your clothes." **

**The man grins, laughing raucously at the surprised and bug-eyed looks on many of the people's faces, grinning wildly at the few brave souls who whooped approvingly. **

"**Yes, ladies and gents! And ladies, I mean everything. Boys you will take off your swim shorts and set it up as a flag, and ladies you will take off your bikinis or one pieces or what have you. You set up your flag, taking care not to make it too noticeable, and it is your job to both defend your flag and acquire the flags of the other contestants. The games will last until sunset, so you have all day! If a flag has been captured, you can fight to get it back up until sunset, then it's your loss. The winner is the one with the most flags, and still has their flag. Any questions?"**

"Naruto, _you lucky bastard!_" Obito whoops, hopping up from the couch to lunge at Jiraiya, the man reciprocating. They meet in the middle for a bro hug and an intense high-five.

"I hope he shares the details with me. Icha Icha: Touch of Paradise!" Jiraiya makes a shot for the title of a new Icha Icha book, cackling.

**Naruto raises his voice, "Yeah, is there anything we can't use?"**

"**No violence," the man answers firmly. "Nothing that can harm another. And I heard about you and your fancy jutsu, so only one! Otherwise, get creative! Now on your marks . . ."**

**The crowd tenses, eyes brightening and grins unveiling full teeth up until the molars.**

"**Get set . . ."**

**Naruto and Katsu exchange wicked grins, nodding in acknowledgement of each other— may the best brat win.**

"**GO!" **

**Screams and whoops fill the beach as the contestants sprint into the jungle, splitting up or forming small groups as they make the most of their five minutes. Many of the contestants are repeat players, so they are quite familiar with a few prime spots in the jungle, though they don't dare to venture too far.**

**For Naruto and Katsu, there is no such hesitation. The two have split up, and Naruto grins as he jumps through the trees, eyes roving the landscape. There were some mountains and cliffs, and he was sure that like the main island there were some grottos and dens. Naruto grins, heading further to the eastern shore. The island was not very big at all, there would be no trouble for anyone to find each other so he had best get to high ground.**

**He has to hurry though, he reflects, as he only has a few minutes left. Maybe two. Truthfully, he is on his last minute when he finds his hiding spot. A large tide pool with a small cluster of trees by it, though not near enough to shadow the pool from the dazzling sun. Naruto drops down onto a large rock just above the tide pool. He leans down until his nose practically touches the water's surface, marveling at the beauty of the tide pool. Starfish pepper the rocky surfaces just under the water, and a little further away starts a veritable forest of brightly colored sea anemone with little colorful flashes darting to and fro. Naruto smiles.**

"**Perfect place," he breathes, tapping the inside of his wrist where a storage seal is inked, taking out his camera. He takes pictures of the beautiful sight, and he creates a clone to take a couple with him in it just to appease Tsunade. **

"It sounds marvelous . . . Kushina what's a tide pool?" Rin asks.

"A shallow pool that is seen in low tide, when the water is caught in the bowls of the land from high tide. Little habitats grow there for the fish that are caught in low tide . . . it's a natural fish tank." Kushina answers, working hard to recall the few tide pools she visited with her family before moving to Konoha, and during the rare visits back before Uzu was destroyed.

"Lucky spot for him to find." Jiraiya mutters.

**Naruto cocks his head to the side as he scrutinizes his clone. Said clone raises an eyebrow.**

"**Nothing you haven't seen in the mirror before." He quips, making the original snort.**

"**I'm wondering if I should use a clone for this game, or just rely on myself." Naruto muses quietly.**

"**Well, we are ninja. Ninja use whatever is at their disposal, but that's—"**

"**For missions, and seeing as this isn't a mission—"**

"**But winning is really a must especially in Katsu's case—"**

"**Who would indeed look down on me for the use of clones—"**

"**It makes sense then that you restrict your use to one clone, in other words just me." The clone finishes perkily.**

"When did he start doing that?" Kushina asks with curiosity. She had never switched through sentences with her shadow clones.

"Once again, Naruto has a unique mind frame. This could be a manifestation of his ease and comfort with himself, and it never even occurred to him that this might be weird. No doubt he's done this around others and they just accepted this because he is Naruto." Tsunade answers.

"**That was easy," Naruto snorts. He gets up, sighing. "Okay, so I better set up the flag."**

"**Should I take mine's off as well?" The clone asks curiously, as Naruto deftly strips off his swim shorts and hitches them up to the branch, the shorts hidden from obvious sight by the leaves.**

"He's pretty comfortable being naked isn't he?" Kakashi mutters.

"It's just himself. Seriously, even with the clone it's just himself." Jiraiya points out.

"Yeah, but he's still out in the forest with other people running around looking to get your flag. Doesn't he wonder if maybe somebody stumbles on him . . . in his birthday suit?" Rin argues.

"Maybe that's just a personal thing. What do you think Minato?" Jiraiya asks, deceptively cool. Minato just narrows his eyes at his sensei and snorts as if to say, _you're not tricking me that easy. _

"**Um, it'll disappear anyway . . . no. We'll keep this as fair as possible." Naruto decides. "This feels stranger than I thought."**

"**Just standing around naked?" The clone offers. Naruto nods in agreement.**

"**Yeah, I mean . . . it'll be kind of awkward just jumping on someone and grabbing their flag, but I'm . . . that's too much flashing for my taste." Naruto admits with a small furrow of his brows.**

"So he does feel awkward." Jiraiya murmurs.

"**Well, there's vines and some large leaf plants around you could fashion something out of," the clone points out.**

"**Get me some vines?" Naruto asks, and the clone nods, disappearing and then reappearing with a loop of vines. Naruto grabbed them with a mutter of thanks and began to loop them around his hips and upper thighs, tying vines around vines and making sure they would cover everything necessary. It feels a little less ridiculous to walk around with a sort of skirt made from vines than to walk around naked, but it's still a little ridiculous he thinks as he glances at the trailing vines around his outer thighs. **

"It's something at least. Very resourceful, musuko." Minato compliments, smiling proudly.

"It's important to keep modesty in your life. As a ninja, it's very easy to lose our modesty, morality, and ethics to our jobs." Tsunade looks directly into the eyes of the kids as she says this, eyes serious and intent on making them understand.

"**What's our plan of attack boss man?" the clone asks, idly dipping a finger into the water and making circles in the water.**

"**You stay and guard the flag, and I'll go hunting." Naruto informs.**

"**We leave her for last?" the clone asks with a wicked grin, canines sharp against his bottom lip.**

"**The very last." Naruto agrees, eyes bright. With a last salute, Naruto sets out into the trees.**

**It's rather awkward to tree hop in vines, he discovers. Still, he puts it out of his mind and concentrates on finding others. **

_**Don't forget your extra senses, **_**Kyuubi reminds him, **_**and it'll be easier to balance in your vines with your tail. **_

"**Oh, right!" Naruto realizes. He closes his eyes and brings up that special chakra, feeling the familiar tingle as his ears pop out, and his tail unfurls. Immediately his stance shifts with the addition of the tail, and he feels . . . even, for lack of a better word.**

**Naruto pauses on the branch he is in, crouching. His ears twitch, swiveling minutely to and fro as they attune themselves to the sounds of the jungle. He focuses in on any human-like sounds— laughter, heavy footsteps or muted voices of people unable to control their enthusiasm. He was especially looking out for groups.**

**And, just his luck . . . he grins toothily as he leaps east, becoming a blur to any who might glimpse up. It takes only three minutes to find his target— three girls huddled together, blushing and giggling madly as they huddle together and cover their bodies, their bikinis now tied together and hanging over a branch of the large tree they are by. **

"It is the aim of the game, Kushina-koi," Minato soothes his outraged lover. "He's a thirteen year-old boy, honestly this is going to happen no matter how much respect he has for women. Which you know he has a healthy amount of."

"I know," Kushina sighs heavily. "It's a fine line for ninjas though, from regular red-blooded guy to . . . Jiraiya."

"I take that as a compliment." Jiraiya boasts, unaffected by her slight.

**Naruto considers just grabbing it and go without being noticed, but . . . then this wouldn't be as entertaining a story would it? He hides his ears and tail under a henge.**

**He jumps forward from the shadows of the trees, reclining leisurely against the trunk of the tree as he sits on a branch, legs swinging. "Good day to you, ladies." Naruto greets with a soft smile, head tipping forward in a greeting nod.**

**The girls squeal, diving behind a large boulder to cover themselves from the sudden intruder in their camp.**

"They were just milling around," Rin sniffs. "They could've found something, just like he did."

"Not his fault at all." Kakashi agrees.

"**Pervert!" one girl exclaims as she pops up, cheeks blazing. Naruto eyes her shoulder length honey hair, and then her intense stare. **

"**Who's really the pervert— the guy who stumbled upon you girls already naked and had the decency to present himself graciously, or the girl who's currently sizing me up like a prize rack of lamb?" Naruto points out with a laugh, and the girl in question tears her gaze away to stare at the boulder with a nervous giggle.**

"Ah, another point in his favor." Minato notes in a sagely tone of voice.

"Any silver-tongued devil can twist a situation to his benefit. Good thing my sochi has a platinum-tongue." Kushina lets up, smiling wryly.

**Slowly the other two come up, nervous giggles occasionally bursting out as their eyes try to roam, but land on Naruto more than anything else. Naruto rolls his eyes, and flips down to the ground. The girls freeze, then giggle again as he saunters forward.**

"**Now ladies, I have a proposition for you." Naruto starts, and then suddenly he's in front of them, his speed too fast for their eyes. They shriek, huddling closer together and to the boulder as the blonde boy sprawls on the boulder top.**

"He's doing this on purpose." Jiraiya giggles perversely, fingers tapping together like a mad scientist.

"Well . . . it's good practice for any seduction missions he might do." Rin points out, giving a feeble reason. Honestly she was just trying to appease his parents; she was having a blast reading about Naruto's hot seduction skills!

"**You give me your flag, I'll find you some nice and thick, long . . ." he drawls slowly, grinning at their suddenly dazed eyes.**

"**Vines, ladies. Focus." Naruto pouts, snapping his fingers for effect. They jump and blush crazily, but giggle madly.**

Tsunade shivers, laughing. "This is too weird to read! We're family!"

"Then give me the book, I will be _more_ than happy to read!" Obito demands, hand shooting out.

"Hey, you had your turn buddy. I'm reading now." Tsunade slaps his hand away playfully, returning to the book.

"**Vines to cover us?" the next girl speaks, a sweet strawberry blonde. Naruto nods.**

"**You could just take it," the pixie cut girl points out suspiciously. **

"**I figure I need one good deed for today to counteract all the sin I'm about to commit." Naruto sighs.**

"**What kinds of sins?" The honey-haired girl asks flirtatiously, beating back a blush.**

**Naruto sighs, as if deliberating as he reaches up and plucks the tied bikinis from the tree branch. He sinks back down and leans close as if parting with a secret. "All kinds." He whispers, and then he's gone again, his speed making him disappear in the eyes of the girls. **

**When Naruto has gone far enough from their camp that their shrieks of laughter aren't heard anymore, he looks to his left where a clone sits with his camera. **

"**You got good pictures?" Naruto asks the clone. The clone merely smirks and tosses him the camera, popping. Naruto snorts and seals the camera back, heading back to his camp. He drops the bikinis off with the guard clone and after asking it to untangle them, is off again.**

"**Ero-sennin will love these," he murmurs. "Might be inspired to write another book with them." **

"Ever the thoughtful, kind child!" Jiraiya sobs, chest puffing out proudly.

**He decides not to be quite so obvious this time with the other victims. He nabs ten shorts, and three more bikinis before he starts to hear nervous laughter and shrieks of amused outrage coming from both men and women alike. He pauses to investigate. There are flashes of naked flesh through the brush and foliage, people who have already had their flags stolen. None of them are his victims, and he smiles as he hears others call out to each other, swearing revenge and promising vengeance for others who have been hoodwinked.**

**More importantly, he hears increasing mutters and whispers of a Shadow Fairy, and the only indication she's visited you is your lost flag and a flash of orange before she disappears. Apparently she was hitting a lot of people. **

_**Maybe I'll have to hit your spot sooner than I thought, Kurohime-chan, **_**Naruto muses to himself.**

_**Are you sure you're ready to go that far? She's still only twelve . . . **_**Kyuubi snickers. Naruto frowns in annoyance, realizing the double meaning of his words.**

_**Screw you, furball. **_**He snorts derisively, but he can't control the smirk that grows. **

"Score for Kyuubi!" Obito mutters, fist pumped up.

**On the other side of Jewel Cove, Katsu reclines in the crow's nest of her flag site, watching the clouds roll past. She reminds herself to get Shikamaru something, perhaps some sea salt peanut brittle. Or a bracelet of sea shells, the color of the clouds . . .**

**She had found this spot ten minutes after the game started. Not one person had ventured near here— perhaps this was a scary local legend? The wreck of an old pirate ship in the bay, old and decrypt and very dangerous looking. **

**Absolutely perfect. **

"Absolutely awesome!" Rin enthuses, eyes sparkling.

**Since no one was coming near, that meant her swimsuit was free and clear, flapping in the breeze on the mast of the ship, a replacement for whatever used to be its flag. Katsu had explored the ship, found things good and bad. For every interesting find there was a skeleton or a few strewn about bones. Some vines around the ship and old nets served as her only means of covering in a makeshift dress. She had found a gold telescope that had rusted over but still worked, several antique maps, and some interesting old trinkets. Putting them all in a makeshift rucksack, she hid it up with her in the crow's nest.**

**The game was also going quite well. People had started to get bold, darting in and snatching flags, sometimes managing to keep them away from the people who wanted to recover it. She herself had quite a few trophies under her. Katsu leans up and glances down at the steering wheel, where she has carefully piled the fifteen trunks and four bikinis she acquired. **

"She's in the lead so far?" Obito muses thoughtfully.

**She had set up traps around the deck for the certainty of a visit from her much loved demon brat. The orange hime knew the blondie would be arrogant enough to leave her last, and she had made preparations for it. Naruto wouldn't be winning that easily, she'd make him work for it. **

**Katsu leaned back, gazing up at the sky again. The sun was no longer at its zenith. The bright orb of life-giving light was sinking and she figured it to be around three o'clock in the afternoon right about now. She thought about taking a swim . . . Naruto wouldn't come for a while longer. **

"**Ah, this is the best vacation ever." Katsu sighs blissfully, hopping up and shedding the dress with a shimmy. One chakra-enhanced leap and she's swan diving towards the cerulean waters below. It's a cold shock after sunbathing so long, but once she gets used to it, it's absolutely wonderful. Eyes adjusting to the waters, the coral reefs and sea anemones dazzle her eyes as she spins. **

"I really want to take a vacation right now . . . to a nice beach resort." Rin murmurs dreamily.

"After the war . . . maybe I can arrange a mission to Tea?" Minato muses, smiling at his students' cries of joy.

**She gets a devious idea, remembering a group of five boys who had made camp by the shore not too far from her spot. Just a swim around the cliff corner and she'd be on them. Surfacing for breath, she takes three deep ones, then submerges deep and swims to her next target. She makes use of the trick Hinata taught her— one the pale-eyed beauty had said was a simple technique any kunoichi was taught for infiltration. She extended her breath with chakra so she would not have to resurface until she returned to the ship.**

"Not just for underwater missions, right?" Tsunade murmurs to Kushina, the redhead giggling as she nods shyly, the barest blush on her cheeks.

**Naruto cocks his head to the side, floating on his back in the middle of his tide pool. What he wouldn't give for something like this back home! Spending time on this island, made him wonder what his okaa-chan felt on her island . . . did she enjoy the scenery? Or was she too used to it, bored? Did she miss it when she traveled to Konoha? She was, after all, a young kid upon arrival.**

"Think you can answer that?" Minato asks.

Kushina hums, looking up at the ceiling. "I was always fascinated with the ocean . . . my home was beautiful. And as I was taken to Konoha young, it was still a novelty so I missed it like crazy when I was sent here. For a while it was totally depressing . . . smelling the air, with not a hint of the saltiness like a sea breeze brings. Not hearing waves crash outside your window on the craggy cliffs, and the rocks . . . leaves in the wind just didn't cut it for a long time."

"That is sad." Obito admits.

Kushina shakes her head. "It's not. Otherwise I would have never met everyone, and I'd be dead if I had stayed."

**The light filtering down is beginning to darken into gold. The time is passing— he judges the position of the sun to mean it's about five o'clock. Sunset was in about two hours . . . he knew he would win. No matter how quick the Shadow Fairy was, he would win by at least a slim margin. **

**His victory was not complete though.**

**He needed the final prize . . . this time, it was personal.**

"This is it," Kakashi said lowly.

"The final battle." Rin agrees.

"The Black Tide versus the Orange Whirlpool." Obito declares in dramatic solemnity.

"That actually sounds kick-ass, if they would actually fight." Kushina observes.

**He sighs, a low hum in the back of his throat as his hands push and pull through the water. He straightens, body sinking below the waterline as he treads water. "If the Tsuki nins I encountered weren't such dicks, I'd give serious thought to a transfer."**

**His clone huffs a laugh from its spot submerged from the waist down, sitting on a rock that leads to a dip before giving way to the anemone forest. "We'll just have to make our own ecosystem when we get back home. A waterfall, perhaps create an extension from our lake to the river . . . it'd be excellent practice."**

"**Right," Naruto agrees quietly, taking in a deep breath. He gets out of the pool, sluicing water off his body. **

"**Is it time?" the clone asks, looking up to his original.**

"**Yeah . . . it'll take a long while . . . when I come back, dispel. We've won." Naruto grinned. The clone nodded, giving him a thumbs-up. Returning the gesture, Naruto takes off, intent on finding his wayward Kurohime. **

**He extends his senses, opening them fully and inhaling the island. He searches for a lantern's glow in the radiance of later afternoon, the warm sparks that crackle along his spine and pleasantly warms his stomach. Her scent of amber wood should be easy to find, and her consumption of large amounts of pineapples and coconuts has stuck to her scent. **

**A spark. He looks right.**

**Naruto perks up, loosening up his crouch but never fully leaving it. His tail waves from side to side as he tastes the chakra signature coming from the west end. Immediately it is gone.**

_**Is she cloaking herself? **_**Naruto wonders. He has nothing to lose to investigate, even if it is the wrong direction. He's fast enough to correct the mistake if nothing else. He bounds away, a ghost flitting between the trees, a flash of gold that melds with the dapples of sunlight from the canopy. He goes further west and she feels closer. Yes, he has gone in the right direction. Funnily enough, she is the only soul he senses around . . . she has chosen a wonderful hiding spot. He himself was almost ambushed, but he made quick work of his would be ambushers and stole their flags for his own.**

**The sound of waves cashing against rock catches his attention. There is a sound of creaking . . . like wood in a storm. Did she make a shelter? Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised. **

**He slows the close he gets to what seems to be the end of the forest line. The sun is bright over there, the setting sun providing her just as much light as he got in the early afternoon hours. He approaches the edge slowly, and his eyes widen as he takes in her hiding spot.**

"Abandoned pirate ship in the sunset . . . totally badass imagery." Obito sighs in envy.

"**You never do things halfway, hime." Naruto laughs softly to himself. He looks around, hoping to spot her . . . there! In the crow's nest. He spots her swimsuit fluttering in the sea breeze above her like the flag of the ship she resides in. This would take planning . . . **

**Wait.**

**He chuckles, rising up to stretch. **

**This is Katsu. Whether or not she senses him, she will know he is there.**

**That is simply their nature.**

**Creating a clone to disable her traps, he waits. When the memories of the all-clear come to him, he nods in satisfaction. **

**He leaps down from his tree, stretching luxuriantly. Katsu spots him immediately, with her gold-rust telescope. She grins and waves at him, smirking. He waves back, and then suddenly he's on her ship deck.**

**She frowns. "I hope you didn't kawarimi with anything important Naruto."**

"**Me too." He agrees. When he catches sight of what's covering her . . . or rather what's doing a very shaky job of it, he blushes and looks away. Even when her feet touch the floor he only looks at her eyes, firmly demanding his traitorous hormones to not show up. **

"So there's something you haven't seen?" Kakashi snorts.

"One would think, with them bathing together . . ." Obito catches on, his tone sly.

"Accidents happen." Kakashi agreed lightly, carefully keeping his face smooth.

**She hops down, and then they're only separated by distance. They stare at each other, neither moving. **

"**Nice skirt." Katsu gestures to his vines. **

"Burn." Rin mutters.

"**Nice . . . scraps." **

"Touché." Kushina grins.

"**My traps?" Katsu asked.**

"**Disabled them."**

"**That fast."**

"**Yeah." He shrugs, the picture of modesty. She needn't know about the clone he sacrificed. **

"**Give up." Naruto blurts out suddenly.**

"**Kill me." Katsu jokes.**

"**Not funny." Naruto disapproves, sighing when Katsu merely shrugs.**

"**Trade . . ." She murmurs. **

"**You give me your flag . . . I'll massage your feet every night after work for a month, and be your dress-up doll for a full day when we get home." Naruto offers.**

"Interesting deal." Tsunade muses with a huff of laughter.

"To give up a game for that? No," Rin shakes her head. "He can do better."

**Katsu sighs, looking to the side. "That's not enough . . . I'm giving up the game you know? I figure we're tied . . . I have twenty flags."**

**Naruto nods. "Me too. What terms do you offer then?"**

"**If I give you my flag . . . you don't argue with my paint choices for the house—"**

"**Katsu we cannot paint the kitchen purple, come on—"**

"**Hey I'm not finished and I wouldn't paint the kitchen purple! Shit, man, I was eight. Excuse me for using my imagination!" Katsu scoffs, flipping her hair as she looks at the sun, nearly at the horizon. "You don't argue, you are my model for a day . . . and you buy me five sweets from Sugar Drop Shoppe."**

"Ooh!" Kushina's uninhibited feminine squeal of pleasure startles the others. Minato starts as Kushina seems to glow at the mere name of this sweet's place in his arms. "I just love Sugar Drop!"

"You know it?" Jiraiya asks in surprise. He never took her to be a sweets kind of girl.

Kushina trills happily, "Oh yes! Papa got it for me whenever I completed a particularly difficult seal. It wasn't often . . . and he bought me their famous triple chocolate whip delight before I left to Konoha as a going away present. It was the most delicious thing I've ever eaten . . . I miss the Sugar Drop Shoppe." She sighs, but it's more sweet with warm memories than bitter with what never can be.

"You should have said so before." Minato chuckles quietly. "I'll be happy to get you some when we go home."

"No," Kushina denies but she can't completely hide the wistful look in her eyes. "There's more important things going on now, and it doesn't suit me anymore."

"You can never grow out of sweets." Tsuande declares firmly, waving away Kushina's feeble excuses. She raises a hand to stall any other conversation, and continues reading.

**Naruto chews his bottom lip in thought. Sugar Drop Shoppe wasn't in Konoha, so the sweets would have to be from catalogue . . . and it was far. The sweets themselves were unnaturally sweet and delightful, **_**and**_** expensive. He'd made the mistake of buying her two cakes from there once for her birthday . . . she was like an opium addict; without her main source she had gorged herself on other cakes and sweets hoping to substitute. **

**Nothing was the same for her though, and it ended with both him and Nami-baba staging a full scale intervention involving wire (she chewed through the ropes), a god awful amount of vegetables, and some seriously nasty pictures from the dentist. They never spoke about it. **

"Well then." Kakashi mutters, clearing his throat.

"If you don't prepare yourself it can get ugly." Kushina nods in complete understanding.

"**Three sweets." He compromised.**

"**. . . three," Katsu whispers in consideration, tilting her head. "I don't know."**

"**Katsu either we compromise or we fight. You know very well I will pull out all the stops." Naruto reminds her. **

**Katsu shivers, resisting the urge to take a step back. She didn't fancy the thought of being deflowered on a ship wreck.**

Minato chokes on a laugh that mixed with a gasp in his throat; coughing yet somehow it still came out like cackles.

"How does _he_ fight?" Obito asks with an exaggerated look of mock awkwardness.

**Still, how long had it been since they sparred? Once he got the hitai-ate, he hadn't sparred with her once. Something about being a man, and ethics . . . **

"Oh, the old: A man should never hit a woman," Kushina mocks deepening her voice to imitate a man's voice. "How old and cliché."

"How perfectly acceptable for a young man who respects women." Minato corrects. "Maybe it hits a kunoichi's pride, but Katsu is a civilian young woman."

"True." Rin pipes up.

**No. If it got too serious, there would be no Iruka or Kakashi to run to for help. Her chances were worse than a snowball in hell. **

"**Okay, I accept your terms. Well played, Uzumaki." Katsu sighs. They walk forward, meeting in the middle for a proper hand shake. **

"**You . . . there's got to be something else here you can wear." Naruto motions to her vines and fishnets that covered nothing except the most important things.**

**Katsu frowns looking down at herself. Despite its risqué scarcity, she thought . . . "It's cute."**

"**It's asking to get attacked." Naruto snorts.**

**Katsu shrugs stubbornly. "Nothing else around."**

**Naruto sighs, shaking his head. "Okay, game's nearly over in an hour. Come with me to my spot, it's awesome." **

**For the hour that lasts until sunset they float in his tide pool, watching the sky darken and morph, until a loud sound blares throughout the entire island.**

"**That's one way to let us know." Katsu murmurs as they step out of the pool. Naruto snorts, picking up the flags, as well as discarding his vines and putting back on his trunks as they tree hop to the island shore they'd been dropped off of. **

**As they emerge from the shadowed canopy of the jungle, they see others slowly emerging as well, either with the most ridiculous leaves ensembles, or with nothing except their hands. Only one or two managed to keep their clothes, and they sent grateful looks to Naruto.**

**The burly host bursts into deep guffaws, leaning forward to put his hands on his knees. "I can see who's been busy and who's been had! Good on you kid," he congratulates Naruto who nods.**

"**Okay," the man takes a deep breath and straightens up. "Everyone on the ferry! For the losers who couldn't work something out like that group or the orange miss over there," he gestures to Katsu and the first group Naruto attacked. "Then we have something for you guys. Once we get back to the island, the victory bonfire starts!"**

Obito's face lights up, but he wisely remains silent. However, Jriaiya is all too keen to pick up on anything that could get the brats scolded like little Rin— seeing Minato go parental on her was hilarious.

"Bring back good memories there Obito?" Jiraiya asks with a smile.

Obito blushes under the curious stares of the others, especially Kushina and Minato. "One could say that . . ." he answered vaguely. Honestly half the night was lost to his low tolerance of alcohol, even diluted in punch.

* * *

**Kakashi sprawls on the balcony of his room, looking out at the sun sinking into the ocean, but not really **_**seeing**_** it. He wondered what the future would bring for his students, for Konoha. They were strong in their own rights, but was it enough for the storm that brewed on the horizon? **

"Such serious thoughts Kakashi. You'll go prematurely white." Kushina jokes, but her smile is a little too forced for Kakashi to take her joke as it is.

**Kakashi sighed. "What a burden we're leaving on to this generation." **

"The whole point is to give them a clean slate and see how they run with it, not leave them to clean up our debts and take care of our messes." Kakashi sighs.

**The blare of a fog horn catches his attention, and he looks up. A ferry was coming towards the island. Kakashi makes a low noise in recognition. The ferry Naruto and Katsu had gone on for that Skins game. When he had mentioned it to King Michiru, the king had informed him that afterword there was always a bonfire down on the beach to celebrate the Skin King— basically, a flimsy excuse for a blowout party.**

**Shrugging, Kakashi thought he had nothing else to do, so why not watch some drunken idiots prance around in a little crown, maybe sit at the front of the table? With this in mind he rises, and looks for his other student, and Lee. Sakura is berating Lee for overdoing his training, her hands losing the leftover glow from her medic jutsu, as Lee bows over and over in apology.**

**They look up, seeing Kakashi. "Is something wrong sensei?" Sakura asks.**

"**Mm, not really. Naruto and Katsu are back, and there's usually a party to celebrate the winner. Why not go down and join the fun?" Kakashi prompts. **

**Sakura's brow furrows in hesitation, but before she can deny the invitation Lee bowls her over with his enthusiastic, "Yosh! Let us see how our comrades fared, and enjoy an excellent celebration of sportsmanship!"**

"She'll need to learn how to blow off steam, and take opportunities when they are presented." Rin sighs.

Jiraiya nods. "Being a shinobi is a tough job, and if you don't have some sort of outlet or quirk to help you balance it all out, you'll crack faster than a jaw from Tsunade's punch."

"Gee, thanks." Tsunade drawls.

"**That's the spirit." Kakashi chirps cheerfully, turning around and pointedly ignoring Sakura's dubious stare. "Let's go to the beach then! I'm kind of excited; I've never been to a beach bonfire before." He adds, leading the two genin behind him as they exit the castle and make the trek to the beach. **

"**What do you think it will be like sensei?" Sakura asks, breaking the silence of the group as they walk through the marketplace.**

"If he's never been to one, how do you expect him to answer that?" Rin asks amusedly. Obito and Kakashi stifle sniggers on either side of her.

**Kakashi shrugs. "Well, it's a bonfire so I don't expect anything . . . extravagant. Then again, this is Crescent Moon so perhaps it's best to assume nothing and take advantage of everything." **

**Sakura mulls this over. "It'll probably be just some big fire with people sitting around it, maybe some music . . . nothing too big right?"**

Obito winces in sympathy for Sakura, chuckling under his breath. Not always . . .

**Oh how wrong she was.**

**The beach was currently being crowded up by the raucous, energetic party goers as they prepped for the arriving procession. Running, laughing, preparing for the big bonfire where others from the island would come to join and celebrate the Skins King. Already, a pit was being built to cook the caught boar, girls were throwing around circlets of flowers around people's heads and necks, long tables were being set up, and the Sin King's throne was being set up.**

**And what a throne— carved of wood so old it looked silky to the touch, ornately decorated and as large as the real throne of the Crescent Moon King, bedecked in wreaths of all sorts, and strings of seashells. **

**Sakura and Lee gazed around with wide eyes, drinking in every sight and every sound. Kakashi was more interested in just who the Skin King was though, and looked around for anyone who would fit the description. **

"**They're coming!" A high, girlish voice screams over the din of the others and immediately their cheers fill the air. Kakashi can see the crowd ahead of them parting in the direction of the throne, cheers and screams, catcalls and whistles piercing the air like so many wild animals of the night. **

"Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, Skin King." Rin tries out, frowning at the awkward rolls of her tongue, the almost sharp cut off. "I don't like it . . . doesn't sound very good."

"King Naruto though, you have to admit that sounds cool." Obito supplies.

"Emperor Naruto." Kakashi adds with a small smile.

"Rokudaime Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto," Tsunade corrects with a cheerful smile.

"Perfect." Minato approves.

"Rolls of the tongue don't it?" Kushina agrees with a nod.

"**Who is it sensei? Who?" Sakura begs, straining up on tip toe but still unable to see over the crowd.**

"**I don't know," Kakashi murmurs. "I don't . . . oh."**

"**Oh?" Sakura repeats. Her gaze swivels to the throne, then widens as her jaw drops. "OH!"**

**Reclining upon the throne as if he was born for such a seat, a robe of royal blue velvet and snowy fur draped over his shoulders and held by a single gold cord, was Naruto. Perched on the arm rest next to him in scraps of fishnet and gold silk ribbons is Katsu, blushing yet grinning wickedly. A gold scepter with a crescent atop was held loosely in one hand, his crown of roses tilted to one side on his head, pushing his bangs down to shadow his left eye. **

Rin and Obito look at each other. Obito bows his shoulders just a little, arm gesturing in a slow, grand gesture for Rin to go first. "Ladies first," he demurs placidly.

Rin grins, thanking Obito politely. "Like . . . a . . ."

They take a deep breath together. "_BOSS_." They sigh out in unison.

"Nicely done." Minato approves.

**What really got Kakashi's blood boiling was the line of nearly naked, very lovely ladies on either side of him giggling and blushing— blushes that certainly did not stop at their necks— as they held themselves comfortably in wraps of silk ribbon in various colors, the only substantial covering being the bikini bottoms graciously given back to them by Naruto.**

Tough they gave no outward indication; inwardly every male except Minato was cursing Naruto. _Lucky little bastard! _

**He was thirteen— he had little to no idea how to properly utilize this opportunity.**

**The **_**injustice**_**. **

"I know!" Obito agrees in voice high with indignation.

"**The losers get better and better each year!" A pockmark faced youth crows to his overweight friend, eyeing the "losing" ladies hungrily. **

"Yeesh," Kushina and Rin mutter in disgust, shivering as they force away bad memories of more insistent, weirdo admirers.

**The cheering and catcalls continue, until Naruto looks up at the crowd with a bored expression on his face and raises the scepter. Immediately the crowd is hushed. Naruto gazes over the crowd for a long minute, seemingly gauging them. Then, he smirks, and raises both arms with a flourish, as if welcoming them.**

"**Ladies and gentleman," his voice isn't overly loud or soft, but the silence carries his words and the weight that accompanies them. "I humbly accept the crown of the Skin King, and hope you all enjoy a wonderful evening here."**

**He pauses, smile widening. "Commence blackout!" he booms, to the approval of the crowd. Immediately the crowd moves, seemingly as one entity. There is food, and drink— ladies and music. Anyone who doesn't help themselves are fools, and those who are too into helping themselves soon find themselves underfoot of the unforgiving crowd.**

**It's chaos and utterly beautiful.**

"**KAKASHI!" Said jounin's head pops up, looking over the crowd to see Naruto beckoning to him. Motioning to Sakura and Lee, Kakashi guides them through the crowd to the throne on the raised driftwood dais. **

"**Your majesty," Kakashi murmurs teasingly, giving a brief and shallow bow.**

**Naruto dips his head in acknowledgement. "Lesser mortal."**

"**Me." Katsu mumbles, waving to Kakashi. Kakashi eyes Katsu for a brief moment before turning to Naruto.**

"**You really letting her walk around like that?" he asks.**

**Naruto sighs regretfully at the same time Katsu scoffs, flipping her hair. "I was lucky to get them to leave the fishnets and bottoms. Girls who lose are only supposed to wear ribbons. Not that I'm complaining much, you see . . ."**

"**Oh, of course. Criticizing other lands' traditions is just rude." Kakashi agrees, nodding his head. Katsu tries to share a look with Sakura, but the girl tosses her head and refuses to look at Katsu. Sakura contains her snort— isn't that girl the **_**least**_** bit ashamed to be walking around like that? At least show some more humility, don't just sprawl like that!**

"Sore losing bitch." Obito mutters sourly, his nose scrunching up with a grimace.

"Let she who is without sex appeal cast the first stone," Rin intones, garnering snorts from the others.

"**Naruto, I'm hungry. Let me go." Katsu suddenly speaks, interrupting Naruto and Kakashi.**

"**Okay," Naruto sighs. He relinquishes his hold around her waist, watching her scamper off and melt into the crowd. **

"**So . . . good vacation? We start packing tomorrow after all." Kakashi murmurs.**

"**Best vacation ever onii-san." Naruto says firmly, smiling contentedly at Kakashi. Not one of his big grins, or his benign smiles, but a curl of the corners of his lips and a twinkle in his eyes that hints to his inner bliss. **

**Kakashi nods. "Good . . . hey, are they serving alcohol to everyone here?" he asks this because he's suddenly noticed the absence of one of his genin. It wouldn't do for Lee to boast about the youthfulness of drinking or some such ridiculous things to Gai. The man would never let it go. **

**Naruto snorts. "Uh, duh. What do you think I'm drinking?" he lifts up his goblet, swishing the liquid inside.**

Obito laughs. "As if he'd drink anything else!" he jokes.

**Kakashi narrows his eyes as he sees a familiar bowl-cut bobbing and weaving in the crowd in a decidedly drunken manner. "Do you recall exactly when Lee hit the refreshments bar?"**

"**Eh, a few minutes ago. I saw him; this is like his second drink." Naruto answers, lifting himself up a little from his elegant slump to see Lee. "Why?"**

"**He looks drunk." Kakashi comments bluntly.**

"**Yeah . . . and?" Naruto prompts.**

**Kakashi doesn't answer, because Lee has suddenly come to the front of the crowd, and a group of teenagers are urging the boy to kick through a sheet of plywood. An easy feat for any genin, and mere child's play for Lee. But the way he's stumbling, and that unfocused look in his eyes . . . **

"**Mmkay!" Lee slurs excitedly, taking a very sloppy and shaky taijutsu stance. One second he's stumbling to the side, the next the entire group of teenagers is flying away from the force of the kick, the entire sheet of plywood becoming flying projectiles.**

"Doesn't know his own strength." Jiraiya laughs.

"Doesn't know up from down at this point, I bet." Tsunade adds with a smirk.

"**Lee!" Naruto shoots up, glaring at the boy. "What the fuck man?!"**

"**I've got a bad feeling about this . . ." Kakashi murmurs. **

**Lee just turns, almost falling as he looks at Naruto. He stares confusedly at the sunny blonde for a moment before a blinding smile nearly cracks his face.**

"**N-Nawusho!" Lee is a terrible drunk, Naruto notes. He hasn't heard anyone slur that bad since the "Double Dare" incident at Raidou's place. **

"**Fight me!" Lee demands, and Naruto has to scramble back from the sudden fist that would have blown out his face, tripping back into his seat. Before Lee can even touch the throne, Kakashi has tackled the boy to the sand, growling as Lee throws him off like he was some lightweight genin.**

"You've been slacking on your training quite a bit, it seems to me, Kakashi." Minato chides teasingly.

"**Naruto, little help here!" Kakashi growls as Lee tears off in a whirl of kicked up sand and green blur, cutting paths through the crowd and destroying two tables set up for people to eat on. Naruto huffs, before he and Kakashi sprint off to the gaggle of screaming girls as Lee obliterates a totem pole.**

Tsunade's eyebrows nearly leave her face. "He's a destructive drunk?"

"Somehow, I think it's more than that." Minato refutes quietly, but he is also unsure.

"**Lee, control yourself!" Kakashi grunts as he tackles the boy again, and Naruto lands on top of them to add extra weight. **

"**Hold him and I think I can put a sleeper seal on him!" Naruto orders breathlessly, Lee having just sent a full blown kick to his midsection.**

"**You have your sealing equipment?" Kakashi asks, redoubling his efforts. Sakura and Katsu have run up to help, holding down an arm each and not doing so great a job of it. A drunken Lee seemed to be ten times stronger, and even faster.**

"**Yeah!" Naruto pants, tapping a seal just above his inner left elbow, where he sealed his sealing ink and brush. He leans away from the fray for a steady hand as he uncaps the ink and dips the brush into his own handmade mix of blood and ink. **

"**Kakashi, Sakura, Katsu keep him as still as possible!" Naruto snaps, brush poised.**

"**Just hurry the hell up!" Katsu snaps, groaning when Lee's arm flails and slams her into the sand.**

**Naruto swiftly, surely draws the seal on Lee's forehead. "Done!" he declares, and no sooner does he say that then Lee starts to slow. Eventually, he flops to the ground, unmoving and sleeping soundly.**

**Kakashi sighs heavily, rotating his shoulders to loosen the muscles that bunched up from trying to contain the Blue Beast of Konoha. "Damn it never thought I'd have to deal with that."**

"A drunken student?" Jiraiya asks with a raised brow.

"The way I said it makes it seem like more." Kakashi agrees, racking his brain.

Minato snaps his fingers, smiling pleasantly. "Aha, I've got it. Lee is a practitioner of the Drunken Fist style."

"Eh? Never heard of it." Kushina complains.

"**Yeah, I—" Naruto pauses as he stands up, blinking rapidly when all the party looks to them with confusion. **

"**Heh," Naruto snickers, readjusting the crown that threatens to slip. Playing it up, he puts a careless hand on his hip and smirks devilishly. "Some people just can't handle their liquor. Next loser to lose it gets trussed up and feathered!" Naruto roars out.**

**The crowd responds exactly as he intended, enthusiastically and agreeably, thinking Lee was either just a performer or a crazy kid who couldn't hold his liquor.**

"**Get back to your throne Skin King!" A voice shouts out, others rising up to agree with him. **

"**Hai, hai!" Naruto calls back lazily, raising a hand up. "Walk with me people."**

"**What about Lee?" Sakura asks, looking at the sleeping genin.**

"**He'll be fine, just leave him there. Someone will throw a beach blanket over him later." Naruto assures her. **

**Once he's situated back on his throne, savoring the slow-roasted boar Katsu had brought before running to help them; he asks Kakashi, "What the hell was up with Lee?"**

"**Well, it's rare but there's a style called the Drunken Fist." Kakashi pauses, taking a swig of vodka. "Whoa, burns better than sake . . . anyway, like the name suggests it's only accessed when drunk off your ass."**

"Vodka?" Minato asks, brow furrowing. He knew what it was, but it wasn't often seen in this part of the Elemental Nations.

"What's vodka?" Kakashi asks.

"A new age drink, clear liquor." Rin and Obito answer off handedly. That was their mistake, which they realized when pinned to their seats by the intense stare of their sensei.

"My, my . . . we have much to talk about." Minato murmurs, eyeing his students with a carefully guarded gaze.

"**How can you fight with a known style while drunk? I heard you get dizzy and clumsy when you're drunk, though I've never been drunk myself." Naruto recalls.**

"**Out of curiosity, what drink are you on?" Katsu asks.**

"**My . . . er, either twenty-fifth or thirtieth." Naruto answers sheepishly.**

"Goodness." Kushina mutters in disapproval.

Jiraiya however, views this in a different light. "Always good to build up your alcohol tolerance, otherwise it could be used against you." He mentions.

"**You could die of alcohol poisoning!" Sakura shrieks, immediately moving to grab his drink. Naruto holds it out of reach, wagging a finger at her.**

"**Ah ah . . . the perks of being a demon's host." Naruto sings, gulping down the rest of his drink with relish. "Someone get me a bottle!"**

**A bottle came soaring from the crowd, and Naruto catches it in his hand.**

"**Thanks!" he calls, uncorking it. "Anyone?"**

"**I'll take some." Kakashi and Katsu answer, holding out their cups. Naruto fills them up graciously, and then downs a mouthful straight from the bottle. **

Rin laughs. "What a lush!"

"**Ah!" Kakashi realizes. "Like I was saying before, that's just the way it is . . . it's why it is such a rare style to see. I was definitely not expecting to see that . . . I wonder if Gai knows."**

"**I'm sure he does." Naruto mumbles. "Ooh, conga line . . . got to go!"**

**Kakashi and Sakura watch Naruto zip off, shouting something about a King's privilege. **

"**Well, Sakura why don't you go on and enjoy yourself?" Kakashi encourages the wilting blossom.**

"**Ah . . . well, maybe I'll go play Limbo with those other girls!" Sakura concedes, and then rushes off with a small, playful smile.**

**Kakashi chuckles, and is about to step away from the dais to find a nice quiet spot to watch his students make fools of themselves, when he is stopped by a man around his age with long black hair.**

"**Hey, buddy got some time to kill? We're having a drinking contest, and I'm the reigning champ." The man boasts.**

**Kakashi's eye narrows in consideration. Peace and solitude, or a chance to humiliate someone? Decisions, decisions . . . **

"**Sure!" Kakashi chirps, following the other man's lead.**

**Naruto is laughing freely, having just stumbled away from the Conga-line-turned-grind-chain. **

"**All hail the Skin King!" a drunken youth hollers as he stumbles past Naruto. Naruto inclines his head mockingly, but continues on his way. He makes a bee-line for the DJ's booth, stepping up to speak to the guy.**

"**Hey man, how about something to really get the party going? I want to see people on the dance floor!" Naruto requests.**

**The DJ gives him a crooked grin. "You got it, your majesty." With a deft flick of his wrist and a few turns of some dials, the beat abruptly changes and morphs into something new. The base pounds through bodies, and thrums through the blood. A few people in the crowd howl like wolves at the moon.**

**Naruto grins and bounds back to the throne where he is sure the others are for a break. Sure enough, Katsu is teasing Kakashi on his rum-blush, and Sakura is watching the sudden change of the crowd form frenzied to pulsing dance beats with wide eyes.**

"I guess you won, huh Kakashi." Kushina chuckles.

"I bet Sakura's never seen dancing quite like that." Obito muses. "Your first time at a club or a party like that, can definitely be a shock to the system."

"**Well don't just sit there losers!" Naruto shouts, bounding into their view. "Let's dance!"**

"**Let's go Ru!" Katsu whoops, jumping up and taking his hand. The two whoop, diving into the sea of practically melded together bodies as the dance floor grows and grows. **

"**Sensei . . ." Sakura gulps, watching the crowd. "Shouldn't you have stopped them?"**

"**Mm?" Kakashi mutters in confusion, eyeing a bottle of beer contemplatively. He'd already drunk about two bottles of sake in that contest alone . . . well, why stop? He downs it.**

"**Everyone is dancing . . . really . . . close." Sakura explains with a blush on her cheeks, gesturing to the dancers.**

Obito and Rin snort, coughing to hide their laughter.

"Honestly, they're teenagers, it's not as bad as she makes it seem." Kakashi mutters.

"**That's club dancing . . . or dirty dancing if you prefer," Kakashi explains with a touch of slur. "Nothing bad about it. We're all adults here, with this headband, so why not? I'm not . . . not his keeper."**

**Sakura cuts her eyes to Kakashi, eyeing him with amusement. "You're drunk sensei."**

"**Yes." Kakashi states clearly, nodding his head. **

"I _am_ drunk." Kakashi realizes when his future self just brazenly, yet simply admits it.

**The music changes to a lively, fast and fun club beat. The silver-haired jounin vaguely remembers it playing from the radio in Naruto and Katsu's house. Speak of the devil, Katsu jumps out from the crowd, Naruto running behind her. **

"**Switching partners!" she declares, grabbing Kakashi's hand in a vice-like grip and pulling. Surprised by the action, Kakashi lets himself be drug forward. **

"**I hope you can dance drunk Kakashi!" Katsu laughs, pulling him into the crowd.**

"Don't get too close now Kakashi," Minato warns the boy with a wag of his finger and a sharp-edged smirk. "Drinks, and pretty girls? That's just asking for trouble."

"That's like . . . no." Kakashi says in disgust.

**Sakura, who was laughing as she saw her sensei stumble into the crowd, stopped and blinked uncertainly at the brown hand offered to her. She looks up uncertainly at a grinning Naruto. "I don't know how to dance to this."**

"**I'll teach you, it's super easy." Naruto assures her. Without giving her time to answer he sweeps her up and pulls her to the crowd in one smooth motion. Sakura blushes, stuttering as Naruto steps close and laces the fingers of both their hands together, guiding her arms as he pulls her along. **

"**Come on, just follow my lead and mind your feet!" Naruto laughs. "That's always what my piano teacher said, and I found out gradually it applied to dancing too."**

**Sakura spins around Naruto under his guidance, coming in even closer than before. Blushing heavily, yet starting to feel a little disappointed— **_**if only I could do this with Sasuke**_**, she laments— she asks him, "Where'd you learn how to dance?"**

"How can you even think about Sasuke in this situation?" Rin mutters in annoyance, running a hand through her hair.

"Oh? Sasuke is her crush after all." Jiraiya points out.

"Yes, but its girl etiquette to not think about your crush, unless the crush is progressing into something good, while being with another handsome guy! And Naru-chan could totally rival Sasuke-chan in cuteness." Rin explains.

"She's right." Kushina and Tsunade agree. "He deserves her full attention." The slug princess adds.

**Naruto regards her with some surprise. "You don't exactly go to a class to learn do you? Well, you can, but not like this. It's just . . . the more you do it, the easier it gets. Whether you're good or not is an opinion of anyone who watches you."**

"**So what about me then? You're watching me." Sakura asks.**

**Naruto smirks. "Not bad, but you could use more **_**practice**_**." On the last word he spins her away from him, letting go of her hand. **

**Sakura squeaks, blushing up a storm when she lands in the arms of a smiling stranger, who leads her through an enthusiastic step. **

**Naruto watches her start to relax into the dance, and smiles in satisfaction when Katsu is suddenly spinning his way. **

"**So, you look like you did a good thing." Katsu prompts as they spin around each other.**

"**Yeah, wasn't Sakura looking too tense?" Naruto asks.**

"**Oh, totally. Hey, we totally love this song!" Katsu squeals when they recognize the beat. **

"**You can't go wrong with Globe . . ." Naruto agrees.**

"**You're blushing something heavy, but you're not embarrassed." Katsu eyes him twirling with a switch and sway. "One a scale of buzzed to all fucked up, where are you right now?"**

"**Tipsy as fuck." Naruto admits with a carefree smile. "I hope that clone stayed sober though, I counted on him to take pictures."**

**They dance through five more songs, and Naruto goes through ten more bottles.**

**Then someone set up a beer pong game, and Naruto shares fifteen shots with Kakashi.**

**Katsu challenges him to horseshoe and after purposely losing (and drinking the penalty shots) five times, he trounces her and she is forced to drink the penalty shots. **

"He sounds like an alcoholic here, but really it's just the hype of the party." Tsunade mutters thoughtfully, fist propping up her head.

**The night disappears in a swirl of fire, drinks, and moonlight. **

"**Ugh . . ."**

**Piercing sunlight nearly blinds Naruto, even though his eyes are glued shut with sleep and gritty sand. His body feels like a heavy weight he wishes he could shed.**

**His head feels like death.**

"**Oh . . . my Kami." He breathes, rubbing his eyes. They blink rapidly, and he cringes at the too-bright morning, the extra light exacerbating his hangover. He tries to move his arms, and finds one trapped under soft flesh. One arm is trapped beneath Katsu, and another is trapped underneath him. **

"**Oh," he mutters stupidly. He gently removes his arms, struggling up on shaky arms and legs. His entire body aches, especially his back. Stumbling, he registers the surroundings.**

**Bodies. Bodies everywhere, just . . . piled one atop the other. The traumatic carnage of a massive party from the night before. Bodies strewn across the sand, stuffed into makeshift hammocks shoddily set up by drunks; bodies stretched across the dais below his feet, as he had slept in the throne, the velvet cloak covering him and Katsu.**

"Dear Kami." Obito sniggers, pressing a fist to his mouth.

**If he looked far enough he could even see people sleeping in trees, under trees . . . **

**Naruto sighs, his head pounding. He brings up his hands, and rubs them harshly up and down his face. "Why did I drink so much last night?" he moans painfully, voice cracked and groggy harsh. **

"Let this be a lesson to you." Kushina lectures sternly, though a small smile of amusement flits across her face.

"**You wouldn't listen to me last night, that's why." Katsu grumbles as she pushes herself up, feeling the pains that accompany sleeping in a wooden chair. **

**Naruto closes his eyes against the pang of pain, waiting until the headache ebbs a little before he tries to speak again. "How . . . how much did I drink last night?" **

"**I never kept track. Where do you remember leaving off?" Katsu shoots back, stretching her limbs, nearly curling in on herself to ease her spine.**

"**After . . . man there was just too much." Naruto mutters.**

_**You had ten bottles of sake, a bottle of vodka, thirty-two shots, and one body shot each on and from the redhead twins over by the totem pole, **_**Kyuubi rattles off the list.**

"What the fuck." Kakashi utters dumbly.

"That could rival me in my heyday." Jiraiya whistles.

Tsunade snorts. "You mean the week before we came here?"

"That's too much," Minato says sternly. "Drinking to excess like that is dangerous— Kakashi, I hope you straighten him out."

"Redhead twins though, did anyone else catch that?" Obito asks with a grin.

"Twins . . ." Jiraiya sighs, shaking his head. "What luck."

"**Sweet Lord." Naruto mumbles. He steps off the dais, immediately tripping and falling flat on his face in the sand. **

**Katsu cackles, using his body as a stepping stone to the ground. "Bitch!" he spits out, along with a mouthful of sand as he lifts his head up. **

"**Ugh . . . man I am shattered," Katsu admits, yawning and stretching to touch her toes.**

"**Oi, I'm down here don't stretch like that idiot." Naruto advises her tiredly.**

"**Whatever, I'm too drained to care." Katsu shrugs it off, looking around as she gulps in the early morning sea breeze. "Should we look for the others? Or go freshen up and get some breakfast?" **

"**Door number two, please. We'll come back in an hour. It's way too early; everyone will sleep for a while longer." Naruto grunts as he rises up precariously. "Help me over there; I've suddenly forgotten what equilibrium is." **

"Little punk's going to just leave me there?" Kakashi mutters.

**Katsu chuckles and sidles close, slinging his arm around her shoulder, putting a steady hand on his waist. They make their slow way to the castle, enduring the stares and quiet laughter of the townspeople on the wharf on the way to the castle. **

"**Fuck is wrong with them? Never seen kids sleep on the beach before?" Naruto grumbles, pushing his face into the crook of Katsu's neck, eyes still very sensitive. **

"**I'm wearing fishnets and a ribbon. You have rose petals in your hair from the lost crown. We make quite the sight." Katsu explains shortly, sighing in relief when the castle looms closer. **

"Taking, _'The Walk of Shame'_ to a whole new level." Rin sniggers.

"**Wait, I can get us to our rooms faster. Hop on, I'll walk up." Naruto offers, stopping them inside the castle gates. **

"**You good for that?" Katsu asks dubiously.**

"**We'll never know until I try. If we fall, I'll land first and my broken corpse will cushion you." Naruto assures her with a wry smile. Katsu huffs, slapping his shoulder, but gets on his back anyway. She, at least, knows he could never stumble no matter how drunk he got. **

"That's nice and all you believe in him, but he is nursing a hangover and not at his best concentration-wise." Tsunade frowns.

**Naruto concentrates, grimacing as the effort of concentrating makes his head pulse with pain. Nevertheless, he runs up the wall swiftly, running to his room where the balcony door was left open as per his instructions to the clone he made last night. He alights upon the balcony railing, letting Katsu get off and scamper to her room. **

**Once Naruto's door has closed, he lands on the floor and trudges over to his bathroom. Sighing heavily, he turns on the water to the shower and then walks back out, hoping to catch a maid or butler walking through the halls. **

**As luck would have it, the maid Hanazuki was waiting with a patient smile and a platter in front of his room as he opened the door. **

"**How'd you know?" Naruto asks, rubbing his eye.**

"**I'm your maid for your stay here Uzumaki-kun! It's my job to know." Hanazuki explains with a cheeky grin. She lifts her right hand up, where the silver platter is, allowing Naruto to see the wonderful things she's brought him. Pain reliever pills and a glass of ice cold water.**

"Might as well be the Holy Grail." Obito jokes.

"**Would it be inappropriate to say I love you Hanazuki-chan?" Naruto jokes, giving her a grateful look as he takes the pills and the tall glass of water.**

"**Oh my, I do believe so." Hanazuki chuckles. "Breakfast will be awaiting you and Kuroshio-chan upon your arrival downstairs."**

"**Excellent. See you downstairs then." Naruto closes the door with his shoulder, swallowing the pills and chasing it with half the glass of water. The cold, refreshing water soothes his throat and sends a chilly tingle down his body. He places the glass down, feeling a little better and anticipating the relief for his headache once the pills take effect, and without pausing kicks off his shorts and steps under the near-scalding spray.**

"**Ah!" he winces, adjusting the temperature to something below skin-boiling. With a sigh, Naruto sinks down to the floor and just sits under the spray, eyes closed for a few moments. Soon enough he rises and works shampoo into his hair, making sure to get every bit of salt water and sand that has crusted his hair into wild peaks. He cleans himself leisurely, neither in a rush nor with a care. **

"**Hmm . . . I wonder if they sell shower heads like these in Konoha?" Naruto mumbles to himself as he steps out the shower, toweling off with the all-too-plush rich crimson towels. **

"Really likes them huh?" Kushina mumbles, with a look to Minato.

"I know we said we'd give him anything, but we really might spoil him _rotten_." Minato sighs, neither denying nor approving.

**He walks into his room and puts on his clothes swiftly, now feeling far better, his hangover now just a distant memory. Oh, the perks of a bijuu! No risk of alcohol poisoning, and a short-lasting hangover. **

"You ever tried it out, Kushina?" Tsunade asks.

"I doubt it'd work as well for me, Kyuubi likes my son way better." Kushina admits with a laugh.

_**You're welcome brat, **_**Kyuubi pipes up modestly. **

_**Oh, generous King of Bijuu! What miracle shall ye bestow upon my unworthy hide this morn? **_**Naruto mockingly rejoices.**

**Kyuubi sniffs. **_**Nothing if you're that ungrateful. **_

**Naruto chuckles as he is suddenly alone in his head. Walking out to the hallway, he greets a fresh-faced, yet still weary Katsu who merely smiles at him. Not everyone has advanced healing properties like him, and so Kurohime must endure her headache until the pain pill kicks in. **

"**When you fill your belly, you'll feel better." Naruto chirps, looping an arm around her shoulder.**

"**Yeah, sure." Katsu sighs out, and Naruto wonders if she'll fall asleep again at the table. **

**The breakfast table wasn't a very good place to rest on, as Katsu would find out. The two severely partied out kids are the source of quiet amusement for Hikaru and Michiru, even if the young boy doesn't exactly know what's wrong with it. They aren't much for small talk, and every clank and scrape of cutlery against plates is agony for Katsu whose pain relievers have yet to fully kick in.**

"Poor little thing." Rin coos, the only sympathetic voice amongst the sniggers and titters of the others.

"**Can't we go back to sleep?" Naruto groans tiredly, his full meal making him drowsy.**

"**No," Katsu is firm as she pushes away from the table, and with a bow and a murmur of thanks to the King and Prince, strides out. Naruto huffs and follows after her, jogging to catch up before slowing to match her pace. **

"**We have to find your teammates, and your brother." Katsu reminds him, smoothing down the folds of her skirt as the wind kicks up for just a moment. **

**Naruto laughs. "How unusual, Kakashi is a much better sport than this . . . what was he doing last night?"**

"Now that is an excellent question, Naru-chan," Obito pauses and sends a searching, teasing look to Kakashi. "What is your aniki _doing?_"

"Piss off." Kakashi grumbles, pushing the boy.

**Katsu hums, head tilting back as she pushes her hair back over her shoulders. "As I recall . . . drinking, drinking, and . . . a little flirting? Some dancing if my memory hasn't been too terribly tampered with by the drink."**

"**Oh my." Naruto chuckles, a mock moue of surprise on his face. **

**They walk down to the beach, still the same field of destruction it was upon first sight of the morning. Naruto and Katsu picked through carefully, mindful of the sleeping people. **

"**How hard can it be to see a pink-haired girl?" Naruto mutters, craning his neck to see his pale-skinned teammate. Katsu laughs, but stops and puts a hand on his shoulder.**

"**I've found Lee." She informs Naruto, her voice shaking with laughter. Naruto turns to where she looks and claps a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter. **

**Lee was sleeping in the carved wooden arms of a totem pole, and Naruto was sure the poor boy would have some terrible kinks in his body to work out. The funniest thing however, was the green body paint coloring every inch of skin on him, shadowed by the giant hat and bright blue plastic sunglasses askew on his face. Combine that with the large t-shirt that read, "I like to PARTY HARD" and the two were having trouble keeping quiet. **

"The unfortunate casualty of an awesome party." Obito declares solemnly, hand over his heart.

"**Wake him up, Naruto." Katsu urges him, giggling quietly. Naruto takes a deep breath to ward away the chuckles, and walks forward. Without pause he slaps Lee off the totem pole, and on to the sand. Lee doesn't even wake up immediately— his eyes flutters open, and he groans in confused realization of the pains throughout his back.**

"What a wakeup call!" Tsunade mutters, rubbing her own cheek as if rubbing away a ghost pain.

"**Naruto?" He yawns, rising up on his elbows. "What a strange dream I had, my friend! I dreamed I was thrown into a . . . a vat of green goo and a large smiley face gave me something burning to drink."**

"**Oh really?" Naruto asks, and the knowing tone makes Lee blink. The boy gets up, struggling as his back and sore neck protests. **

"**I feel terrible! Did I not do enough exercise yesterday? Unacceptable, I must recover my flames of youth!" Lee declares.**

"Kiddie, I got a piece of advice for you— flames and hangovers do not mix." Kushina advises with a laugh.

"**I suggest some limber stretches before you go running 200 laps up and down the beach." Naruto suggests.**

**Lee smiles, winking knowingly. "Ah, but of course! And if I cannot do 200 laps, I shall do 300 pushups horizontally on a cliff face! And if I cannot—"**

"**If you cannot help us find Sakura within the next five minutes, then I'll give you a real workout Lee." Katsu interrupts sternly, marching up to the boy. She points an imperious finger to the side, stretched to the vast party grounds. "Now get to it!"**

**Lee jumps up immediately, wincing only slightly at the crack of his spine. "Yes ma'am!" he salutes, then zips off to hunt for his cherry blossom crush.**

"**I love it when you get all commanding." Naruto muses with a raised eyebrow.**

**Katsu is not impressed, and gives him a stern look. "You— **_**march!**_**" the snap comes with such force that Naruto takes a step forward before he even realizes it. **

"**Yes, my princess." Naruto murmurs obediently, marching off as she instructed.**

"**Smartass!" Katsu snaps dryly, making Naruto chuckle. They comb the immediate area, searching carefully for any strand or flash of pink. As they search, slowly people begin to awake. First one, then five, then another three and so it goes . . . **

"**Where could she be?" Naruto wonders, starting to grow worried. Maybe he should have kept a closer eye on her, that party was wild and she was obviously a newbie to the scene. Would she have known to get back to the castle once they were too far gone? **

"No, and that is a serious thought." Minato murmurs.

"I hope she is alright." Kushina murmurs.

"Oh, come on, nothing too serious can happen. No matter how drunk Kakashi is, or gets, he wouldn't allow anything to happen to his students. He _always_ has an eye out for them." Rin argues, patting Kakashi's shoulder.

"**Naruto!" Katsu's shout makes him turn his head. Katsu is waving to him as she runs forward. **

"**Oh Naru, I just remembered!" Katsu laughs, waving her hands in apology. "You won't remember this, but I left you after our fourth dance to get something to drink. I found Sakura looking uncomfortable, and I told her to go back to the castle, she'd need a head start packing all those shopping bags anyway. She agreed, but she had some drinks and I know that was probably her first time . . . I bet you anything she's sleeping them off at the castle." **

**Naruto wants to believe her and leave it at that, but he'd best be sure. He creates a clone, and the copy sets off to the castle just to make sure. Katsu smiles approvingly, and claps a hand on his shoulder.**

"Good boy." Kushina and Minato approve.

"**Now all we need to do is find Kakashi." Katsu says optimistically. Naruto nods.**

"**My friends! You look happy, have you found Sakura?" Lee asks as he suddenly zips forward in a whirlwind of youth and optimism.**

"**Shut the hell up!" a stumbling teenager snaps at the loud boy, Lee's fires of youth like nails down a chalkboard in his mind.**

"**Walk it off asshole." Naruto advises with a scowl, picking up for Lee.**

"**As a matter of fact, we have. So you, Lee, can go back to the castle and freshen up. Start packing too." Katsu says, smiling gently.**

"**We must still find Kakashi-sensei!" Lee counters.**

"**I'm sure whatever state Kakashi is in, he'd appreciate fewer people seeing him." Naruto assures him.**

"**. . . Very well." Lee backs down, and with a wave of his hand he's off to the palace.**

**Naruto takes a deep breath and blows it out, nodding his head to a few people who blearily wave to him. He blinks rapidly as the memories of the clone come back to him, and he relays to them that Sakura is indeed in the castle.**

"**Such a relief, but we really must focus. Where shall we start?" Katsu asks.**

"**Mm . . . the beach is clearing up now. The breeze cleans up the air enough I can probably use my nose. If everyone leaves I can perhaps pull out my . . . extra senses." Naruto allows.**

"**The nose should be enough for now. We looked around the beach, so that only leaves the forest." Katsu beckons to Naruto, and they walk from the water's edge to the line of trees.**

"Now I'm very much interested in where you are Kakashi." Minato chuckles, teasing the boy.

"**Kakashi!" Naruto calls out, into the shadows of the forest, a cool spot in the quickly warming day. There is no sound.**

"**Perhaps . . . we should go into the forest?" Katsu asks nervously, glancing at Naruto.**

"**Yes, I suppose so." Naruto mumbles. They step inside the forest, walking deeper from the forest's edge.**

"**Kakashi!" Katsu calls long and low, a carrying note through the chirps and rustles of the forest. **

**Katsu sighs and makes to walk forward, but Naruto catches her arm and pulls her back to his side. Katsu looks at him quizzically, but Naruto places a finger to his lips and tilts his head.**

_**What is he listening to? **_**Katsu wonders.**

"**I hear," Naruto murmurs, as if answering her unspoken question. "A rustle of silk ribbons, and the groan of a man."**

"Please let me be just waking up." Kakashi pleads under his breath; hiding is face behind his hands as the others all turn to look at him with, much-too-shocked faces.

"Oh, _my_ Kakashi." Kushina giggles. Kakashi just mumbles something, pressing his hands closer to his face.

**Katsu at first thinks they should move to another section of forest to avoid a private scene, but there is a smug tilt at the corner of Naruto's lips, and a twinkle of mischief bright enough to only mean big trouble.**

"**Oh, you don't think . . . ?" Katsu gasps, her voice hushed from the surprise of it all. Naruto grins insanely wide and nods, before grabbing her hand and creeping forward. **

"Ugh, maybe you don't want to see anything. It's Kakashi— knowing him, he still has his mask on." Obito sniggers.

"Oh, gross!" the women squeal, shuddering.

"Fuck you, man." Kakashi growls.

**Past three bushes, and around a tree . . . push back the brambles of a thicket and arrive upon a most curious scene.**

"**Oh my, oh me!" Naruto trills, leaning against a tree with an air of utmost satisfaction. "My dear brother, what scene do my eyes glean?"**

"**. . ." Kakashi's eyes crack open, and he yawns large enough to make his jaws crack. Not that the kids could see the jaws crack, the ever present mask still up. "Shut up brat. Katsu, don't look."**

"So you are just waking up. Not . . ." Rin blushes, looking away. Kakashi can't look at her or at Obito, and certainly not at his smirking sensei or his girlfriend with shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter. To compensate, he stares quite hard at the table, not blinking.

"**You're covered enough and so are those girls thankfully." Katsu reminds him.**

"**I'm so proud onii-san!" Naruto sniffles, wiping away imaginary tears from the corner of his right eye. "Two girls!"**

Minato and Jiraiya whoop, and Kakashi's head hits the table with a sensible thud.

**Kakashi's brow furrows, and he looks over the tangle of slim limbs and soft flesh. "There were three that I remembered." **

"**Ah, so that scent on the blonde was you." Naruto realized.**

"Oh . . . my . . . KAMI." Kakashi groans, his words muffled terribly by the wooden table.

"Damn, Kakashi!" Minato laughs, leaning forward to slap the boy on the shoulder.

"Don't be so embarrassed Kakashi," Tsunade murmurs gently, feeling some sympathy for the clearly embarrassed boy. "It's perfectly natural—"

"And we're just happy you can still enjoy life." Minato intercepts with a gentle smile, winking cheekily at the boy.

"**Way to go Hatake." Katsu cheers, but quietly because it would be far too awkward for Kakashi's midnight friends to wake up and see them.**

"**We have much to do today," Naruto sighs, standing straight now. "Nii-san, wake up your friends and let's go."**

"**Alright, hold your horses." Kakashi sighs, rising up before pausing. "Ah, turn around."**

**Naruto and Katsu let out twin snorts of amusement. "We'll see you back at the castle nii-san; take your Walk of Shame alone."**

**Kakashi's quiet chuckles follow them as trailing echoes when they leave out of the forest, walking up the beach.**

"**So, you think he kept the mask on?" Naruto asked.**

"**For those girls' sakes, I hope not." Katsu laughs.**

"Them too." Kakashi mutters, still hiding from the rest of the group.

**The day is passed quickly and mostly silently. Sakura is a miserable bundle in her bed, weak and achy from the party last night so Katsu takes pity on her and helps her pack. Lee is alternating between his insane workouts, icing his aching muscles, and packing his things. Kakashi . . . is perfectly fine.**

**Relaxed, even.**

"And we know why!" The group choruses before descending into fits of laughter (except, of course, for Kakashi who is trying to suffocate himself with a pillow).

**Though he does tend to twitch whenever he catches the eye of either Naruto or Katsu, and both children look away and giggle.**

**Bags are packed, last minute checks are done, rolls of film are developed, and a last dinner with friends is had.**

**Their boat leaves in the evening, and soon after dinner the carriages come around to pack them up and take them to the docks. Michiru and Hikaru accompany them one last time, and Hikaru is quietly miserable. **

"**Don't be that way, Hikaru-chan." Naruto soothes the boy, running gentle fingers through the black hair. "We'll always be friends. You think of me, when I think of you— and we'll know we're both doing okay. Right, guys?"**

"**Of course!" Sakura chirps.**

"**Most definitely!" Lee assures.**

"**There is nothing wrong with writing letters." Katsu reminds the boy.**

"**Will we ever see each other again?" Hikaru asks, as the boat makes the call for them to come aboard.**

"**I'm sure we will." Naruto is positive. **

"**How can we if you don't become Hokage?" Michiru asks slyly.**

"A good point." Minato chuckles.

**Naruto shoots him a dirty look, smirking. "I'll become a wandering toad sage."**

"An even better one!" Jiraiya exclaims.

**While Michiru and Hikaru look confused, Kakashi snorts in amusement. **

"**Come on— it's time to go." The silver-haired jounin tells them all softly.**

**Hikaru's eyes water, but he holds back the tears as he smiles. "I'm going to miss you guys."**

"**And we'll miss you." Katsu says softly. They give Hikaru one last hug, and a bow and a smile to Michiru before they troop up the plank to the ship. **

**Crescent Moon Island disappears in the distance.**

* * *

"**Sasuke!" Naruto crows happily, bounding up to cuff the boy on the back in greeting.**

"Again with the time skip, just like in Nami." Obito mutters.

"Well what all would have happened?" Rin retorts.

"**Ow— watch it idiot!" Sasuke grunts, shoving Naruto, but not as hard as he would normally and he allows Naruto to chatter away while the rest of the team files in. He draws the line when Sakura scurries toward him and tries to swoon all over him like usual. She's particularly persistent from the near month long break she had from Sasuke.**

**A break that ended all too soon, in the boy's opinion.**

"**Team Seven," Tsunade catches their attention. They stand at attention, even Sasuke who she brought here because she knew Kakashi would bring those kids home today. She observes them all for a moment. Kakashi has caught a bit of sun, going from pale to fair-skinned, and he seemed relaxed too. Perhaps getting injured so badly on the mission was a blessing in disguise for the normally veiled jounin.**

Jiraiya opens his mouth to speak, but stops when he sees Minato shake his head with a small smile.

**Sakura was still pale, but her eyes were bright and she seemed to glow— though Tsunade suspected that was more the presence of the Uchiha then anything Crescent Moon did for her. Lee seemed no different, as . . . youthful as ever.**

**Naruto and Katsu however, was the biggest surprise. They left tanned and came back with caramel skin and glows about them that brought attention. Naruto's hair had darkened a shade, still sunny yellow but with a golden tinge that brought back memories, and Katsu's hair was a burnished orange that suited her— they were the sun, Tsunade thought. **

"Oh, could we . . ." Kushina wonders, before being cut off by Rin and Obito.

"Oh, please Kushina-san!" Rin stops her.

"Couldn't we finish this? We'll look at Naru later! If only we had a photo album." Obito mumbles the last part.

"**How was the mission?" Tsunade asked, smiling faintly.**

"**The mission was a success, Hokage-sama." Kakashi answered with a bow, his team bowing with him.**

"**Good, good . . . I have some questions Kakashi, but we'll talk about all those later. For now, dismissed!"**

"**Yes, Hokage-sama!" the team answered.**

"**Sasuke," the raven-haired boy turns to look at his blonde teammate. "I've got some souvenirs for you, come on over and you can get them. I've got too many things sealed up to just get it out right." **

**Sasuke's lips thin in annoyance, but just as quickly he acquiesces. "Hn. Fine then."**

"Such good friends they are turning out to be." Rin chuckles.

"**Great! You won't believe all the great stuff we saw, the things we bought." Naruto shouts happily, slinging an arm roughly around Sasuke's neck.**

"**Get off!" Sasuke snarls, pushing him off roughly, but Naruto just laughs it off. The two walk out, but Naruto pauses at the doorway.**

"**Ah! Nade! Come over when you're done working too so you can get your souvenirs— yours and Shizune's." Naruto tells the woman.**

"**Will do Naruto." Tsunade confirms. "And where are my pictures?"**

**Naruto grins mysteriously. "Is Ero-sennin here?"**

"**Yeah?" Tsunade nods, tilting to her head in an obvious question.**

"**Bring him over too. He'll like my pictures." Naruto grins wickedly, then laughs as he runs out and pulls a loudly protesting Sasuke with him.**

"He did think of me too! Ah, my new book will be _the_ bestseller!" Jiraiya rejoices, hitting the air with his fist.

**Tsunade blinks in confusion, but then just shakes her head. "Weird kid." She mutters fondly, signing paper after paper. **

"And, we are done!" Tsunade declares, placing the book down on the table.

"Ah, it is nice to just enjoy a chapter where my child is happy and unhurt." Minato sighs, stretching luxuriously. Kushina hums in agreements, arms snaking around his waist as she leans closer to him.

"Well, I do wonder what will happen next. Back in Konoha— back to business." Jiraiya grunts.

"We'll never know till we pick up the book. And we can wait until morning to do so." Rin mutters, yawning as she walks to her room.

"Ah, not yet Rin and Obito." Both kids pause and flinch as Minato's stern voice grabs hold of them like iron shackles.

"Ah, man," Obito whines. "Can't we just skip this?"

"Nuh-uh." Minato smirks. "It's your turn to tell a story now."

"You deal with the brats, I'm going to bed." Kushina tells him, kissing his cheek. Minato turns quickly when she moves back and leans forward to catch her lips in a sweet peck.

"Night." He smiles. Kushina blushes and mumbles a goodnight back, walking away and reigning in her temper when she hears him chuckle. She has more important things to think about anyway.

She bathes hurriedly, and quickly slips into bed, trying to go to sleep as quickly as she can.

She opens her eyes to her mindscape. In front of her, chained and pinned down to a slab is the Kyuubi. It isn't growling and snarling as it usually does upon seeing her, just looks her steadily in the eye. Kushina realizes she preferred its wild hatred, its base instincts to this calculated, cool gaze.

It made the Kyuubi seem like an actual opponent, as opposed to a destructive force of nature.

And a bijuu as an opponent, was definitely a death sentence.

Kushina starts off what will most likely be a one-sided conversation with an uncomfortable clearing of her throat. "It's . . . been a couple years since I was down here."

"As you can see, nothing has changed." Kyuubi growls sarcastically. Kushina blushes, self-conscious.

"I . . . I just wondered if you've been listening to the whole story. My son's story." Kushina tries again, injecting a false bravery into her voice.

Kyuubi is silent for a moment. Kushina takes this time to realize he's panting rather heavily, his breaths deep yet somehow labored.

"I have." He admits.

Kushina frowns. "You're rather reticent, aren't you?"

Kyuubi snarls, snapping his jaws at her, though he cannot move so the show of force is lessened. "It's hard to carry conversations with a giant pole in the center of my chest, in every tail, not to mention my hands and feet!"

"O-oh." Kushina stutters, eyes wide. "I'm not sure . . . how much I can change."

"You can at least take out the stake from my chest, it's damn hard to breathe." Kyuubi mutters, head flopping back onto the slab tiredly. "Fool girl." He mutters.

Ignoring the remark, Kushina concentrates, just like her son did. She concentrated on removing the stake from Kyuubi's chest.

A sigh of relief makes her open her eyes, and Kyuubi now has one less restriction.

"Sorry about that." Kushina apologizes.

Kyuubi looks at her, annoyed. "Just because I seem to have a positive relationship with your child, does not mean we can be friends."

Kushina grits her teeth, but takes a deep breath. "I wasn't trying to suggest that. I came here to ask you something."

"Spit it out." Kyuubi grunts, turning his head to look at her.

"Why did you answer the question?" Kushina asks.

"What question. You're ignorant mind asks a lot of questions." Kyuubi clarifies bluntly.

_He's a jerk! And what's worse, he's teasing me! _Kushina growls. "You know which question!"

Kyuubi snorts. "Alright, I repay my debts. If this is all you wanted, I can do this much. I answered, for your son."

"What do you mean?" Kushina asks, confused.

Kyuubi snorts, grumbling something— most likely unflattering to her or the human race as a whole. "I answered . . . for clarification. It seems I will be close enough to your son to share some details of my life. You could at least know this much. I'm sure more will be revealed later, no matter how much I don't want it to be."

"Why?"

"Foolish child— because there is no part of my life I wish to share with any of you!" Kyuubi roars. "And yet, I'll tell that toddler?! Feh. I've gone crazy from all my years of imprisonment."

Kushina decides it is time to leave, before she says or does something she regrets— like putting back the chest stake. "Thank you." She grinds out, and turns to leave.

"Thank Minato for me."

Kushina blinks, turning back to look at Kyuubi with wide eyes. "Thank him? What for?"

"For the seal that is far more comfortable than this piece of shit." Kyuubi grumbles.

Kushina pouts, flustered. "You're such a jerk, -ttebane!"

* * *

**See you in April! :D**

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad~3**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello, everyone! I said mid-april, but i'd like to think i got it out a little earlier than that! So, here's the first "filler" and the only filler from canon! Gotta See! Gotta Know! Kakashi's True Face! One of my favorite Naruto episodes, and something lighthearted before i start piling in the serious action and agnst, to prepare you all for the VotE battle. So without further ado . . . let's go! This was inspred by epic Naruto chapters, Evil Dead (i thought it was pretty good, though not as fantastic as the original), and summer vacation soon to come!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Six_

_The Mystery is too Good, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

The new morning brings a refreshed attitude to the group from the past— although the fact that Obito and Rin cannot look at Minato without blushing and fidgeting guiltily does raise some eyebrows. They don't concern themselves with it, because it doesn't seem to be as serious as the fight between Minato and Rin the first time around.

"So, who shall read?" Minato prompts.

"Ah, if it pleases the good people." Rin volunteers herself.

"Then please do." They allow with smiles.

**Subaku no Gaara had to muse about the recent strangeness of his own life. It wasn't the stares or the fear— that was standard. No, rather it was . . . the lack of something. No, that wasn't right either.**

"What's Gaara doing here? And in his own . . . second person." Obito points out.

"Well, we'll never know unless we keep reading." Rin shakes the book pointedly, grinning at Obito's repentant grin.

**It was the self-control he'd gained.**

**Any point in time before the Chuunin Exams, he would not hesitate to kill anyone who dared cross his path. Especially the assassins. And that was the other thing too . . . **

**They stopped sending assassins. **

**Well, primarily it had been his father who sent Suna nins to assassinate him. Now that the man was dead, perhaps the Council saw no need to waste what they clearly could not afford to waste. The Suna shinobi force had been rather thin as of late thanks to that invasion of Konoha. They really didn't think those tree huggers had it in them to kill off so many. **

"Brat, we _have_ fought wars before." Tsunade huffs.

**That was none of Gaara's concern at the moment.**

**The important thing— he hadn't killed anyone in months. **

"He's been clean and sober for months, everybody, give him a round of applause!" Obito whoops, clapping. Amused, the others follow his lead for a few moments before returning to the book.

**Temari would, of course, say it was a good thing. Gaara supposed it was. Kankuro would say nothing, but his expression was one of both careful optimism and waiting for the others shoe to drop. Gaara couldn't blame his older brother for that. If he wanted the opinion of the populace to change about him, it was generally a good idea not to kill anything. Not even a fly, any sort of movement with his sand sent people into bouts of flinching. He was **_**behaving.**_

**Another interesting development . . . the letters. And the cookies.**

**Uzumaki Naruto, he found, was someone who kept his word. He said they would be friends— Gaara had thought that was alright, that they would just be friends and if they so happened to see each other on a rare Leaf/Sand mission, then that was acceptable.**

**Uzumaki Naruto would have none of that, it seemed.**

**He sent letters two months after the Chuunin Exams. Gaara supposed it took him that long to figure out how to make sure the letters got to him. After the first batch of letters, then tins of cookies were sent to him, with little notes written in the flowing, pretty little kanji of Kuroshio-san. He particularly enjoyed the peanut butter and macadamia nut cookies . . . **

"If he were to create a spy network," Jiraiya starts out casually, emphasizing the hypothetical. "Then this would be a damn good spy network. Friends in high places, a camaraderie that makes spying seem more like idle gossip between friends. It'll be interesting to teach him the ropes."

"Can't argue with that." Minato grins, knowing full well his girlfriend _could_. Kushina, who had opened her mouth to argue, closed it and pouted.

**Uzumaki Naruto would also mention his siblings, so Gaara thought it prudent to mention that to them. They were at first shocked, but eventually they came around to write little pieces or greetings in the letters he wrote to return to Naruto. It was only after the tenth letter, when Temari had barged into his room without knocking (or quivering in fear) while he was still reading Naruto's letter, and just wrote her greeting on the blank stationary by his side that he realized this was exactly what Naruto had intended. The prolonged contact and communication with his siblings had gone a long way to thawing their relationship. **

"It'll be a joy playing shougi with him." Kakashi murmurs with a small smile.

**The last letter had come two weeks before Kuroshio-san's birthday. Gaara only knew that because half the letter was about her, and Naruto's careful planning of her birthday. **

**Now, it was exactly three weeks after her birthday, and what came for him was not a letter, but a package. A small, rectangular box wrapped in beige paper— crinkly, like what paper bags are made out of— and simple twine. He handles it carefully, and moves to his room. On his way, Temari comes out of her room, heading to the practice fields for training.**

"**Hello, Gaara," Temari notices the package. "Another box of cookies? No, it's too small . . ."**

"**I don't know." Gaara admits softly, face and voice still blank. Temari has come to accept that however, even appreciate it— it wasn't that Gaara was without emotion, he just kept them hidden, preferring to observe **_**your**_** reaction. **

"A very good quality for a shinobi to have." Minato agrees with a nod.

"But still quite sad for a child." Rin refutes.

"He's never really been a child." Kushina corrects calmly.

"**Well, tell them I say hi!" Temari smiles at her little brother, before jogging out of the house to practice her wind jutsu. **

**Gaara walks into his room, sitting down at the window seat and unwrapping the package. He opens the box and tilts it, a gold cylinder falling out into his open palm. He observes it carefully, holding it up to eye level and turning it around slowly.**

**It is half the size of a regular scroll, and much thinner. The gold cylinder isn't fully complete, with an opening for the actual scroll parchment, which you could pull out like a napkin dispenser almost. On either end are seals inscribed, but as Gaara has no knowledge of seals he has no idea what they are for. He looks into the box for perhaps a letter or an instruction guide. **

**Rummaging through, he grabs hold of a notecard, and holds it up to read.**

_**Push chakra into both seals at each end of the scroll carrier at the same time, and wait for a surprise! **_

**. . . Is what it said. Exquisite penmanship too, he observed clinically.**

**Well, if that's what it took . . . it never specified how much chakra to put in, but Gaara is certain it's nothing too big or too small. He pushes in chakra, at the same time as instructed, and waits. He stares at the parchment with a detached feeling, not expecting anything too grand or obscene. But what does come, two minutes later, has his eyes pop open larger than they've ever done before.**

**Gaara, glad you finally got it!**

**Gaara blinks. Somehow, words had just appeared on the parchment that dangled form the scroll, as if a child had written him a note. In the exact same handwriting as the explanatory note, which he assumed was Naruto's but perhaps not ? But, no one had written anything, and it was blank before. How . . . ?**

Minato laughs incredulously, turning to a gaping yet smiling Jiraiya. "He did it! He actually did it!"

"Remarkable." Jiraiya praises, hands gripping his knees. "That kid, do the rules of logic even apply to him? Whatever he decides, it just happens."

"Are you guys suggesting it's that difficult to do?" Obito questions, feeling very confused.

"I'm saying it's an extremely creative use of seals, and certainly something no one, in recorded history at least, has thought of before. I certainly wouldn't know where to start." Minato clarifies.

**It's not that hard Gaara. Just grab a pen, or a quill or whatever, and write. **

**Gaara frowns. Still, he wouldn't get any answers just staring, so he grabs a pen from his nightstand and writes carefully, softly so as not to stab the scroll parchment through in his . . . not excitement. Intensity.**

**Yes. Intensity.**

"Sure," Kushina drawls. "We're all very _intense_ right now, in fact."

**Who is this.**

**You sound so intimidating, even in your writing! Nice style by the way, though I expect nothing less would come from the Kazekage's son, eh?**

**Gaara frowns. If he sounded intimidating through his writing, then this person sounded carefree. It irked him.**

**Answer my question, or this device will be destroyed. ****Gaara had to curse himself for almost putting an ellipses after 'this' as if he were actually thinking it.**

**It's Uzumaki Naruto of course! Who else would create shorthand?**

**A what? ****Stupid name aside, just why should I believe you. ****Gaara writes back, frown deepening at the thought of someone using Naruto's identity for their own purposes. **

"No really, who else would create something like that?" Tsunade points out with a laugh.

"The better question is who else _could?_" Minato champions his son with an unbearably smug grin, parental pride radiating from him in waves.

**I can prove it. Along with a letter sent two weeks before Kurohime's birthday, she sent a tin of cookies. And at the bottom of that tin was a storage seal, true Uzumaki style, with a jade beaded bracelet for you, a blue one for Kankuro, and a purple one for Temari.**

**Gaara's eyebrows, if he had them, would have risen in surprise. So, this was Naruto. No one else would know about the tin's seal, and only Naruto called Kuroshio-san Kurohime.**

**Uzumaki Naruto. This is indeed surprising. What you have created is innovative.**

**Why thank you Gaara! Yes, it only took about a month and a half to make. Ero-sennin says though, that with the combined experience of the . . . many, many kage bushins I used, the actual amount of time that would have come out to is about two years! **

"So much time." Rin mutters in shock.

"So much chakra." Kakashi counters.

"So many kage bushins!"Tsunade breathes, as ever more interested with research and theory.

**Interesting. Would you tell me more about this?**

**Of course! Please keep in mind, this is only a prototype. So, this is a combination of a copy, transport, and communication seals— to be specific I screwed around with a radio com seal and a seal used by the Yamanaka to link minds— and that took ages for me to get, even the basic one they gave me, no way I was getting the actual thing. Anyway, with some tinkering, lots of research, and no small amount of help from Ero-sennin, the shorthand came to life! Though, I'm thinking of a new name . . . you were right before, shorthand is a stupid name.**

**Well, as I have neither any skill in creation— be it jutsu or seals— I can hardly complain about a name. The fact alone that you created this is remarkable. ****Gaara finds with surprise that he is enjoying this, and is writing more of his thoughts than he's ever spoken out loud **_**in his entire life**_**. **

**You're writing more than I've ever heard you speak, or even say in letters. By the way, Kyuubi says hi to Ichibi. **

**Oh, the irony. **

**What the hell? Brat, you've really impressed me with this, it'll be a remarkable asset to the shinobi forces. **

Several eyebrows furrow. Who the hell is that?

**Gaara's brow furrows. Who is this?**

**Naruto must have similar thoughts. ****Ok, I gave these prototypes to three other people not including myself. Who is this?**

**Your Hokage.**

"Ah, should have realized from the context." Jiraiya mutters with a snort, smiling.

**N: Ok, I've got an idea. Since there's no option for changing styles of writing or even color— though I will work on that I assure you— for now, put the initial of your name before you write, like I have done. Otherwise this is going to get very confusing, very quickly.**

**G: This is acceptable.**

**T: You gave one to Gaara? No offense to you, Gaara, but Naruto this really seems more something you keep to yourself.**

"You mean to your shinobi village." Kushina corrects.

**N: Well, these are just prototypes anyway. And I've spotted the first glaring hole with them.**

**J: You mean the fact that these things are connected to each other, and everyone who owns one can see the conversation of any other who carry it beforehand? Yeah. That can be a big problem, especially if we want to put these out in the field.**

"It's Jiraiya-sama!" Rin and Obito sing.

"A big problem out on the field . . . imagine if an enemy got hold of it?" Minato muses.

**N: Ero-sennin! Where are you?**

**J: Mizu no Kuni. Your devices have a long range brat. Field test is a success.**

"Amazing, the range foes that far? Minato, our son planned this out so well!" Kushina murmurs in amazement, cuddling closer to her boyfriend.

**N: Awesome. More importantly, how will I go about fixing this?**

**J: Did you use the same markings?**

**G: Markings?**

Obito concurred with Gaara. "Markings?"

Minato looks to Jiraiya, and Jiraiya clears his throat. "Sometimes when creating a seal, the creator will add little markings around the seal to sort of mask it, make it just a little harder for another ninja with only some knowledge of fuuinjutsu to figure it out. Of course, the more that person knows about seals, the harder it is to hide."

"Maybe they can't understand it, but certainly they can recreate it?" Rin points out the flaw.

Minato grins, speaking up this time. "Anyone, who knows anything about seals, knows that it is not the best idea to just recreate and use a seal without at least knowing what it might do. That's asking for trouble, pain, and perhaps a good month's sleep."

**N: . . . **

**T: Naruto, there's no need to actually put that. **

**N: It was to highlight just how big an idiot I am. Plus, it's more fun! We don't have to write like council members here Nade, enjoy yourself! Anyway, I got it Ero-sennin. Ok, Gaara, Nade, just throw these away if you want! I'll bring out even newer and better ones!**

**T: And when you do, bring them to me so I can put a patent on it and you can get your due rewards.**

**N: Rewards?**

**T: Money.**

**N: Oh hell yeah!**

**J: As an author, I have to point out that you, Naruto, use a bit too many exclamation points. **

**N: So I write how I talk. Big deal, it's not a report, it's casual. Ok, I'm destroying mine now. Bye!**

**T: Gaara, I'd like to ask if you would keep this to yourself.**

**G: It's fine Hokage-sama. I will not let anyone know of these. Naruto deserves to be recognized for such an achievement. Discreetly, of course. No doubt Suna will get these not too long after at his insistence, and due to our Alliance. I'll keep this as a token however. Good day.**

**J: Do I know how to pick them or what?**

"Pick them?" Kushina repeats.

"Students." Jiraiya offers.

"Ah . . . well, since this was practically foretold in the stars you didn't _pick_ them." Kushina sniffs, grinning at Jiraiya's deadpan stare.

**T: Whatever. Just make sure you figure out what's their connection with Yondaime Mizukage.**

**J: Roger that.**

**Naruto sits high up in a tree, only azure and emerald covering him. He sees the words disappear after a while, the chakra no longer keeping them, and only his replies remain. He grins, pocketing the cylinder. It's another bug to fix, but that's okay, because he knows it is fully functional and everything else is just finicky little details.**

**He'd done it! He created a new way to communicate, and it was **_**awesome**_**. Perhaps there was a way to make this available to everyone, not just ninjas. Wouldn't civilians with extended families over the Nations enjoy this too? **

"Now there is an idea." Kushina nods, eyes sparkling at the implications of such a revolutionary new technology.

**It was a challenge he looked forward to.**

_**I never wanted to say 'hi' to the crazy raccoon dog. **_**Kyuubi points out mildly.**

_**Oh, you did. Deep, deep . . . very deep down. **_**Naruto asserts.**

_**Now that you're down with this, will you finally start focusing on completing mastery of your second tail? Kami, it's been a couple months already!**_

_**Quiet down, furball! I'm nearly done with it, excuse me if I took time out to revolutionize the world. **_**Naruto snaps. **

**Jumping down from the tree, he tree hops back into the village, hoping to catch a mission from Tsunade. He'd only been getting C-ranks for a while, and he wonders if it is reluctance on Tsunade's part since learning about just how far his skill with seals went. She would probably want him to redo Konoha's entire security defenses and parameters.**

**Naruto snorted. The last person to totally recreate the defenses around Konoha, and revolutionize them with fuuinjutsu was his father, and he was nowhere near that skill level to risk even letting his chakra touch the seals, forget tampering with them. **

"Well, while I respect your pragmatism and modest manner, you're really just selling yourself short." Minato chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

**Konoha is busy and bustling as always, and the traffic on the rooftops is light today, many jounin and any available chuunin still taking the long haul of missions to bring Konoha's strength back up to scratch. **

**He himself had been very busy with missions up until recently, when he experienced a lull in active duty and found himself actually spending weekends at home. However, the inaction and the idle C-ranks were leaving him antsy, so resolved to charm a B-rank out of the stingy Nade. **

"Feeling rather reluctant because of the group that Itachi and Kisame are a part of?" Jiraiya asks.

"I assume so. Or perhaps, I've got enough adults out there running around to leave the kids be." Tsunade hypothesizes with a shrug.

"**Naruto!" A shout of his name by a very familiar voice makes him stop, turning to look down to his right. Leaning against a fence with a cool and aloof expression, as ever, is Sasuke. But the one who had called him was Sakura, standing a few feet from Sasuke and waving energetically at him. He smiles and jumps down, moving to them.**

"**It's been a while, Sasuke, Sakura." Naruto greets them.**

"**You haven't been coming to visit us at Training Ground Seven!" Sakura complains. "I thought we would still do training together with sensei if you had time."**

"_**If**_** I had time, and for a while I didn't. Recently though, I've been very busy with a sealing project, and I've just now accomplished something with it." Naruto explains. **

"My kid, immersing himself in sealing projects." Minato murmured. Words couldn't describe how proud he was right now. Looking at Kushina, who seemed to glow at the topic of her son and fuuinjutsu, he knew she felt the same.

"**What sealing project?" Sasuke asks, looking askance at the blonde. Naruto sees the hidden curiosity eating up the Uchiha, but just grins mysteriously.**

"**When it's all said and done, Team Seven will be the first to have it." Naruto promises. **

"**Hn." Sasuke mutters and turns away again, but Naruto's grin widens as he sees the almost imperceptible pout on the Uchiha's face.**

"**Come now, Sasu, you're much too pretty to pout." Naruto teases, prancing up to the Uchiha and pulling at a cheek. Sasuke slaps his hand away with a growl and whips around to land a hit on the blonde's face, but Naruto just dances away and laughs gently. **

"**Knock it off Naruto, Sasuke has actually been behaving today!" Sakura scolds.**

"**Ah, my apologies, I didn't mean to antagonize you." It seemed like butter wouldn't melt in Naruto's mouth and Sasuke glares all the more darkly for it. **

"**Where were you headed?" Sakura asks.**

_**Why does the pink ape care? **_**Kyuubi snorts.**

Rin snorts. "Ouch, so harsh Kyuubi."

_**Hush, she's gotten a lot better. **_**Naruto scolds.**

**Naruto shrugs. "I was going to go bother Nade for a B-rank mission. I've been pretty bored just being the occasional helper for Iruka at the Academy."**

"**Ah!" Sakura chirps, skipping ahead of Naruto. "That's funny, because we were looking around for sensei to get us a mission too! But we can't find him anywhere. If you find him, maybe we could all do a mission together?"**

"**Sounds like a plan." Naruto agrees. "Ok, you guys start from the memorial stone and I'll go look for him my own way. If I find him, I'll send a clone to tell you and if he'll want to take a mission."**

"**You got it Naruto!" Sakura assures, dragging Sasuke firmly by his wrist— and Naruto must applaud her maturity in not trying to take advantage of the boy and grab his hand— and walking off.**

"She's come a long way." Kushina nods in approval.

**Naruto decided to head home first before looking to Kakashi's apartment, mainly because Katsu was home and he knew she'd enjoy annoying the man to distraction. **

**He did not expect Kakashi to be at his house.**

**Sleeping on his couch. Deeply, too. His hitai-ate lying on the coffee table, his hair unkempt and hiding what features is left visible above the mask. Naruto muses that he's never seen his brother so unguarded before. Even while sleeping on missions, there was always this air about Kakashi as if the man was just feigning sleep, just to see what you would do. **

"Oh good, it's not just me then." Obito sighs in relief.

"It's a fucking _crime_ that you two won't be able to meet in this story." Kakashi says firmly.

_**Quick, get a sharpie marker! **_**Kyuubi snickers.**

_**All this time around Uzumaki's have tainted you, **_**Naruto snorts.**

"**Hime, is onii-san dead?" Naruto asks Katsu, who greets him sunnily as she steps out of the kitchen.**

"**No silly. He's just tired. He just got back from a mission about . . . an hour ago." Katsu corrects, slipping past him to tug the blanket around Kakashi up a little higher, the man's shifting causing it to slip.**

"Aww!" The room choruses sappily, Kakashi simply snorting at their sentimentality— he fights down the twitch at the corner of his lips.

"**His apartment is closer than our house though." Naruto murmurs, and he is privately amused. **

**Katsu feels a similar amusement. "He must have seen me in the shopping district earlier, getting ingredients for a cake. Came over as soon as he'd taken a shower, and he ever so politely demanded a piece of cake."**

"**Chocolate?" Naruto asks.**

"**Well of course, everybody likes chocolate." Katsu sniggers. **

"You like chocolate cake Kakashi?" Minato asks in surprise.

Kakashi nods sheepishly. "Chocolates, fruits . . . anything with that and I'm sold."

_**I don't like chocolate. More of a spice person myself. **_**Kyuubi adds. **

**Naruto sighs and plops down on the armchair beside the couch, stretching out his body. The Kyuubi certainly was talkative today! "I was supposed to corral him and demand a mission for the old Team Seven, but I guess I'll have to call off the chase." With a mist of smoke, a clone appears beside the chair. With a salute to Katsu and the original Naruto, the clone is bounding out the house and off to the town to find Sakura and Sasuke.**

"**I'll fix dinner tonight." He quietly informs Katsu, who shakes her head.**

"**It's fine, I can—"**

"**I like cooking, and I get a kick out of seeing the look of reluctant rapture on Nade's face every time she eats and knows that I cooked." Naruto interrupts with an impish grin. Katsu just shakes her head in amusement and backs off.**

"To have to admit to some brat that they're good at cooking . . . gah!" Tsunade mutters, fist shaking.

**Naruto decides on something rich and savory, and decides to cook curry rice and onigiri, with a fresh salad side. He prepares large amounts of food, not only because his appetite seems to grow as he does— no, **_**honestly**_**, Tsunade said he had to eat more to keep up with his growth and so he averages about eight plates of food a day, not including ramen— **

"Whoa, he eats that much?!" Rin gasps.

"Kushina, do you ever need to eat that much? You don't . . . deny yourself do you?" Minato asks worriedly.

Kushina looks somewhat uncomfortable. "I don't! I don't have to eat as much as Naruto, since I'm a female and he's a male . . . our metabolisms are different. I only average about four to five plates a day."

**but due to the fact that he gets surprise house calls from the ungrateful mooching bastards who dare to call themselves his friends. **

**He was going to start charging them. The grocery bill was starting to get **_**ridiculous**_**.**

"I can imagine." Kakashi murmurs, holding back from chuckling.

"**Naruto's cooking tonight?" The slightly husky voice of an awakening Kakashi catches Naruto's attention.**

"**Yes, Kakashi— you woke up just in time." Katsu laughs, and Naruto hears the shift of cloth and a creak from the couch, and knows Kakashi is getting up to go wash his face of any residue of tiredness so that no one would be the wiser. He knows that unexpected house guests are just the norm here.**

**The door bangs open, and he realizes he's getting far too comfortable with house guests if he's leaving the door unlocked.**

"Then you better fix that." Kushina says sternly.

"**Ooh, I smell curry!" Anko yells, heavy steps like an elephant's as she crosses over and— judging by Katsu's squeak— grabs the younger girl up in a rough hug. "Naruto's cooking tonight?"**

"**Yes, and the food will be done in five minutes Anko-nee." Naruto calls out, gently stirring the curry as it simmers.**

"**We having curry tonight?" Shikamaru's perpetually lazy tone that sounds as if it's a chore for him to speak catches Naruto slightly off guard.**

"**I know you have a home and a mother to cook for you Shikamaru," Naruto growls. "Get out of my house!"**

"**It's my house too, can't Shika stay?" Katsu whines.**

"**No. Go home!" **

"**Troublesome. My okaa-san is being a major drag about me not applying myself to my Chuunin duties, so I came here tonight." Shikamaru explains, and Naruto hers him sitting on the couch. **

"Everybody needs a friend to crash at." Obito advocates.

"**Why is this always your bailout spot?" Naruto asks tiredly, glancing behind him as Katsu skips in and grabs plates.**

"**What good is having friends with no adult guardians if you can't abuse their independence for your own gain?" Shikamaru returns pleasantly.**

**As Naruto grumbles, another voice comes in, a pleased laughter he knows immediately. "Well Nara, keep up that attitude and you might become a serious contender for Hokage!"**

"**Don't tease Nade." Naruto laughs.**

"**Oh, Kakashi brat is here? You just wanted the cake didn't you?! I said I'd be the first one to grab a piece." Tsunade barks.**

"**Oh. Too bad." Kakashi states dully, and Tsunade's splutters send Naruto into peals of laughter.**

"Disrespectful brat!" Tsunade jibes, smirking at Kakashi.

"You snooze, you lose Tsunade-sama." Kakashi teases.

**Morning comes, bringing with it a fresh faced Katsu who scampers off to work, and Naruto who decides to play with Sakura and Sasuke. **

**And they said a shinobi's life was a hard one. Pfft.**

"Hey." The group shouts, affronted.

"**So what shall we play today?" Naruto prompts with a smile, crouching on the fence above Sakura and Sasuke. **

"**I don't want to play, I want to train damn it!" Sasuke snaps, hitting the fence with his fist. Naruto grumbles as he rights his balance again, glaring at a twitching Sasuke.**

"**Where the hell is your brother?!" Sasuke rounds on Naruto, glaring daggers at him.**

"Ah, impatient brats. Did they never consider I was training them in patience?" Kakashi sighs, flapping his hand in a careless manner.

"**You're just mad no one saved a plate of curry rice for you." Naruto snorts.**

"**I don't care about the stupid curry!" Sasuke snaps.**

"**Naruto, stop teasing Sasuke— Sasuke-kun, calm down," Sakura pleads. She sighs, looking up at Naruto. "Why is sensei like this?"**

**Naruto shrugs. "I don't know, onii-san is just plain . . . . weird." A strange expression crosses Naruto's face. **

"**Naruto?" Sakura questions, looking vaguely nervous. Naruto's sudden shark-like grin scares her.**

"**Hey, don't you guys think it's time? I definitely want to see . . ." Naruto trails off, chuckling quietly.**

"**What?" Sasuke asks, annoyed by the sudden change in topic.**

**Naruto jumps down, standing between Sasuke and Sakura with an amused look. "Kakashi's . . . real face!"**

Kakashi groans in resignation as Obito bursts into laughter. "Oh, here we go . . ." Kakashi mutters.

"I tell ya! It's like a rite of passage!" Obito whoops.

**Sasuke snorts, turning his back on them. Of all the stupid things Naruto has said this is by far the most pointless one. "How stupid. I'm not interested." Scoffing, he begins to walk away.**

**Sakura agrees, but inwardly she thinks, **_**Aw geez, it sounds like fun! **_**Naruto just smirks, knowing how exactly to pin his sourpuss friend, and get him to play along. **

"**Maybe he has . . ."**

**Sasuke freezes in place, leg still outstretched to take another step.**

"**Cod roe lips?"**

Rin drops the book as she shakes with the force of her laughter, soon to join a half cackling, half moaning Obito on the floor. Kakashi has to laugh to at the absurdity of it all.

"Oh my Kami— cod roe— oh!" Kushina howls with laughter as Minato curls in on himself with snorts of laughter.

"Pick up the book Rin, keep going." Tsunade orders, breathless giggles overtaking her.

**Sasuke's whole world flips over, Naruto's words in a repeating loop as he imagines Kakashi pulling down his mask to reveal gigantic lips, almost hanging off his face from the obscene eight of them. The resulting smile is both grotesque and disturbingly fascinating. **

"Oh, Kami, I've seen too much! Cannot! Unsee!" Jiraiya falls apart mirthfully.

**Naruto snickers. "Or what about buckteeth?!" he entices.**

"Uh, for the record, no." Kakashi sniggers, slapping a hand to his thigh at the extremely ludicrous mental image.

**Sasuke goes stick straight and still, a shiver running through him. Kakashi . . . his mask pulling down to reveal a massive overbite that engulfs his chin, a thin space between the two teeth. Oh Kami, the horror . . . ! The intrigue . . . !**

"**. . . Find Kakashi." Sasuke orders, quietly, but Naruto smiles in a decidedly vicious way (and, more disturbingly, in a very Kyuubi-like fashion) as he realizes his victory. Luckily, he knows Kakashi would be visiting the memorial stone today, and races off with his friends in tow. Finding Kakashi staring at the stone, they entreat him to come to Ichirakus with them, under the pretense that they're treating him to lunch.**

Obito takes a deep breath as he rises from the floor. "Bad luck kids, I _know_ that isn't going to work." He sighs.

**Confused, but interested, Kakashi agrees. As he sits on his barstool, thanking Teuchi for the bowl of ramen that is set in front of him, he looks over at his kids. "But this is rare . . . you guys treating me. Snow might fall—" he makes a show of looking up, preparing for a drop. "You know what I mean?" he gives them a level look. **

**Behind Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura flinch, looking a little flustered. Naruto shoots them a dirty look, urging them to keep their cool. **

"**Maybe my ramen will explode . . . yeah, something like that." He shoots them another intense look, and Naruto restrains a growl when Sakura and Sasuke flinch behind him even further.**

"**I take personal offense to that onii-san!" Naruto protests. "I would never insult the Great Ramen— especially old man's and Ayame's— just to prank you." **

"I concur." Kushina agrees seriously.

"**Ah, true." Kakashi hums, thinking it over. "Then . . . is there a giant boxing glove waiting to hit me clear over to the other side of the street?" **

**Naruto shakes his head in disgust as Sakura and Sasuke practically cower behind him. "Don't be ridiculous nii-san. Shall I recommend to Tsunade that you lay off the A-ranks for a couple of months? Or has your time in ANBU scarred you irreparably?" **

"Definitely the latter, but probably both." Kakashi admits.

"Oh Kakashi, you and your self-destructive tendencies." Minato and Rin sigh, shaking their heads.

**Kakashi laughs. "Then, are you guys up to something?"**

"**What are you saying?" Naruto chuckles, though he realizes there's a nervous edge to it. **

"**K-Kakashi-sensei, we're celebrating your safe return and success from that last mission, I heard it was a difficult one!" Sakura makes up on the spot, gesturing with her hands for the man to eat. "N-Now! P-p—please eat!" **

"**All right, then I'll eat it without hesitation." Kakashi decides, straightening up and cracking his chopsticks apart to eat. **

"**Itadakimasu . . ." he murmurs, and one finger reaches up to touch the edge of the mask.**

**Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are practically straining their eyes to get a look at Kakashi's face from their peripheral vision. What would it look like? Big, plump, cod roe lips? A thin kissy face? Or perhaps . . . the dreaded buckteeth?!**

Kakashi sighs. "It's just a normal face."

"I highly doubt that." Rin comments dryly.

**The mask edges down his nose. They gulp, so close to their goal . . . !**

**Abruptly their view is destroyed by the arrival of Team Ten, Ino smashing Sasuke's face to the counter as she jumps on him.**

"**Oh, Sasuke-kun! What a coincidence." Ino twitters.**

"**Yo, Naruto!" Chouji chirps, as Shikamaru just waves placidly from behind him.**

"**You **_**bastard**_**. I fed you, and **_**this**_** is how you repay me?!" Naruto shouts at Shikamaru as Team Seven immediately begins to tussle with Team Ten, trying to shove them out of the way. Ino isn't having it, which of course means she's forcing Chouji and Shikamaru to fight for her right to stay by Sasuke's side as well. **

**No! They had to see it— had to see Kakashi's face!**

"**I'm finished! That was good." Kakashi sighs, clapping his hands together in thanks.**

"**So fast!" Team Seven mutters in surprise, their tussle with the others having come to an abrupt halt. Naruto's eyes flicker over when he sees a shift in movement from the Ichiraku's and his eyes bulge in surprise. Motioning to Sasuke and Sakura, he points at the father-daughter duo.**

**Both had blushes on their faces and Ayame in particular had hearts in her eyes. **

**Kakashi just looks somewhat confused at the looks being directed to him by Ayame and Teuchi. **

"Just a normal face huh?" Minato asks with amusement.

"Really! If I weren't wearing this mask, no one would think twice about it." Kakashi asserts.

"But you are, so the mystery makes it all the more interesting." Kushina titters.

"**Wow! I'm really curious!" the three kids mutter heatedly. **

**After the lunch, they have no reason to keep Kakashi anymore, so the man goes about his business. Naruto and the others return to their spot by the fence, away from crowds to discuss their next plan— or rather, his next plan.**

"**I will not allow myself to be denied a glimpse of him!" Naruto vows. Ayame had many customers come through, and there were quite a few handsome men in Konoha . . . and yet, he'd never seen that look on her face before! Whatever was under Kakashi's mask . . . it had to be something!**

"**How are you going to see it?" Sakura asks dubiously.**

**Naruto rubs the back of his head. "That's . . . a work in progress. But there must surely be a way." **_**And if all else fails, **_**he thinks to himself, **_**I'll have no choice but to get Katsu on the case.**_

"You terrible little monster." Kakashi snaps.

**He was truly a terrible little brother.**

**Sasuke turns again, looking away. If he doesn't look at their faces, he can still make himself believe he's reluctantly doing this only to appease these idiots. He can still pretend he's above these shenanigans. **

"**We'll follow him completely by marking him. If we do this all day, eventually he'll take his mask off." Sasuke states.**

**Naruto however, looks doubtful. "Don't underestimate Kakashi, Sasuke . . . he'll definitely know we're following him, and what's more, it is highly unlikely he'll take his mask off in public again."**

"**That's why you'll make us chakra suppression seals!" Sakura steps in with a victorious expression. "And so, we can follow him to his apartment where he must surely have to take it off!"**

**Naruto considers it, and nods. "Alright, I'll start with Sasuke first then. Where do you want the seal?"**

"**Somewhere that isn't noticeable . . . my back, I guess." Sasuke mutters, walking over to Naruto and sitting on the ground. Naruto crouches and raises Sasuke's shirt, ink and brush already in hand. He works quickly, taking only a minute, and then does Sakura's after an awkward moment of trying to decide where to put hers. He does his on his just under the Shiki Fuuin, and tugs his shirt down into place afterwards, zipping his jacket halfway.**

"**Ok, let's go!" Naruto starts forth, turning to a building.**

"**Baka, you just sealed our chakra we can't roof hop!" Sakura chides.**

"Who says you need chakra to roof hop?" Minato asks with a smile.

"Or tree hop?" Kushina continues.

"**We're limited to the ground for this." Sasuke agrees, seeing no other option.**

**Naruto balks, gaping at the two. "Are you guys serious?! Ugh, talk about a waste of potential . . . look—"**

**He takes a running leap towards the nearest alley wall. He leaps off, leaps to the other wall, and then uses the resulting force and his remaining momentum to jump on to a roof.**

**Turning around, he laughs at the expressions on their faces. Sakura is gaping, clearly disbelieving of what she's seen. Sasuke looks annoyed that he hadn't thought of it, and that Naruto was clearly adept at it.**

"**You think people are helpless without chakra? I might not be able to run up walls like Lee, or fly from the force of my own kicks like Gai, but this little I can surely do! Now, hurry up!" Naruto orders, beckoning them up to his level. **

**Sasuke gets it on the first try, though he slips and only manages to grab onto the roof's edge where Naruto is. Sakura uses kunai as steps— ingenious in light of her lack of lower body strength, but a waste of kunai. Naruto gives them a few tips on how to make soundless and less taxing jumps from roof to roof, and then quickly starts off, leading the group. **

**Finally, when Sasuke is flushed from the exertion and Sakura's legs wobble, they find Kakashi. He walks down the road with a bag of groceries in one arm, other hand in his pocket. Naruto can hear him humming some nonsensical thing as he stares ahead without interest. **

"**Jeez, he bought a lot of groceries." Sakura mutters. Naruto thinks he knows why, and remembers the cunning smile on Katsu's face the night before when noticing Kakashi practically inhale her cake. **

"That brat." Kakashi growls.

**They tense in surprise when Kakashi suddenly freezes, looking into the display window of a . . . adult book store.**

Tsunade and Kushina growl. "Kakashi, you utter pervert!"

Jiraiya just gives him a proud thumbs up.

**He drops his groceries without a thought and quickly leaps to the window, laughing perversely as he peruses the magazine covers shown in the window.**

"**I'm disappointed in him." Sakura mutters tersely. Naruto is about to respond when Kakashi suddenly turns in their direction, eyes wide. They quickly drop down behind the sign of the store roof, waiting a few moments before peeking up again.**

"**Probably a fluke of sixth sense . . . with our chakra suppressed he can't possibly sense us." Sasuke dismisses, but even he looks a little unsure. With someone like Kakashi, it was best to never assume and always imagine every possibility. **

"Can you smell them?" Rin asks.

"Probably, but I bet it's something else entirely. If the chakra suppression seals are done too well, there's this void where you should be. If one were to spread their senses, they would immediately notice this void in energy, a place where there's absolutely _nothing_, when naturally there's at least a subtle _something_. Like an absolute stillness in a normally moving world." Kakashi explains.

"Excellent Kakashi!" Minato approves with a wide grin.

"**Yes, perhaps but . . . there's a breeze that starts up every now and then, and we are not downwind of it. Let's hurry and observe for a few more moments, then move on to another spot." Naruto whispers. **

**But then they notice that he's still looking their way only . . . lower. At the very sign they've taken refuge behind. **

"**Eh?! T-They made it into a movie?!" Kakashi gasps. Naruto shivers in disgust when Kakashi . . . **_**skips away**_**. "I'm going to go buy an advanced ticket!" he trills, still prancing away.**

"**Onii-san is **_**so**_** gross sometimes." Naruto mutters, face showing how disturbing he still found that previous scene.**

"Ha . . . yes, I know Naru." Kakashi mutters sadly, head downcast at his own fall from grace.

"You skip?" Obito's voice is strangely glazed, almost shivering. Kakashi looks at him, and then narrows his eyes into a glare at Obito's trembling shoulders and flush. The bastard is actually fighting laughter.

"I like future Kakashi, he sounds like a lot of fun!" Rin supports Kakashi, patting his shoulder.

"**Well enough about that, he's moving away now!" Sakura whispers heatedly, shifting to prepare for another rooftop bound. She winces at the cramping in her muscles from not properly stretching and immediately folding them into such a cramped position. **

"**We'll follow his tracks." Sasuke says. They jump down from the roof, making sure to tuck and roll, as without chakra to soften the fall broken ankles were an embarrassing possibility. They run around the corner Kakashi has just walked around, but blink in surprise when the silver-haired man has seemingly vanished. **

"**He's gone!" Sakura pouts.**

"**Where'd he go?" Sasuke wonders.**

**Apparently, right behind him with the previously forgotten groceries in his arm. "What are you guys doing?" he says abruptly as he appears behind the three. **

**They all startle, sounds of surprise and slight fear coming from hem. Like leaves in the wind they shiver uncontrollably.**

"**Do you guys have some business with me?" Kakashi continues.**

"**N-Not really." They stress, shaking their heads like wet dogs. **

**Then, quite swiftly, they ran away leaving Kakashi blinking at the dust trail blazing ahead. **

"**Hey . . . how the hell did he find us?" Naruto grumbles out. His chakra suppression seals were correct, he'd double-checked them. **

"**It's Kakashi-sensei. He's a jounin you know?" Sakura shrugs, as if the rank of jounin granted you level ups and boosts in mystical power. "And, isn't it because there are too many of us?"**

"**If the presence is erased numbers don't matter!" Naruto argues.**

"**It'll be good training to shadow him," Sasuke cuts in with an indifferent expression on his face. Finally, the day was turning out to be not such a total waste of his time. "From now on, we'll go about it individually." **

**So began their individual (failed) attempts to shadow Kakashi. **

**First is Naruto's attempt. He does away with the chakra suppression seal and instead just lowers it naturally, having finally realized that the distinct lack of presence was what made them recognizable.**

"Very good Naruto!" Minato, Jiraiya, and Kakashi voice with pride.

_**As expected of Kakashi onii-san, **_**Naruto figures smugly. The smugness turns to annoyance when he sees Kakashi's book— red this time, wasn't the one after the orange book green? — nearly plastered to the jounin's face as the man walks around.**

_**What a weirdo . . . he's even mumbling some parts out loud! At least he isn't hitting anything. **_

**Naruto follows Kakashi for a little while, until the man takes him into a crowded area, a tea shop where he stops by to talk to Asuma and Kurenai. Naruto huffs; it almost seems as if Kakashi had done this on purpose. Growling, he jumps down and takes a flying leap for Kakashi.**

"Screw stealth tactics— go for broke!" Obito mimes the leap, sniggering afterwards.

"**Oof!" The older man grunts when the weight of a small body lands squarely on his back. He feels feet firmly anchor themselves to his lower back and a body rearrange and pull itself up— feels hands grip his shoulders and spiky hair tickle his cheek. Naruto has put his head on his shoulder, and is looking up at him through narrowed eyes, a distinctly petulant and somehow hopeful expression on his face.**

"**Aniki," Naruto sings out lowly, his face moving further over his shoulder to see Kakashi's full face. **

"**Otouto,"Kakashi sighs out, ignoring the snickers of Kurenai and the knowing grin of Asuma.**

"**Can I see your face, ani?" Naruto asks, eyes immediately widening and sparkling. Kakashi looked away quickly— even though he was somewhat certain he would've resisted with the matter of his mask, the fact that he felt unsure of that outcome was unnerving. He shoots a bored look at a choking Asuma and the giggling Kurenai. **

"I learned well from your mother _and_ father." Kakashi grumbles. The two in question just grin and throw up peace signs.

"**When you become Hokage Naruto."**

**Naruto snorted at the same time Asuma's barking laugh assaulted their senses. "I guess that's never, Naruto." Asuma teases genially. **

"**Seems so, oji-san." Naruto agrees petulantly. He spears Kakashi with a serious look. "You know this means war right?"**

"**Bring it. Now run along and tell Sasuke and Sakura to take this seriously, otherwise I'll kill you guys with training. Naruto, you have to work on suppressing your chakra, it's so volatile that it reacts to the merest flicker of your emotions, which we all know are quite prevalent. Also . . . you might want to ask Jiraiya-sama to teach you his invisibility jutsu, it'll come in handy for crowded places." Kakashi lectures.**

"**Hai, hai, sensei." Naruto drones. With a salute to Asuma and Kurenai, the blonde shunshins away, making Kakashi tsk in annoyance when he's covered in the left over leaves. **

**Naruto goes to the tea shop where Sakura and Sasuke wait. They drink a cup of tea, sighing at the refreshing taste as they pull the cups away from their lips. They pause, turning when they see Naruto coming towards them.**

"**Well, I lost." Naruto laughs, rubbing the back of his head. **

**The next day, is unfortunately Sakura's turn. It's unfortunate, because of the sudden sour weather, heavy rains and dark skies that make the pink-haired girl sigh in resignation. She observes Kakashi from the bushes, where he stands gazing at the memorial stone. He'd been at it for hours. **

"You have an unhealthy . . . oh, I see." Minato realizes, sheepishly grinning at how he almost made such a foolish mistake.

"What? 'Cause the rest of us don't see it." Tsunade states bluntly.

"**Gosh, what is Kakashi-sensei doing?" Sakura sighs, looking put out. "He hasn't moved for a long time."**

**She observes the man closely. Her eyes widen. "No way . . . !"**

**Running out of the bushes she dashes to Kakashi and skids to a stop right in front of him. **_**A scarecrow?! Gah, that bastard!**_** Sakura howls in her mind, outwardly just sagging in defeat. She has to go back and report her failure. **

"Ooh, I loved the poetic justice there." Obito commented, clapping Kakashi on the shoulder.

"I just can't resist a good zinger." Kakashi murmurs.

**This time they're waiting at Katsu's tea shop under the awning on the cushions set up for them, where the warm green tea is far tastier and served in larger cups. Naruto and Sasuke tip the cups back at the same time, and release them with refreshed sighs after their long sip. They pause, turning to see Sakura.**

**She blushes and giggles nervously, scratching bashfully at her cheek. Naruto and Sasuke just sigh despondently, heads hanging down. **

**The weather of the following day is far better, and calls for iced peach tea, which is what Sakura and Naruto enjoy as they await Sasuke. They pause, turning to see Sasuke.**

"**Sasuke-kun! How'd it go?" Sakura chirps.**

**Sasuke just goes "hmph" and turns his head sharply to the side in supposed indifference. "No more shadowing."**

**All three sigh despondently, heads hanging down. **

**A resigned Kakashi is escorted by an amused yet firm Naruto to the Hokage Tower in the morning, the boy having put a tracking seal on the jounin in several places on his person in case he tried to run.**

"**Do we have to?" Kakashi sighs.**

"**I want to." Naruto says simply.**

"**How is that my problem?" Kakashi asks, restraining himself from huffing because 26 year-old men who've been ninja for eleven years do not huff. **

"**Ok . . . your genin want to take a mission." Naruto tries a different tactic. Indeed, he had informed Sakura and Sasuke this morning via toads to meet them at the Tower.**

"**Don't care. They could use some rehashing of the basics anyway; Sakura is starting to get sloppy focusing all her time on medic-nin jutsu." Kakashi (does not) pouts. **

**Naruto sighs heavily. So it would come to this. He takes a big step in Kakashi's way and steps in front of the older man. Kakashi freezes in surprise, Naruto's irises now a bloody scarlet and completely compelling for creepy reasons.**

"**I. Want. To." Naruto enunciates clearly, yet quietly so Kakashi is forced to listen closely in order for the words to be heard. The blank, yet innocent stare Naruto sends him sends shivers of foreboding down his spine.**

"**. . . Okay. It won't be anything . . . exciting." Kakashi doesn't know if he's making a statement or trying to placate Naruto.**

**Abruptly Naruto's face changes, with one blink his eyes shame the sky once again and his entire expression beams like the sun. "Great!" he chirps, and walking alongside Kakashi now they make their way to the Hokage Tower. **

"Kakashi you must be firm with Naruto, otherwise he's going to get too used to having his way." Minato chides humorously.

"Whether I'm firm or not, Naruto's just going to get his way regardless, because of you two. Blame yourselves for making a powerhouse of power and charisma." Kakashi argues.

**Sitting down by the receptionist's desk are Sasuke and Sakura, who immediately rise when they see Kakashi and Naruto. Kakashi pauses and knocks on the door, waiting for Tsunade's assent to enter. Once given, they enter her office. Shizune, like usual, is standing near Tsunade keeping an eye on the woman with her pet pig TonTon in her arms. **

"**Team Seven, Naruto," Tsunade greets them with a nod of her head. "Are you here for a mission?"**

"**Yes, Hokage-sama. Preferably a C-rank or perhaps higher." Kakashi requests.**

**Tsunade nods, and reaches for the file Shizune is already handing her. They had just such a mission on hand, luckily enough. **

"**Well, it is a C-rank . . ." Tsunade mumbles. "Team Seven and Naruto, your mission is to aide a farm in the village located a couple of day's walk outside our own."**

"Urgh, kiddie stuff!" Rin and Obito groan.

**Kakashi raises an eyebrow and glances at his team, expecting at least one complaint or groan. However, they remain silent and maintain a calm appearance. Kakashi's eye crinkles as he smiles. **_**Perhaps they're learning to become proper shinobi? **_**He wonders.**

**No such thing— in fact, the three kids are silently and diabolically planning the next phase of attack on Kakashi's mask. On this mission, they would have to see it at least! No one to block their view, no way for Kakashi to hide! All three were, unknowingly, on the same wave length. **

"What persistence." Jiraiya muses.

"**You can leave out as soon as you've packed." Tsunade encourages. "Dismissed." **

"**Hai, Hokage-sama." They intone, and with a bow, they leave. **

**The team meets up at the gates of Konoha, and leave out as soon as everyone is there. **

**Kakashi notices the intense stares they give him, and raises an eyebrow. "You guys seem energetic today."**

"**I'm full of energy today!" Sakura assures confidently.**

"**I'm ready to go, dattebayo!" Naruto cheers.**

"**Hn." Sasuke smirks.**

"**Oh, excellent!" Kakashi smiles. He leads the team down the road onto their mission. **

**As they walk down the road, Kyuubi gives Naruto a mental nudge to catch the boy's attention.**

_**Yes? **_**Naruto asks.**

_**You do realize you're probably wasting time? I just remembered something . . . from my time with your mother. She too, along with a boy named, ooh . . . gah, I'm terrible with names. Obi-wan? No . . . **_

Kakashi nearly choked on his tongue as he immediately flopped to the ground, hands tenderly cradling a stomach aching with deep belly laughs as he nearly convulsed in hysteria.

Grumbling, and with a glare to impress a cobra, Obito stands up and lands three satisfying kicks to the silver-haired prodigy's ribs before Minato can separate them.

"Obi-wan . . . shit, I'll remember that forever." Kakashi wheezes, struggling up to his elbows as he pants, hysterical chuckles still slipping out every now and then.

"Be grateful he remembers you at all." Kushina advises Obito sagely.

**Naruto snorts out loud, waving away the curious stares from the others with a muttered apology. **_**You mean Obito?**_

_**There we go. They tried everything— getting Kakashi dirty, making him eat with them, pretending to trip and grab at his mask. In the end Kushina was so frustrated she just tried to force the mask off— Kakashi held his own well, I must admit. **_**Kyuubi muses.**

_**So what saved him? Okaa-chan wouldn't have stopped until she saw his face. **_**Naruto asks.**

"And I would have seen it too, if it weren't for a meddling gaki." Kushina growls, hitting the couch cushion in frustration.

"Gaki? I'm older than you tomato brat." Minato shoots back, and it is only the pointed throat clearing of Rin that saves everyone's ear drums from the verbal lambasting of Kushina and most likely a defensive Minato.

_**Well, it helped your father was on the other end of the training field . . . **_

_**Wow. **_**Naruto deadpans. **_**Well, it's a new day and age! I won't give up, dattebayo!**_

_**Suit yourself, **_**Kyuubi snorts, before cutting off the connection. To himself, Kyuubi snickers briefly as he thinks about the part he didn't tell Naruto of. Kushina, even with Minato's hampering, managed to get the mask off . . . **

"Ugh!" Kushina and Obito grunt. "That's right, totally forgot."

"Forgot what?" Kakashi asks knowingly, an elegant arch of his eyebrow as he smiles at their grumbling.

"I guess we better not spoil it." Obito sighs gustily. "Read on Rin!"

I**t is a unanimous decision to spend a night at the quaint inn (with hot springs, not that such a thing factored into their decision at all). An overly hospitable hostess greeted them, and set them up for the night with all due haste.**

**Upon entering the room, they were greeted with the lovely sight of little feast laid out on a low table for them.**

"**Incredible!" Sakura cheered, the two boys just staring at the food with due appreciation. **

"**How extravagant." Kakashi compliments, also eyeing the food with the appreciation of a man who's worked all day long. **

**Immediately they sat down around the table, and the hostess, sensing her job was done, bowed one last time. "Please take your time," she murmured pleasantly, then closed the paper door. **

**Naruto's ears twitched at a rather creepy chuckle, which he just filed away as one of the strange coincidences of the day. He'd ask onii-san about it later. Or maybe . . . **

"**Yo, Kakashi." Kakashi turns his attention away from the food to acknowledge Naruto.**

"**Yo."**

"**Are we being followed?" Naruto puts it directly.**

Minato's eyebrows furrow. "There was no mention of any such thing earlier . . ."

"Unless it said to expect some sort of shinobi resistance in the mission brief, I doubt there would be." Tsunade reminds him.

**Kakashi tilts his head in Naruto's direction, a faintly perplexed look on his face. "Eh?"**

"**Onii . . . barrel tops usually aren't covered with rocks, and the barrel suddenly appeared right as we were being greeted by the hostess. Also, hostess lady just did a supremely creepy chuckle as she closed the door." Naruto lists.**

"**How do you know that?" Sasuke asks.**

"**I've got good ears." Naruto assures him.**

**Kakashi sighs, giving it up. "Ah, it may be so . . . is that why you haven't touched your foods? Afraid they might have poisoned it?"**

**Naruto snorts. "You try it out first. If you don't drop dead, we'll eat it too."**

"**Naruto!" Sakura shouts, glaring at the boy.**

"**So mean." Kakashi pouts.**

"**You're the adult! You've lived a long life . . . time to let the next generation take over." Naruto teases.**

"**I'm on a diet." Kakashi excuses himself.**

"That's the best you could come up with?" Kushina snorts.

"**Wimp. Fine, then let's all just drink tea!" Naruto exclaims, throwing his hands up.**

**While Kakashi deliberated over this, Sakura and Sasuke nodded in commendation of Naruto's trick.**

_**Hee hee . . . ah, my poor overworked hands. It's such a shame they're so unsteady now! **_**Naruto thinks with gleeful wickedness. **

"**If that's the way it has to be." Kakashi sighs, giving a regretful glance to the food. **

**Smiling, Naruto picks up the tea pot with an air of carelessness and swings it around slowly to pour for Kakashi, when he acts.**

"**Ah! My hands— they slipped!" Naruto gasps, as the pot suddenly dangles precariously in loose fingers as it heads Kakashi's way. **

_**What if it burns him? **_**Kyuubi asks.**

_**He'll live! **_**Naruto gives the mental equivalent of a shrug. **

"Naruto, how terrible!" Kushina scolds with a thunderous expression.

"But he will." Obito shrugs.

**The pot doesn't so much as slip as Naruto hurls it at Kakashi. And Kakashi doesn't so much as dodge as he flips the table to cover his suddenly kneeling form the plates and food all falling under the punishing effect of gravity. **

"Whoa, overkill much?" Rin asks, staring at Kakashi.

"**What have you done?!" Sakura shrieks, tugging at her pink locks in frustration as both she and Sasuke glare in horror at the carnage that could have been their meal.**

"**Ah, sorry, sorry, I unintentionally . . ." Kakashi chuckles nervously. His chuckles choke to a stop, as do Sakura's and Sasuke's outraged horror at Kakashi actions when they feel a cloying, choking, heavy presence in the air. It wasn't killing intent; no . . . it was **_**death-is-too-good-for-you-so-I'll-slowly-torture-y ou **_**intent.**

**And it's source was Naruto.**

"Naru-chan throws tantrums when he's hungry?" Rin giggles.

"**Ah . . . Naruto—" Kakashi tries to plead.**

"_**Kakashi**_**." Naruto's growl is so animalistic and thick the words are almost slurred. "**_**How dare . . . what will we eat now?**_**"**

"**I'll . . . I'll ask the hostess!" Kakashi whimpers, cold sweat coming from him in rivulets.**

"Be strong Kakashi, you can't let the child get away with tantrums." Tsunade bolsters, grinning.

**Naruto growls and grips the front of Kakashi's vest, bodily lifting the man and then throwing him with all of his might out of the room, the doors having been opened beforehand by his shadow clones.**

"**THEN GO AND DO IT, **_**STUPID BROTHER!**_**" Naruto roars, Kyuubi's chakra flaring from him in a swirling vortex of hell's flames. **

"How are you whipped by your kid brother?" Obito wants to know, laughing.

**Naruto wasn't so lost in his rage that he didn't hear the whispering of three different people from behind the next set of doors that led outside. He growled, but restrained himself from taking out his anger at those bumbling idiots. It was becoming clearer to him now, who their target was.**

**Naruto took three deep breaths and calmed down, a final breath blown out harshly between pursed lips. Turning to Sasuke and Sakura, he grinned guiltily at their shell shocked expressions.**

"**Sorry about that . . . I'm hungry." Naruto sheepishly admits, the reason sounding stupid even to him.**

"**Considering how much you eat I'm sure that would be enough." Sasuke says finally, composing himself again.**

"**Hey . . ." Sakura whispers, at first timidly, then gaining more determination as she goes. "What's the next plan?"**

"**Don't worry about that; I have an idea." Sasuke whispers.**

"**An idea?" Naruto and Sakura repeat, looking to the pale boy. Sasuke just smirks in return. **

"**Hot springs." He states. Sakura and Naruto smirk, catching on.**

**Later, after Kakashi comes back (with a waving white flag and a written promise from the hostess to come with food later), they all decide to take a dip and cleanse themselves whilst they wait. Sasuke and Naruto are the first ones to hit the springs.**

**Naruto comes up for air after dunking himself entirely under the water. "This is a good idea— a person would normally have to take their mask off here." He compliments, scowling as he pushes back his hair from his eyes. It was time for another haircut, and he could have sworn he'd had one done last month! Unbeknownst to him, Kyuubi snickers, whistling an innocent tune.**

"Even Kyuubi must agree— he looks much better with his hair long." Kushina snickers.

"**Never mind that, just be quiet." Sasuke murmurs back, brushing wet bangs out of his eyes.**

**Naruto opens his mouth to speak again, when a chuckle from his left side makes him still for the briefest moment, and then resume floating as if he'd heard nothing. His sharp ears pick up the sounds of talking from behind a boulder, but he doesn't peer over.**

**It was those three men again, the same ones from before.**

"**Kakashi . . ." A deep voice murmurs, his evil chuckles fading.**

**Naruto sighs. So it was Kakashi, as he'd thought.**

"**From this needle on the blowpipe arrow, covered in medicine I prepared . . . that will make you laugh uncontrollably . . . you'll die laughing." The man, well Naruto's going to assume he's sneering. The tone seems to fit.**

"Like you could even hit me." Kakashi rolls his eyes.

**Naruto must admit, the mental image the man's words bring up is morbidly entertaining. If nothing else, these bozos get points for poetic justice, and irony. **

"**Kakashi, aren't you ready yet?!" Naruto calls, impatient to see the man's face. He says it loud enough for Sakura to here, so she can try and peak as well. She doesn't know it's peaking now . . . Naruto smirks, but he'd remind her in many jokes for years and years.**

"You little . . . !" Rin fumes, blushing.

"Very good, my most excellent pupil." Kakashi and Jiraiya intone in creepy unison.

"**All right, I'm coming out now." Kakashi's bored voice announces.**

**Naruto and Sasuke straighten up, and Naruto hears the men shifting behind the boulder ready to strike. The shadowy figure of Kakashi is a darker impression in the mist from the hot springs, but the man surely comes out. Naruto and Sasuke stand, so sure they're close to their goal . . . **

**Closer . . . **

**Closer . . . !**

**Kakashi appears, a folded hand towel on his head and a hand towel draped around his lower face. "Thanks for waiting; I'll just take a little soak." Kakashi says, smiling at them.**

**Or eye-smiling really. Since they can't. See. His Face. **

"Damn! And I thought that would work, I never thought about it before." Obito groans.

"Shit you are persistent." Jiraiya chuckles.

**Totally bewildered, Naruto and Sasuke drop like stones back into the water.**

"**What the fuck is wrong with you?" Naruto asks, almost helplessly, as he looks up at Kakashi's . . . covered face. **

"**Hmm?" Kakashi mutters, blinking in confusion at Naruto. **

"**We've been in here too long, we're starting to get flushed!" Sasuke quickly makes pu, grabbing Naruto's arm and speeding out of there. Shrugging, Kakashi just sinks into the waters and takes a moment to relax.**

**Panting, Sasuke and Naruto stumble into the changing rooms. **

"**What the hell . . ." Naruto grinds out, shaking his head to remove any excess water.**

"**Oi!" Sasuke snaps, raising an arm up to deflect the droplets.**

"**Ah sorry, sorry . . . huh?" Naruto gently elbows Sasuke and points to three uniforms clearly meant for grown men hanging up on the same shelves used to hold their clothes.**

"**The guys you were talking about earlier?" Sasuke surmises.**

"**I shouldn't have even mentioned anything. If idiots like those are on Kakashi's trail . . . bah!" Naruto snorts, getting a deliciously mischievous idea. **

**When the three nins in question return, they are dejectedly change into their ninja uniforms and quickly escape from there, leaving behind no trace of their presence. **

**The morning finds the team under Kakashi bedraggled and zombified, while the man in question is as chipper as anything. With a spring to his step he leads his shuffling, stumbling charges down the road, off to start their mission. **

**At the farm, Kakashi rounds them up and gives them their orders. "Alright, each of you guys' to you own post! Let's get to work everyone!" **

"**It's no good, all the stress is building up in me at this point!" Naruto whispers heatedly, dragging a hand through his blonde spikes.**

"**I'm also at the end of my patience," Sasuke admits with a sigh.**

"**To tell the truth so am I." Sakura miserably concedes. **

"**Then there's no choice," Naruto declared firmly, hand rising in a fist. "The absolute last-ditch plan is to be set in motion.**

"**Last-ditch plan?" Sasuke and Sakura echo, turning curious eyes to Naruto.**

"**Yes. We're going to have to bring in those three ninjas that are stalking onii-san. Whilst he's busy with that fight, eventually an opportunity will arise for his unveiling!" Naruto explains briefly, a fire shining in his eyes at the thought.**

"He's crossing the line between playful prodding and actual harm." Minato murmurs, eyes a grave, dark blue.

"He knows very well I am more than a match for some bumbling idiots." Kakashi defends Naruto, perhaps a tad too forcefully.

"I understand that he's had a scattered upbringing, but the fact still remains that he's being a little mean here." Minato soothes Kakashi, hiding a smile at the instinctual way Kakashi jumped to his younger brother's defense.

"Mean? I've never heard such a word in my shinobi upbringing, perhaps it's a new age idea." Tsunade muses, winking at Kakashi who grins at her added defense.

Minato sighs exasperatedly, but an amused smile plays at his lips. "You two spoil him terribly. Probably will as soon as he's born this time around."

"**It's our only choice!" Sakura is quick to jump on the wagon, brimming with determination.**

"**How do we go about kicking the hornet's nest then?" Sasuke enquires. **

**Naruto smirks. "You just leave that to me."**

**Kakashi quietly works, occasionally checking his students by listening— their steady footsteps, occasional grumble, and perhaps the muffled curse or two from Sakura when she doesn't hit the nail on the head quite right. He himself is fixing a part of the wooden fence, nailing new boards with quick efficiency.**

**A noise from Naruto catches his attention. He looks over his shoulder to see his blonde student drop his load of work on the ground and walk over to some bushes.**

"**Naruto, what are you looking at?" Kakashi asks.**

"**Ah . . . nii-san, I just thought I saw something a little weird." Naruto answers back, walking over to the bushes. "Ah . . . yes, it's a barrel with rocks on top of it."**

**Kakashi snorts. "Naruto, leave it alone. We don't know what's in there. Rule of thumb for a ninja, never go up close and personal to strange things. Kage bushins or ninja wire, those are a nin's best friends in situations like these." However, Kakashi had expected this. Naruto was a patient kid, but he had his limits most certainly, and the fact that these guys were following them and nothing was being done had to wear on those nerves eventually. **

"Not patient? I don't know, he sounds like a very patient person to me." Obito muses, muttering thoughtfully.

"Well, there was the time in Nami when he snuck out to speak to Kyuubi, his drive to learn new jutsus as quickly as possible . . ." Kushina reminds them. "Not that I can talk about patience, he got it from me after all."

**Naruto sighs, and waves his hand to reassure Kakashi. As he waves however, he murmurs so quietly even the ninjas in the barrel must strain to here, "Either man up or get out of here before I play pincushion." Sauntering away, he picks up his work again and continues on. **

"That's his way of handling it? Come on, any ninja, incompetent or otherwise wouldn't fall for such bait right?" Rin asks, laughing.

"Ah, how trusting you are little Rin-chan." Tsunade coos, laughing.

**Kakashi watches him suspiciously, wondering why Naruto was getting so antsy now. Shrugging, he gets back to work as well.**

**Inside the barrel, the oldest nin growls. "Damn you Hatake. Getting your students to carry around messages for you?! That's too arrogant!"**

"**Aniki, what should we do?" The nin on the right asked urgently, eyes darting around as if Kakashi would suddenly pop up inside their cramped barrel.**

"**Shouldn't we just retreat?" The nin on the left suggested. He was given a bruised cranium for his efforts.**

"**Idiot! We'll do no such thing," Aniki whispered furiously. "We are gonna go out and face Hatake full on! Brute force and everything!"**

"Incompetent or otherwise, you said?" Jiraiya points out.

"**On the count of three . . ." he whispers, and as one their bodies tense.**

"**One . . . two . . . three!"**

**They jump out of their barrels, springing out of the bushes much to the surprise of the three kids.**

"**Kyaa!" Sakura shrieks, whipping around in fright.**

"**I can't believe that worked." Sasuke murmurs to Naruto, an almost mystified expression on his face as he contemplates the stupidity of these "ninjas."**

"**You know something? I can't believe that worked either." Naruto admits, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, voice shaky.**

"Oh, Naru-chan, you are such a devil." Rin mutters, Obito snorting as he nods in agreement.

"**Stop right there!" Aniki yelled, flipping to land on his feet. His subordinates followed, landing in crazy positions. "Hatake Kakashi, it is time to pay for your crimes Moya nin style! I'll use this medicine, that will make you weep until you die!"**

"**Weep until you die?" Sasuke repeats dully.**

"Now that _is_ novel." Tsunade has to agree.

"**Well, the human body is about sixty percent water, so if you lose enough water you will most certainly die." Sakura explains. **

"**Don't ignore us!" Aniki protests, red-faced and angry. "Hatake Kakashi, today is the day you shall die!"**

"**Not that I mind a good fight, but what exactly was this crime I committed?" Kakashi asks, a bored expression on his face that only increased Aniki's ire. **

"**You don't remember?!" Aniki howled, his followers behind him shivering in disgust. "I'll tell you then, bastard . . . it all went like this!"**

_**Flasback no Jutsu!**_

_**Spring, three years ago . . . **_

_**The two followers of Aniki are chasing after a pretty young woman in a red kimono. She runs, frightened as she cries out, "No!"**_

"_**You don't have to be that scared!" The one on the right reassures the woman as they chase, or rather, herd her to the two trees on the top of the hill.**_

"_**No!" the woman cries again.**_

"_**Our boss just as something he wants to talk to you about." The ninja on the left continues the reassurance.**_

_**The woman stops after a while, turning around with a confused expression. "Aniki? You mean, boss . . . ?"**_

_**Immediately after, there is a sound of levers cranking behind the woman, and a rope system is suddenly visible between the two trees as a swing rises up to reveal the third and final ninja, "Aniki." He holds onto the ropes as he stands on the seat, a single red rose held delicately in his mouth, sideways. Startled, the woman trips back and falls to the ground. **_

_**Smirking, Aniki pulls the rose from between his lips and presents it to the young woman, a gleam in his eye as he speaks softly. "I love you . . . please marry me!"**_

"_**Aniki is so cool!" the backup ninjas crow, blushes on their face as they take in the scene, certain the girl would agree as Aniki had so clearly chosen such a romantic set up. **_

_**The young woman did not share their sentiment. "No . . ." she muttered, looking vaguely disgusted. **_

"_**There's no need to be embarrassed. You can be honest and fly into my arms." He assured her, leaning forward to stretch out the rose. He makes the mistake of removing both hands from the ropes that steadied him, and so unbalances and lands flat on his face on the ground with a squawk. **_

_**The woman's face twists even more, and she starts to lean away. "No . . ." she mutters more forcefully. **_

"_**It's okay, even though I look like this . . . I have a tidy sum of money!" He twirls the rose and it pops in a cloud of smoke, two coins falling to the ground. **_

"_**I'm telling you no!" The woman cries, bringing up a sleeve to her mouth in a nervous gesture. **_

"_**What? You're telling me no in these surroundings?" He asks incredulously. In an even bigger stroke of bad luck, when he fell off the swing that made it swing back, so now it has swung forward to hit him in the back of the head. With a cry, he is pushed forward to half-land on the legs of the woman. **_

_**The woman cries out and kicks him away. "When I say no, I mean no!" **_

"_**Even though I brought you to such nice settings . . ." brought meaning he had her herded here by his slightly less creepy underlings. "But why?"**_

"_**I don't like what I don't like!" The woman hotly protests, fed up with the entire situation. **_

"_**Why don't you just strop right there?" A smooth, deep voice comes from the bush opposite them.**_

_**Kakashi's silver spiked head pops up, his red book held up to his face, though he's put it aside for a moment to stare at the group. "Hey the girl doesn't like it, and no matter how you look at it, you're being rejected buddy."**_

"_**Yeah." The girl affirms, happy to have somebody in her corner.**_

"_**You're pretty gutsy. Do you know who we are?" He stands up, planting his feet with a solid stomp as his underlings come to back him up, via uncomfortable and weird poses. **_

"_**Do you dare challenge us, knowing that we are the Moya Nin Threesome, fearsome enough to silence a crying child?!" **_

"_**Moya nin? Never heard of it." Kakashi dismisses them lazily.**_

"_**Don't be a fool?" The right nin yells.**_

"_**Who the hell are you then?!" the left nin demands.**_

"_**Me? It's not worthy enough to introduce, but . . ." he stands to full height and steps out the bushes, book never leaving its position from high up. "Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi."**_

"_**You're introducing yourself!" The Moya Nin yell, pointing accusingly at Kakashi. **_

"_**Whatever, you're going to get it for messing with someone's romance!" Aniki declares.**_

"_**Romance? Isn't it just annoying, one-sided love?" Kakashi corrects, smiling pleasantly— well, the expression on his visible ace **_**seems**_** pleasant— as he lowers the book. **_

"_**You!" Aniki growled. "Get ready boys! 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1!" **_

"_**Hustle! Hustle!" Kakashi had to raise an eyebrow at the pelvic thrusts that accompanied each hustle, then bite back a smirk as they charged toward him.**_

_**A few hits was all it took.**_

"_**Please! Somebody help me! Hey, I can't stand heights!" The Moya nins were tied together in a human ball hled together by rope, swinging like a pendulum from a sturdy tree branch.**_

"_**I'll escort you home." Kakashi informs the young woman, who quickly clings to the offered arm with hearts in her eyes as they walk away and leave the Moya nins.**_

_**End Flashback no Jutsu!**_

"**Because of you Hatake Kakashi . . . my romance was dissolved before it could even begin to grow!" Aniki sobs.**

"Romance?!" Kushina snorted, all her feminine wrath coming into this. "What a pathetic bunch of losers!"

"I feel extra sorry for that poor girl. First she's bothered by those Moya idiots, then she's tricked into thinking Kakashi will actually give her any time." Rin chuckles.

"Hey we can't say that anymore Rin, not after Crescent Moon . . ." Obito leers.

"**Ah . . . yeah, you guys do seem faintly familiar." Kakashi finally says, tilting his head just a little, eye squinting.**

"**Ah?! You should totally remember us?!" The Moya nins yell.**

**Kakashi ignores them and turns to his team, about to say something before the strange expressions on their face stops him. Sakura's is typical— disgust at the creepiness of the Moya trio as well as annoyed with their loud antics. But Naruto . . . **_**and**_** Sasuke, are giving him looks of disappointment.**

"**What?" he asks them.**

"**Kakashi . . ." Naruto sighs. "No matter how you look at it, wasn't that a cockblock?"**

"**Those who live by the cockblock, shall die by the cockblock." Sasuke solemnly utters.**

"**It is simply Bro Code . . . and you have broken it." Naruto sighs.**

"He tells the truth, Kakashi. You have disappointed me, my student." Minato declares solemnly, giving him a grave stare.

"But sensei!" Kakashi yelps. "I was saving the girl!"

"Were you really? Or did you just want her for yourself?" Jiraiya asked, raising a snowy eyebrow.

**Kakashi twitches, a rush of hurt to his pride making his face twist in annoyance. "First of all, Hatake Kakashi doesn't need to cockblock anyone. And furthermore, the girl didn't want it! Were you listening at all? Tell me you wouldn't be freaked out too— **_**look**_** at them."**

"Ooh! Pretty cocky there eh, Kakashi?" Rin laughs.

Obito snorts, trying and ultimately failing to stifle splutters and snorts of laughter. Kakashi catches on and howls with laughter. The adults stifle their amusement, looking closely at a befuddled Rin.

Rin blinks in confusion. "Wha . . .?" Suddenly it clicks and she stutters, fury like iron in her mouth. Or did she bite her tongue? "U—_Uchiha Obito!_"

Huffing as they all keep chuckling, she continues to read.

**Naruto and Sasuke do so, considering Kakashi's words. "Even if you say that . . . onii-san would never have difficulty achieving romance since he's a higher level than these guys right? It's almost like taking advantage . . ."**

"**Though we do take into consideration the fact that you helped out a young lady in need, still. You didn't chide them so much as you emasculated them." Sasuke adds.**

"**For the love of . . ." Kakashi sighs. "Fine— we can speak more about logistics of the situation after I deal with these three."**

"**Sure, sure." Naruto acquiesces. From the story told by the Moya nin, he is now aware that his plan would be an epic failure. So, they just watch as Kakashi repeats the performance of three years ago, and beats them soundly.**

**Once again they are left swinging from a rope, confused and bewildered from the speed of their downfall.**

"**Ah, just like three years ago!" They groan, swinging from side to side.**

"**Well, kids, let's get back to work and get out of here." Kakashi chirps, but the order is clear so they continue their repairs on the farm.**

**The sun is sinking below the horizon and the sky is stained in blood orange and red as Team Seven departs for the village. Kakashi leads the team with an oblivious cheerfulness, having obviously already forgotten about the Moya trio who now hung limply back at the farm. Naruto trails with his arms folded behind his head and a small smirk curling the corners of his lips as he lets his senses take in the relaxed air of the earth. Sasuke and Sakura shuffle behind with tired, bedraggled appearances that show just how tired they are.**

**As they continue on the path, Sakura sighs and sees nothing else for it. "Sensei." **

"**Hm?" Kakashi responds, stopping and turning his full attention to his gaunt students.**

"**Sensei . . . can we see what's under your mask?" Sakura pleads feebly. Sasuke and Naruto giver her matching looks of surprise, shocked that she'd be the one to ask it so boldly— for her at least. If she wasn't wailing on you, then she was as demure as she looked.**

"**Hmm . . . sure, why not?" Kakashi replies. Sakura and Sasuke instantly perk up, crowding close together so they don't miss a nanosecond. Naruto just stands on the side in his same position, only one eye open to glance at whatever trick Kakashi will pull. They asked to see what was under the mask . . . not his face, right?**

"Aw." The room groans.

"**Underneath this mask . . ." Kakashi pulls it down slowly, very slowly. **

"**Is another mask!" He concludes cheerfully, revealing the second mask he had hidden under the first, a cheerful scrunching of his eye like a stab in the middle to Sasuke and Sakura. Exhausted and broken, they fall down in heaps.**

"Come on Kakashi, they're kids." Obito argues in a deadpan fashion.

"You're such a jerk –ttebane." Kushina sighs in aggravation.

"**You're a jerk –ttebayo." Naruto sighs, leaving them behind as he walks forward. **

"Oh yeah, Uzumaki style!" The room choruses, cheering for a blushing Kushina.

"I love that, no matter how many times I hear it." Minato laughs.

**They arrive at Konoha two days later, just as noon breaks high in the sky. They are congratulated for the successful mission, and Naruto departs with a promise extracted by Sakura to help her— and by proxy, Sasuke— with training. **

**He won't go home just yet, because he knows Katsu is working today and decides to just stop for lunch at her work place later. For now, he is tantalizingly close to mastering the second tail of Kyuubi's chakra, and wants to finish it up at once. He takes to the Forest of Death, where his training with the bijuu's chakra now takes place after an unfortunate incident early on in his training involving an entire squad of ANBU and several particularly overzealous chuunin, and Jiraiya threatening to crack all the bones in their bodies. **

"Oh, I can guess a pretty interesting picture just off those words." Jiraiya murmurs, sharing a look with Minato.

**His respect for Jiraiya did increase a little that day though.**

**As he stands in a clearing, having called upon two tails worth of chakra, Kyuubi decides to offer some assistance.**

_**What do you feel you have left to accomplish in order to master the second tail? **_**Kyuubi asks.**

"**Let's see . . . the first tail was about controlling the power and my emotions. This tail focuses on my control of the chakra itself— if I can't even do kawarimi with this, then I really can't call this mastery." Naruto mumbles. **

"But you _can_ do justu with his chakra." Kushina says, confused.

_**But you can do jutsu with my chakra, **_**Kyuubi reminds him.**

"**Yeah, but . . . there's too much chakra being wasted. I have to cut back, to conserve . . . so this tail is all about conservation. About packing the most punch with the least effort." Naruto concludes.**

_**Yes, lessons that will be repeated with your fifth tail, but for now focus. If you want my advice, try making kage bushins with the smallest amount of chakra you can manage. Work on lowering the number until then. Since shadows take more chakra, this will be better than using regular bushins. **_**Kyuubi instructs. **

_**About an hour of that should do, **_**Naruto agrees, **_**and then I'll try the special attack we thought up.**_

**For the next hour the sounds of popping filled the clearing AS Naruto steadily worked to streamline his control of the bijuu chakra. The first time he tried this, he couldn't get anything lower than a thousand clones, about four thousand regular bushin too. Now though, he was now more easily into the double-digit range, and he could feel his handle on the chakra getting better. It was still wild, but he could work around that wildness now, could guide it to other sources. Like he noted before, such a thing could **_**never**_** be controlled by man. **

"The process to control his tails are each different in their own ways, and they're fascinating." Minato murmurs.

"**Okay," he breathed as the last clone popped. His total had come down to a solid twenty and wouldn't go any lower. "That's as good as it's getting."**

_**Now for the final test. **_**Kyuubi mutters. **

**Naruto nods, taking a deep breath. He reaches for a scroll on his hip, unraveling it and taking a look at the seal. He pushes chakra into it, and from it come the claws, which he'd nicknamed, "Demon Claws."**

"The perfect name." Kakashi agrees.

"**Okay . . . ready?" Naruto asked nervously, though was he asking himself? He channeled Kyuubi's chakra through the claws, one of the special features added via seals thanks to his cloaked friend. **

_**No sense in wasting time. If it fails, we can just try again. **_**Kyuubi affirms. Naruto nods, taking a big breath. **

**They came up with this attack a few months ago, when Naruto finally took the time to analyze the seals put on the claws. They were intricate, locked in chains and not easily unseen unless they caught the light a certain way, or they were activate causing them to glow faintly. The seals were masterpieces— simply art. Though, as he'd bragged to Kyuubi, nothing his father hadn't overtaken at sixteen— or so Jiraiya told him, but he believed it.**

"Aww!" The room chorused in sappy tones, laughing at Minato who tried to hide the elation that bubbled inside him. He had never been so happy to be acknowledged, this came close to beating when Kushina acknowledged him— his baby boy!

**After some extensive research and plenty of help from Kakashi, he figured out most of the functions, if not all. One set of seals gave the claws had the ability to retract or extend, becoming as short as three feet and as long as twelve feet. Another seal allowed for elemental chakras to be poured through, creating blades of whatever element was being used when slashed through the air. Of course, it was up to you to have the element chakra. The seals also granted him the ability to shift the blades from over his knuckles to between his fingers. **

"**Here we go . . ."**

**Naruto took his stance, one legs behind the other, knee slightly bent and his body turned ever so slightly to the side, arms tensed at his sides with hands loose. He coils, eyes glowing scarlet as the power of the King of Bijuu flows through him.**

"An important title." Obito nods.

"**Crimson Blades!" He shouts the attack's names as he slashes the air with both hands, claws almost seeing to clash together as he slashes in diagonal motions. From the slashes, crimson red blades, the glowing marks of Kyuubi's chakra form slashes like sickle blades and shoot forward, not stopping until it fells five trees. **

"Awesome!" Rin and Obito breathe.

"A deadly weapon indeed, but can it be converted to mid-ranged attacks, or can it only be classified as long-range?" Jiraiya wonders.

"It seems to be more effective at long-range, I would think downsizing to mid-range wouldn't be very helpful." Minato counters thoughtfully.

**He straightens up, shaking the tension from his arms and cracking his neck a couple times. He observes the damages he's wrought, the trees that fall with resounding thuds that would never be heard by anyone in the village. He smiles gleefully, jumping up and down.**

"**Yes! **_**Yes!**_** Wahoo, we did it!" Naruto crows, jubilant.**

"Congratulations!" They all whoop, clapping.

_**Yes, yes, you did a nice trick now settle down! **_**Kyuubi snorts. **_**Though I loathe making your head any bigger than it is, I must congratulate you on another tail mastered. **_

"**Why thank you!" Naruto coos, gathering up his things and pocketing them. He heads home, triumph shining on his face.**

_**Enjoy this while you can Naruto . . . **_**Kyuubi chuckles darkly, and Naruto can practically see the killer sharp tooth grin. **_**Because after the third tail, my fourth tail will be the hardest to master, the hurdle to the next five! And don't think you can continue taking months either, try years!**_

**Naruto's face fell just a little at Kyuubi's dark cackles, but he bolstered his spirits again. Years? Just one year— that's all it would take, or his name isn't Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto!**

"That's the spirit sochi-kun!" Kushina cheers.

"Are we ready for another chapter, or shall we go to bed?" Tsunade asks.

"I'd like to get in another chapter if that's alright? Oh, but let's pause for lunch please." Minato humbly asks.

"That sounds like a great idea. I'm thinking—" Kakashi starts, but is cut off.

"RAMEN!" Kushina screams happily, bouncing up as she bounds to the kitchen.

"Ugh. Fine, since you've gone so long without it and haven't complained once." Tsunade sighs, glaring at her distant cousin.

* * *

**So, as always, your reviews are appreciated. Oh, and btw . . . if you wonder whether or not any chapter will be as long as the previous two-'**

**NO.**

**I don't even know how they got like that. It was like i couldn't CONTROL myself, and that hurts. Whatever though, not like my story is the longest one out there, right? For the chapters anyway. **

**Hope you guys had great Easters, and April Fools, so let's meet again later on!**

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad~3**

**P.S.: Sorry guys, i just saw the chapter and realized the shorthand conversation wasn't underlined like i did in Micro Word. My bad, hehe! (4/14/13)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Well, isn't this quite speedy? Ok guys let's get a warning over and done with: WARNING, this chapter might be a little uncomfortable for you guys. However, if you like Law & Order, then perhaps you are fine with this. To be honest, i'm not sure why i wrote this chapter this way, but it's been something i've had in my mind for months and it wouldn't go away. Like the tails. So! Just bear with my selfishness, because honestly you guys have been getting spoiled with light hearted stuff.**

**Now, there are some reviews i want to adress here. If you don't care, then just skip on to the chapter.**

**From Guest 1: No, they're going to keep calling naruto, "Naru-chan" if they feel like it. Why? Because technically, they ARE older than him, he hasn't even been born yet what the hell do you _mean_ NARUTO is older? And besides, i'm not Japanese. Don't have japanese friends or a japanese grammar book from which i can consult. If i am using the suffix wrong, then forgive me because that's what anime, manga, and fanfics have led me to believe.**

**Guest 2 (and fan): I appreciate the fact that you like NaruXKatsu. Really, i love it. But dude come on. I'm not making them kiss. Why? Because they're barely thirteen, only a few months into it really, and they've been best friends for a hell of a lot longer than puberty has addled their minds. Meaning, that for the longest time they've only seen each other as best friends, and granted they knew they would never be apart, that does not MEAN they think romantically. For example, before Naruto used to think of Katsu as cute and pretty in nice dresses. But in Ch. 25, when he saw her in shorts he noticed the skin she was showing. As is typical of a thirteen year-old who is starting to get hit by puberty hormones. Realistically speaking, would you suddenly start kissing and acting all romantic with your childhood friend, even if you did like her a lot? No, right? You'd try to get her to notice you as a man, as someone who she could eventually want to be with in _that_ way. Or at least, that's how i see it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Seven_

_Watch out for Thorns and Branches, Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

"Okay, who's next to read?" Minato prompts.

"Ooh! Oh, me!" Kushina volunteers promptly.

"Flip a coin for it?" Jiraiya asks, smirking. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a simple 10 ryo coin.

"Heads." Kushina calls as soon as the coin is flipped. She regrets that decision when the coin falls on the tails side.

"Looks to be my turn. Maybe next chapter Kushina, no pouting." Jiraiya chuckles.

"**. . . 98!" Naruto grunts, arms straight and quivering with intense burning exhaustion as he correctly finishes his push-up. **

"98? No, we're missing something here. He must have done like four sets prior to this." Kakashi shakes his head, sure of his guess.

"Naturally— I've never known an Uzumaki to get winded after just 98." Minato jokes.

"Idiot, you've only known me." Kushina scowls.

"**Come on Naruto-kun, you can do it!" Lee shouts encouragingly.**

"**That's right Naruto-kun! Like my young pupil Lee, you too are letting your flames of youth burn with uncontrollable might!" Gai shouts.**

**Naruto grits his teeth, begging over and over again for his arms not to fail him as he sinks again for the second to last push-up. A harsh breath blowing out form between his teeth, sweat dripping from his face onto the green grass below, he starts to push his body up again. **

"Vertical push-ups? More demanding than just regular ones, but doing too many sets can be harsh." Tsunade mumbles.

"**99!" Naruto groans. He couldn't believe Lee did this daily, three sets. You had to be some kind of crazy to do vertical push-ups with a 1,000 pound boulder balancing on their feet. So what did that make him, who knew what he was getting into and still do it?**

"Oh, honey, isn't that going a little too far? You're just not made for lots of power, you could hurt yourself like that!" Kushina frets.

"Just because a body isn't made for power, does not mean you can overlook power. Though it might never be his forte, it bodes him well to not make it his weakness." Jiraiya lectures.

"But she's right, that's outrageous! Gai and Lee are stupid for doing it too, but it's a little better for them since they are used to pushing their bodies to such limits daily!" Tsunade argues fiercely.

"**. . ." Naruto pants, eye blurring for a moment as sweat manages to catch at his eyelashes. "100!" He shouts, and it's like a sounding call for his muscles as his arms give way and he has only the merest forethought to swing his legs to the other side so the boulder doesn't crush him. Before it can roll far enough Lee is there to grab it and keep it still, Gai walking up to Naruto and unscrewing a canteen.**

"**You did excellently Naruto-kun." Gai's voice is, in a rare moment of forethought from the man, quiet but the warmth is just as present as if he'd been shouting youthfully. **

**Naruto nods, panting too hard to speak as he grins wanly. Kami he was so sore . . . "Nothing on you and Lee though." He whispers. **

"**Nonsense Naruto-kun!" Lee denied. "For this being your first time, completing two sets of one-hundred vertical push-ups is nothing short of exemplary. If you continue to train with us, you'll be able to do two without a break, and then three sets like Gai-sensei and I!" **

"Whoo, give it up for the kid!" Obito hollers, clapping up a storm. The others follow quickly, cheers and whistles filling the room with noise.

**Naruto stares at Lee incredulously. "I took a break . . . for one minute!" Groaning, he forces himself to sit up, and takes his canteen with a grateful thank you to Gai. As Gai and Lee roll the boulder back to its normal resting place, Naruto takes the time to recuperate. In a few minutes, they are back. **

"**So, anything else?" Naruto asks, breathing deeply. **

**Gai blinks in surprise. **_**He bounces back quickly, and I'm not entirely sure it's solely on the Kyuubi. **_**"Not today Naruto-kun, your body needs a longer recuperation time than your mind thinks. We'll meet next time we are all available."**

"Well, Uzumaki are always up and ready to go no matter what." Kushina boasts smugly.

"Really? That wasn't what I was seeing last night." Minato muses innocently.

"Sensei!" Rin wails, face beet red as she shuts her eyes tight to ward away any mental images.

While Kushina is too shocked to do naught but gawk Minato holds out his hand palm face up to Jiraiya. "Totally worth it." He states as Jiraiya uncurls himself from his hysterics and gives him an enthusiastic low-five.

Kushina breaks from her stupor at Tsunade's so not lady-like snort and with a quick motion bruises her knuckles against Minato's cranium.

"Still worth it." Minato hisses through gritted teeth as he clutches at the back of his head in pain, doubled over.

"**Okay!" Naruto sighs, not without some relief. Standing up he puts on his shirt and jacket, grimacing at the sticky feel of his shirt and sweat. "Thank you for your time Lee, Gai-sensei." Naruto thanks them and bows.**

"**Anytime Naruto-kun!" Lee and Gai bow back. Naruto grins and races off, heading home to take a nap, then bathe, and then eat everything in the kitchen. Bounding inside the house, he hears the scratch-scratch of a pencil and absentminded humming coming from the living room.**

"**Hey, hime, what are you doing?" Naruto asks as he plops down on the couch. He raises an eyebrow at the school books he hasn't seen for months. Jeez, he completely forgot she was still going to school . . . it's like she had no homework, no projects, anything!**

"**I was bored so I decided to study." Katsu answers quietly, expression plainly adding to her statement.**

"Studying is so not going to relieve your boredom." Obito snorts.

"**Oh?" Naruto mutters as he leans back against the couch. An idea forms in his head, and he slaps his knees and rises from the couch. "Hime, let's go visit Nami-baba and Katsuro-sama."**

"That brat actually calls someone with a respectful prefix?" Jiraiya mutters with raised eyebrows.

"He must have been important in his life." Rin murmurs.

"**Hmm . . . that's right, you didn't get to go with me this year right?" Katsu murmurs, taking his offered hand and stands up. **

"**Yeah, I want to go and pay my respects." Naruto agrees.**

"**Ok, let's wash up and head over there! Nami-baba hated it if we went places without freshening up." Katsu reminds him with a laugh.**

"**Yeah, I remember." Naruto grumbles, rubbing away the phantom pain from his ear. The old girl's fingers were like pincers.**

**They take baths and dress nicely, Katsu in a pretty emerald half-sleeve dress and Naruto in a navy button-down with rolled sleeves and jeans. They leave the house and walk through the town, nodding politely to people they know. They make their first stop at the Yamanaka Flower Shop.**

"**Welcome to Yamanaka . . . Naruto? Katsu? What are you guys doing here?" Ino asks in surprise, staring in surprise.**

"**Buying flowers. And before you ask why . . . because we want to." Naruto answers, snickering at Ino's glare. While Katsu goes to the other side to pick up her grandmother's and father's favorite flowers, he moves up to the counter.**

"Father!" Obito gasps.

"So her father's name is Kuroshio Katsuro? He got her name from him, that's cute." Kushina smiles.

"Now that I think about it, that name seems _very_ familiar." Minato mentioned.

"Does it? There' something faint, but I don't know." Kushina mutters.

"**If I remember correctly, you keep the very nice and very expensive flower arrangements in the back correct?" Naruto asks.**

"**Yes, just depends on what you're looking for?" Ino returns, brows furrowing. This was strange, she'd never seen Naruto or Katsu here . . .**

"**We usually deal with your mother on our days here," Naruto answers her unspoken question, clearly written on her face. "There should be two custom made wreaths, I don't know the way she named them . . . , let's see, there should be white carnations—"**

"**Pink ones too, and forget-me-nots. Okay . . ." Ino mutters, feeling even more confused than before. Gratitude, remembrance, and remember me forever. Who did they have to go and visit? She had assumed that like Naruto, Katsu was an orphan and she didn't know her parents either. Carefully handling the two arrangements of prudently paired flowers, she lightly touches the petal of a forget-me-not, wondering who had designed the arrangement if it was custom-made. **

**Walking out, she sets them down gently on the counter. "Okay, and your total comes out to . . ."**

"**It's okay, I've done this enough times. The exact amount." Naruto assures her with a small smile, handing her the money. Ino glances at the total she'd arrived to and then counts the money. He's right, it's all there. **

"**Are you going to lay these at the Sandaime's memorial?" Ino asks curiously.**

**Naruto's eyes widen. "No, but now that you mention it—"**

"**Don't worry I've got the lilies." Katsu breaks in with a grin, arms cradling the lilies, amaryllis and blue cosmos. **

"**Great, we'll be making a stop there then." Naruto chirps.**

"**So then who . . ." Ino suddenly pauses, realizing what she's asking. "Gah, sorry. It's not my business."**

"**No, it's fine Ino-san." Katsu says. "We're visiting my grandmother and father."**

"**Your father and grandmother?" Ino whispers. She clears her throat. "Could I . . . also pay my respects to them?" **

"That's a nice thing for her to do." Tsunade advocates, nodding in agreement.

**Katsu and Naruto exchange glances. "Well sure, but you don't need to trouble yourself."**

"**No, my kaa-san is coming in a few minutes anyway so I'll grab a couple flowers . . . should I just get some more blue cosmos or—"**

"**No, trust me any more flowers and the old baba might just rise up to scold us on frivolous wastes of flowers." Naruto snorts.**

"**Not nice!" Katsu tries to scold, but her chuckle dashes that. **

"**Well let me just ring these up and then I'll tell my tou-san where I'm going." Ino lists absentmindedly as she rings up the flowers, giving the total and then cleanly slipping in the bills to her register. Smiling at them briefly, she turns and jogs to the back room where her father's closed office door is. She knows he's in there, looking over the books.**

"**Tou-san! I'm going out okay? Kaa-san will be back in a few minutes, and I've got to go." Ino shouts, already inching back. **

"**Go do what?" Inoichi asks suspiciously.**

"**Pay my respects." Ino answers succinctly, and then jogs back to the front. Smiling perkily at Naruto and Katsu, she chirps, "Let's go!" **

"I bet that confused old Ino." Kushina chuckles lightly.

**They leave the shop, not bothering with bags and so they are treated to more than a few stares as they walk through town to the cemetery. **

"**Hime!" Katsu turns, smiling at Hinata as the Hyuuga heiress jogs up to them.**

"**Sunny!" Katsu chirps, darting forward to kiss Hinata on the cheek when the girl is close enough, her arms preoccupied with flowers.**

"**Hey, where are you guys going with all those flowers?" Hinata asked, Kiba and Shino coming up with Kurenai to them.**

"**We're going to pay our respects to my family, and Sandaime-sama as well." Katsu replies.**

"**Oh, your grandmother and . . ." Hinata bites her lips, looking unsure as she trails off from saying that last name. "Can I come as well?"**

"**Sure, I did promise to introduce you to them." Katsu agrees happily.**

"**I'll come along if that's alright, I have to escort Hinata home anyway." Kurenai adds.**

"**Kiba-san and I have clan obligations, but we offer our respects to your loved ones Katsuhime-san." Shino offers in his typical clinical tone. **

"**Thank you for your kind words Shino-san." Katsu bows slightly, and with a goodbye the group parts with two more in tow to the gravesites.**

"**Naruto!" **

"**Shit, are we taking a parade with us today?" Naruto grumbles, Hinata and Katsu laughing. **

"**Hey, where are all you guys heading?" Kakashi asks upon arriving with his two remaining students. Sakura waves and Sasuke gives a curt nod too short to be respectful.**

"**We're visiting my grandmother and father's graves, then Sandaime's memorial." Katsu answers. **

"**You know your— ah!" Sakura gasps, slapping a hand to her mouth.**

"_That_ was insensitive." Kakashi mutters, almost scolds.

"**Yes, Sakura she knows her family. Some orphans get lucky like that." Naruto snorts, laughing. "If you guys want to come along, hurry up, I'd like to get there before we bring the whole jounin force."**

**Chuckling, the group continues on, finally arriving to the Konoha Cemetery. They go through the rows, walking up the steps on the hill as they head toward the Kuroshio graves. **

"**Here we are!" Katsu yips, running over to two headstones side by side. She places the red amaryllis tenderly on the right headstone, and then deposits the blue cosmos on the left with equal care. She lovingly traces the small treasure chests on each headstone. Kneeling, she bows to them.**

"**It's been a while obaa-chan, papa." Katsu murmurs, looking up and smiling.**

**Naruto steps over after Katsu has finished her greeting, placing the memorial wreaths on the stones. "Nami-baba, I'm back too. It's been even longer for me, I hope you're well up there. Katsuro-sama, it's good to visit you again as well. I'm taking good care of your daughter, but I know it's still probably not up to your standard. You'll have to forgive my flaws." He bows to them, and then gets up from his kneeling position. "Katsu, we have introductions to do."**

"Well it makes sense now why he uses such a respectful tone." Kushina murmurs, eyes misting slightly.

"Always good to butter up the father-in-law, especially if he can enforce a little heavenly justice no matter how small." Obito chuckles.

"**Ah!" Katsu remembers, and with a surreptitious movement to dry her eyes she gets up and turns to the group.**

"**Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my grandmother, Kuroshio Nami . . . and my papa, Kuroshio Katsuro."**

"**You got your name from your father, what else then? I have to admit the name Kuroshio sounded familiar even when we first met." Kakashi murmurs, stepping over to the headstones and bowing.**

"**We can talk about all of that, but first . . ." Naruto opens up a scroll he pulled from out of thin air it seems, and unleashes a full picnic. "Let's eat!"**

"**Should we r-really eat at a grave site?" Hinata asks nervously, watching Naruto and Katsu set up the picnic basket.**

"**It's fine, totally fine! Papa would love this stuff!" Katsu laughs, settling down and waving them down as well. Slowly, they all situate themselves and grab bentos from the picnic basket.**

"She sounds more familiar with him than just listening to her obaa-san's stories would allow. Perhaps, he died before she met Naruto?" Kakashi wonders.

"Would she really have been so cheerful so soon afterwards?" Rin wonders.

"When you have loved ones lost, you have to live happy, so that you don't have to worry that they'll worry." Kushina murmurs.

"**So . . . your obaa-san told you about your papa?" Sakura asks, glaring at the insistent nudging of Ino's skinny elbow in her side.**

"**No, my papa died when I was three years-old, almost four. So I have some memories of him, very few clear." Katsu answers.**

"That's very sad. I know my father is the most important man in my life, I couldn't bear to lose him so early." Rin whispers.

"It's sad, but it'd be even worse for us to pity her when she's come so far." Jiraiya rumbles.

"**Naruto, you seem rather familiar with him?" Kurenai asks of the young boy.**

"**No, I never met him. But, I always felt like I knew him because Nami-baba would say that he and I were quite similar, most especially in regards to Kurohime over here." Naruto chuckles. "Nami-baba would always look so frustrated talking about how he spoiled hime, and dressed her up in different frilly dresses at least four different times each day."**

"**He continued that up until the end, and I never really lost the habit of wearing dresses." Katsu agrees, tone thick with nostalgia. "Kakashi, you said he seemed familiar. Papa was a shinobi too."**

"Oh now this is interesting!" Tsunade chirps. "This will make finding her family much easier. Let's be sure to ask sensei first thing getting home Jiraiya."

"Maybe not immediately, we don't want to affect his fate any earlier than necessary. Perhaps after the war, so we'll have some time." Jiraiya assures her.

"We ought to know him, we really should." Minato mutters to Kushina, brow furrowed. "He can't be much older or younger than us."

"**Eh?!" The genin yelled. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as Kurenai's eyes widened.**

"**You wouldn't really remember him, papa was in ANBU for a long time, either that or he was doing things with T&I, or the Research sector. Papa, for some very strange reason, preferred to work in the shadows."**

"Even so, I might have seen him in ANBU sometimes . . ." Minato murmured.

"No," Jiraiya shook his head. "You were only there two years. Even in ANBU, either you took missions or you were with me, even working on the front lines back in the early days of the war."

"**Why's it weird?"**

"**Well . . ." Naruto gently pushes past some amaryllis to the treasure chest behind it. Opening it, he pulls out a framed picture, and holds it up for them all to see. "It's funny and very strange considering what he looks like."**

"**AH!" Ino screams, snatching the picture.**

"**Careful!" Naruto hisses, bristling. **

**Though she sends Katsu an apologetic glance, Ino is dumbfounded by the picture and gestures frantically to it. "He . . . **_**this!**_** Your papa was **_**hot!**_** He reminds me a lot of Tama from the Host Club manga! Only with orange— hey, he has orange hair and gold eyes!" **

"Could we see a picture of him?" Rin asks.

"What, want to see how hot he is for your own eyes?" Obito teases.

_One Kuroshio Katsuro, coming right up! _The pixels disintegrate, swirl, and then rush forward to complete the new picture, showing Kuroshio Katsu. The room fills with the considering hums of the females. He certainly was a beautiful man, with lightly tousled spiky orange hair around his face and slightly slanted molten gold eyes that sparkled with playfulness to match the flirty grin on his lips. He seems tall with a whipcord leanness that added to his boyishly handsome appearance.

"I thought his eyes were green?" Kushina mutters in confusion. "He must have been wearing contacts or maybe it was a trick of the light . . ."

"He seems even more familiar . . . Kushina I think he was in the class a year younger than us!" Minato reveals.

"Eh, maybe so . . ." Kushina mumbles. "Ah, but don't worry Minato you're still more handsome. Just a little though."

"**How lovely, to have your looks from your father." Hinata murmurs pleasantly.**

"**I would definitely have remembered someone like him, but I guess he was deep into the shadows when I first got into the shinobi business. Looks aside though, why would it be strange for him to be in ANBU? I can guess why for research but . . ." Kurenai muses.**

"**Even my sensei the Yondaime Hokage was in ANBU, and I believe he had a fair few admirers." Kakashi agrees, casting a disinterested sigh at the gawking stares from Ino and Sakura, even the slightly wider eyes of Sasuke.**

Rin and Kushina snort. "_A fair few?_ Try most of the female population single or otherwise, and a _fair few_ males." Rin corrects with an almost bragging tone, as if it's something to be proud of.

"Rin, please don't mention it again. Ever." Minato mumbles uncomfortably.

"**Yes, but mainly this is just my memories talking. Papa was a complete idiot. He loved me a whole **_**lot**_**. My obaa-chan always said he had no set definition of the word limits— not just for me too. He was always friendly with **_**everyone**_**." Katsu sighs.**

"He was an idiot for his daughter though— a super-doting parent." Tsunade chuckles.

"Nothing better for a little girl." Kushina agrees with a giggle.

"**Can we see your obaa-chan?" Hinata asks. Katsu agrees, pulling out a picture from the treasure chest behind the cosmos, handing it to Hinata with a fond smile.**

"**She looks beautiful . . . in a regal sense. She looks firm." Kurenai notices, taking in the details of the iron-haired woman with the smooth smile that seemed just as warm as her son's playfully flirty smile. Her eyes were cobalt blue, differing from her son, and they seemed to analyze one from the inside out.**

"**Kuroshio-san and Katsuro-san don't look very similar." Kakashi notices.**

"**Well . . ." Katsu trails off, licking her lips. "Papa wasn't exactly planned. I have a large family, mostly court officials or court soldiers in Shimo no Kuni. It may be a small place, but the Kuroshio name is big over there. Well, there was a raid once when obaa-chan was very young, and they managed to infiltrate the Kuroshio Compound. She was . . . attacked, and there was a lot of pressure from the family for her to get rid of the child." **

"Sad as it might sound, and as cruel as it might be, that really would be the kinder option for girls in traditional families like that." Tsunade sighs.

"**How terrible, didn't they care at all?" Sakura whispers, hand to her mouth.**

**Naruto sighs shaking his head. "That was their way of caring. If she had kept the child in those days, she would have been named an outcast, and she would never have known peace."**

"**Which is why obaa-chan moved to Konoha and had my papa here!" Katsu chirps. "And the rest is history. The family didn't like baa-chan's decision, so, here we are." **

"Kuroshio-san is a very strong woman." Minato contemplates.

"All by herself, without her family." Rin murmurs.

Obito snorts. "She might have been better off— not once have we heard about that family coming to see or check on Katsu."

"**Well how did you come along?" Ino wants to know.**

**Katsu blushes. "Er, I . . . well papa was papa. He, at least, knew of his good looks and took advantage." Hearing the subtle dig to his father, Naruto snorted. **

"Well excuse me for being decent." Minato snorts.

"No, when the owner of a resort in the Land of Hot Springs offers you free rooms and all you had to do was _flirt_ with her . . . that's not decent, that's stupid." Kakashi argues firmly.

"Completely stupid." Rin agrees.

"You're an idiot, sensei." Obito adds.

"I'm so ashamed of you right now." Jiraiya and Kushina mutter.

"It's okay Minato, I know at least of a few times where you did use your good looks," Tsunade soothes the jounin's pride. "Like to get your students out the hospitals when they wanted." She mutters with an amused look to the suddenly sheepish teenagers.

"**So, he had some particular luck with a courtesan from Kiba no Kuni . . . and after nine moths I was delivered to his doorstep."**

"Delivered?!" Kushina growls. "Just put in some baby bottles and shipped her off, I bet— ugh!"

"**Delivered?" Kurenai gasps. "Your mother just left you there, with a man she barely knew—"**

"**And I am glad she did." Katsu says stiffly. "But I understand your point. However, she was a prominent courtesan, and she couldn't keep me. She didn't really want a child, but she knew my papa would just love me. I'm glad, it was a final act of kindness from her and I'm forever grateful."**

"**So you don't know your kaa-san?" Sasuke asks.**

**Katsu grinned sheepishly. "Well . . . no, but I know something of her. Papa and obaa-chan described her to me."**

"**Uh-huh," Naruto pitched in. "Hime got papa's coloring, but this pretty little bone structure is all her mama's. Look at her, tiny as a bird!" Naruto coos mockingly, pinching her cheek. Katsu snarls, mood doing a definite 180 degrees, and clocks him good.**

"Someone's touchy about being short." Kakashi snorts.

"Well, it's never fun. I didn't get my growth spurts until later on." Tsunade recalls.

Jiraiya snorts. "Yeah. Both of your growth spurts."

**The others just sweat drop at this.**

"**She has issues regarding her height huh?" Hinata mumbles, filing this away as she watches with amazement one of the strongest ninja of her age group be pummeled mercilessly by his civilian love interest. **

**The next time Hinata sees Naruto, she and her team are being dismissed after receiving a B-rank mission from the Hokage. She waves to Naruto as he passes, and he grins as he waves back. **

"**Are you going for a mission?" Hinata asks.**

"**Yes, apparently I've been summoned with Team Seven again." Naruto grins.**

**Hinata smiles. "Well then, good luck on your mission!"**

"**You too Himawari-hime." Naruto chirps, walking into the office of the Hokage. **

**He enters the office, and goes to stand beside Kakashi, grinning at Sakura and Sasuke. Tsunade looks at them, mouth hidden by folded hands as she silently assesses them with a sharp gaze.**

"**Your mission is two-fold this time. You are to guard your client while he attends to business in Shōdo, and also look into strange rumors about a man named Hashimoto Daiki."**

"**If it's all rumors then why are we investigating them?" Sasuke asks, an arrogant eyebrow raised.**

"Though it might be a good question, it wouldn't hurt to keep a civil tone." Minato chides.

**Tsunade takes a deep breath. If she harmed the Uchiha, the Civilian Council would give her irritating looks for months afterwards. And Naruto would be upset. "You're not going in-depth for this, not like what you did in Nami with Gato. Instead you will merely observe him, see what kind of threat he is . . . sources say he's something of an up and coming crime boss though he's currently local. Still, the rumors that surround him are concerning to say the least, and I'd like to nip any troubles in the bud."**

"**If it's just for the party, why do they need guards?" Sakura asked.**

**Tsunade smirked. "Coincidentally, Hashimoto Daiki seems to be trying to get in on their sudden growth, and they've heard the rumors too."**

"**Considering the scope of this mission, I'm sending one other jounin with you. Shiranui Genma." Tsunade added, tossing the mission scroll to Kakashi. **

**Catching it in one hand, Kakashi's eye curves into a friendly crescent. "Ah, then I can rest easy."**

**Naruto grinned madly. Genma was coming with them?! This mission would be **_**so**_** awesome! **

"I wonder if it'll end up just as crazy as their last one." Obito let loose his own crazed grin.

**Tsunade sighed at the looks that passed over Kakashi's and Naruto's faces. "Don't get any ideas. Whatever happens, I won't back you up— Iwa can come and get you all, for all I'll care!" **

"**Mou, so tsundere." Naruto pouted, and without missing a beat he bent nearly ninety degrees to dodge the heavy ledger thrown his way. **

"**Just get out of my office!" Tsunade barks, growling. With a hasty goodbye, Team Seven leaves for their mission, but Naruto makes a stop by the door before leaving.**

"**Ah, Hokage-sama," Tsunade flicks a glare his way. "That project . . . it's done and complete. At least, the two hundred you ordered— shall I expect a pick-up later this evening?"**

"**It's done? Excellent . . . yes, I'll send Hato to pick them up, can you box them please? And make sure to wrap them carefully." Tsunade instructs.**

"**Yes hime." Naruto bows, dodging a stapler that hits an unfortunate courier nin who just so happened to be passing by him. With a smirk, Naruto departs. **

"Ugh, so damn infuriating." Tsunade huffs.

"**My bad." Tsunade calls to the downed nin, blinking innocently. **

**The next morning is bright and early, the pearly blues of retreating night giving way to the gold of sunrise. Naruto is waiting with Sasuke at the gate for the rest of their team. As the young chuunin munches on some apple slices he hastily prepared before leaving, he observe the ever stoic Uchiha.**

"**Sasuke would you like some apples? I have enough." Naruto offers, extending the paper bag to the boy.**

**Sasuke considers it. "No thanks." He denies, voice quiet as he stares at the gates.**

"**There's much more interesting things to be staring at than just a silly gate," Naruto chides. He sweeps an arm in a grand fashion. "Just look at this beautiful morning! And, hey, the vendors are starting to set up now. How's about I treat you to a tomato?" **

**Sasuke perks up just the tiniest bit; there's a flicker of interest in normally cold black eyes. ". . . Thanks." He mutters, and Naruto grins as he sets off for a tomato. A couple of minutes he is back, handing the fresh, juicy red fruit to Sasuke. **

"Tomatoes are a fruit?!" Obito gapes. "When the hell was this?!"

"Dude, like, since the beginning of time?" Kakashi snorts.

"Don't feel bad, I found that out only a month ago. I could have sworn it was a vegetable." Rin sympathizes.

**Sasuke rubs the tomato on his shirt, and then bites into it just like it were an apple. Naruto can't help the slight grimace that flits across his face. "You can really eat tomatoes like that?" **

**Sasuke shrugs. "Why not? They're a fruit. Have you gotten down the Grand Fireball jutsu?"**

**Naruto sighs. "It's a fireball . . . just not a grand one." **

**Sasuke snorts. "Hn. Maybe if you stopped spending so much time on ridiculous seals you could concentrate on more practical things."**

"Seals are practical." Minato pouts.

"**Seals are practical Sasuke!" Naruto argues. "The only limiting factor is time, but if you're good enough the time taken to draw seals can be a minimal worry, next to nothing. You know, we had a Hokage who was famous for his seals. Hiraishin ring any bells? Seals, man. Seals can do lots of practical things."**

"**Whatever you say." Sasuke cuts the argument, but Naruto isn't offended in the least. Indeed, he has to bite back a genuinely large grin, because he knew that was Sasuke's way of conceding the argument. Sasuke **_**never**_** conceded an argument— at least, not so gracefully as that. **

**Two pairs of ears twitch at the high yawn that comes from someone approaching them. They turn and see Sakura, eyes slightly tearing from her drowsiness. "Ohaiyou, guys. Man, isn't it super early?"**

**Naruto shrugs. "I get up this early most of the time anyway."**

"**It's easier to train in the morning, the day is cooler and the body is fresher." Sasuke agrees. **

**Sakura just sighs. She would never really understand these two, with their quirks. She would absolutely never understand the strange . . . relationship they had either, definitely. "Well, we have ten more minutes before we have to leave, so I wonder who will show up first?"**

"**Let me ease your anticipation then." A smooth voice sounds from behind her, and Sakura gasps as she spins around. The proctor from the Chuunin Exams, Genma-san, smirks at her as he and Kakashi walk up to the font of their little group. **

"**Genma!" Naruto grins, perking up as the man ruffles his hair roughly. **

"**Yo, Naruto. You ready to get wild?" Genma asked with a roguish grin.**

**His response was a wicked toothy grin and a snarl of anticipation. "That's what I like to hear!" Genma cheered.**

**Kakashi sighed as he put his hands in his pockets. "Need I remind you that the Hokage will not vouch for any damages accrued by any antics? Let's keep low profile, and I'll treat everyone to dinner at the Akamichi barbeque."**

"Do I really think that's going to work?" Kakashi snorts.

"**Yosh!" everyone except Sasuke yelled excitedly. **

**Shōdo lies directly on the border between Hi no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni. Here the land is rocky terrain and lush forests, a blend of Fire and Earth before it gives over completely to mountains and craggy surfaces, more sparse brush than green life. The town is nothing too big— not enough to count as a metropolitan area, but certainly bigger than Konoha, and one of the most thriving areas to work and play. It's a place for duties and pleasures, dark and light, carnal and friendly. Shōdo is a completely murky grey area, not one speck of white and if you are very lucky you won't fall into the black. **

**Kakashi is careful to underline the importance of inconspicuousness and anonymity in a place like Shōdo. "If you attract the wrong attention, consider our mission done and over." He warns. They are approaching a smaller town called Fujiwara, where they would meet the client to begin their mission.**

"**Mind you keep an eye on your possessions, lest you find them plucked away by pick pockets." Genma hums thoughtfully, toothpick bobbing in his mouth as he speaks.**

"**We should probably buy Sasuke a hoodie— such a pretty face would sell well on the Black Market." Naruto snickers, eyes flashing at the Uchiha's death glare.**

"**Naruto, don't tease. Help your kouhai camouflage." Kakashi speaks in a bored fashion, walking through the town as he searches for the hotel the client is staying in. **

**Naruto laughs. "There's not much to say! Shōdo is great in that it plays host to many different and interesting characters, all colorful and unique. As long as you play it cool and don't show any fear or hesitation you will be fine. Don't let anyone intimidate you! Fear in the air is like blood in the water— sharks will **_**always**_** come." **

"**Well said Blondie!" Genma applauses. **

"**Why thank you." Naruto demurs. **

"**Ah, here's the place." Kakashi announces, and they all stare up at the large, ornately designed traditional style hotel. Paper lanterns line the walkway up to the hotel entrance, not yet lit because of the brightness of the day.**

"**What affluent settings," Naruto remarks. "Are we to wait outside, or shall we darken their doorstep with our unworthy hides?"**

"**I'd think such a lovely group would only add to the ambience, young man." A melodic voice speaks up from the side, and they turn. In front of them stands a woman of great bearing with proud and beautiful features carefully highlighted with makeup, hair like black silk that shined in the elegant up-do she kept it in. **

**Rouge-tinted lips stretched into a lovely smile. "Are you the team I've hired?"**

**Kakashi steps forward, marking him as the leader. "Yes, I am the squad leader Hatake Kakashi." He introduces the others, pointing them out as they bow in greeting. "Here are Shiraniu Genma, Uzumaki Naruto, and my students Uchiha Sasuke and Sakura Haruno." **

"**It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am Akiyama Ayako." The woman gives them a light bow, as befitting her status. Smoothing a wrinkle from her dress, she sighs.**

"**I am also traveling with my brother, Akiyama Kaoru. We are traveling to Shōdo due to a business associate of ours choosing to have a party there. We'd like to leave as soon as possible, if that's fine."**

"**There's no trouble with that." Kakashi agrees. "Are you waiting for a carriage, or will you be taking this journey on foot?"**

"**On foot." Ayako sighs, looking irritated. "I wish Kaoru had told me that we'd be walking— I'd have gotten more appropriate clothing."**

"**Well, ma'am there's still time to buy something more roadworthy." Naruto points out. "Our friendly kunoichi here could help you out." Patting Sakura on the shoulder, the girl immediately steps forward and smiles sunnily.**

"**If you have the time, I'd be glad to help you!" Sakura says happily.**

**Ayako brightens. "Why thank you! If we hurry, there's a shop down the road . . . let's go." Walking quickly, they promise to come back in fifteen minutes time.**

"**She seemed to give you an extra warm glance Naruto." Genma teases.**

"**Though I doubt she was, it makes sense. Compared to you, I'm downright godly." Naruto deadpans, grinning when he's forced to dodge a toothpick missile. **

"Burn." Rin and Obito hiss.

"**Insufferable brat." Genma growls. **

"**Speaking of insufferable . . . Sasuke have you ever had a problem with burning your throat during fire jutsu?" Naruto switches up the topic, tripping Sasuke up for only a second.**

"**Dobe, that's only to be expected. You have to get used to it in order to be able to use fire jutsu. You think it only gets hot when it comes out?" Sasuke snorted.**

"**Jeez, what's up with crazy ass prodigies and pain thresholds?" Naruto sighs.**

"**I didn't make these rules, I just abide by them with a certain fervor." Sasuke shrugs.**

"**Pyro, and an M?" Naruto shakes his head. "I would never have guessed."**

**Sasuke, rather than waste his breath, just flipped Naruto the bird.**

**As they waited, a man walked up to them, eyes flicking over them with an assessing gaze as if he didn't find them worthy.**

"**Are you the team my sister hired?" the man asked.**

**Kakashi turned, looking over the man. "We are the team from Konoha . . . well, minus one. My student Sakura went with your sister to find the lady some more roadworthy clothes." **

"**Hmm." The man hummed noncommittally. "Since we'll be walking I'd like to keep a brisk pace. I wish for my sister and I to get to Shōdo in two days' time." **

"**Rest assured, your schedule will be kept Akiyama-san." Genma assures, placing another toothpick in his mouth to compensate for the one lost before. **

**The man in question raised an eyebrow. "So my sister already introduced me."**

**Naruto observed the man, and aside from a few small similarities this man and his sister looked completely different. As opposed to the inky black hair and proud features of his sister, Akiyama Kaoru had gleaming chestnut hair combed away from his face and regal, cold features that complimented his traditional haori and hakama. **

"**Ah, Kaoru, there you are!" Ayako's delighted voice made them all turn to see her jogging up with Sakura. The woman now wore a Chinese style high-collared shirt and pants with delicate sandals that were at best roadworthy. **

"**Don't you want to change into something easier?" Ayako questioned.**

**Kaoru graced his sister with a small smile. "This **_**is**_** easier. If you had listened carefully to my words, you would have packed better. I spoil you too much." Ayako merely huffed, but fell into step next to him as he walked forwards.**

"**Konoha shinobi, I expect a flawless job. Should any harm come to me or my sister, the Elemental Nations will surely here about it." Kaoru spoke coldly, in a factual tone as the squad grouped themselves around the clients. **

"Not a bad guy, he just demands the full worth of things." Kushina murmurs.

"Yeah, but you'd still try and pick fights with him." Minato teases.

"**Rest assured, we are all fully capable of taking care of any situation that should arise." Kakashi assured.**

**Naruto feels a little strange, it has been so long since he's traveled strictly by dirt road, without once retreating to the trees. Well, he supposed he deserved it for being so lax. A shinobi should be prepared for anything, right?**

"**Uzumaki-kun?" Ayako calls him.**

"**Yes Akiyama-san?" Naruto answers pleasantly. **

"**You do not wear a vest like Kakashi-san or Genma-san. Are you a student of theirs?" Ayako inquires.**

"**I was once a student under Kakashi. However I advanced a rank, and I chose not to wear the vest that comes with it." Naruto explains.**

"**Why would you not want to wear a distinction of your rank? If you worked hard for it, it seems a waste to not show it. Isn't the vest a show of power, a representation of the respect you deserve?" Kaoru steps in now, looking askance at Naruto.**

"**But it's so much easier when everyone underestimates me for not wearing a vest. For now, I still look like a genin." Naruto smirks.**

**Kaoru just looks at him before looking away, and Naruto wondered briefly whether or not his answer dissatisfied Kaoru. He looked away, unconcerned after a moment.**

**The walk continued in silence for another hour before Ayako broke. Throwing her hands up Ayako complained, "This trip is going to be dreadful if everyone just stays quiet. Please will somebody speak?"**

"**What would you prefer Akiyama-san?" Sakura asked.**

**Ayako looked like she just barely held herself back from snorting. "Conversation shouldn't have to be planned or directed. Someone, anyone?"**

"**Leave them be Ayako, the silence is a good sign. It shows they're concentrating on their mission." Kaoru said mildly, head tilted back to see the sun in a lower position in the sky. Looking at his watch he sighed— hey had a while to go before a time to set up for the night.**

"**Well, how about your company's recent expansion to Yuki no Kuni?" Naruto prompted. **

**Ayako regarded him with surprise. "How did you know about that?"**

"**I've got friends in different countries. We write to each other, and they tell me new things that happen in their homes. My friend in Yuki was particularly excited." Naruto explained. The members of Team Seven had to hold back smiles at the thought of just who Naruto's "friend" was. How would the Akiyama siblings react if Naruto's "friend" was the Daimyou of Snow?**

"Yes I'm sure any chance for economic advancement in Yuki would be very welcome from their Daimyou." Tsunade smiles.

"**Well, it was far easier than trying for a country with one of the Big Five in it, as Yuki no Kuni has just started to get back on its feet after the switch in power." Ayako started. "It's very beneficial to them to have our company there."**

"**There must be some benefits for you?" Naruto inquired.**

"**Some, few but very powerful." Kaoru agreed, his esteem of Konoha ninja rising as the conversation continued. As the Akiyama siblings explained the superficial details of the deal (no way they were going into deeper thoughts with the ninja), the day grew darker and night approached.**

"**Let's set up camp and continue on in the morning. Since we've got three high ranked shinobi, Sakura and Sasuke you guys can just sleep soundly tonight. I'll take first watch." Kakashi orders. The camp is set up quickly, sleeping bags rolled out and set around the campfire they set up. A quick dinner of instant ramen satisfied their bellies and with murmurs of goodnight the Akiyama siblings drifted off to sleep. Soon Sasuke and Sakura followed after them into the land of dreams.**

"**You guys get some sleep, Naruto you'll have the last watch." Kakashi murmurs, moving to lean against a tree.**

"**Goodnight, nii-san. Night, Genma." Naruto murmurs, and without much trouble he is asleep also.**

**He reappears in his mindscape. Smiling at the Kyuubi's curious look, Naruto climbs the rocks to Kyuubi's throne, settling in by the fox's hindquarters.**

"Oh, that is so cute." Rin awes quietly.

"**Get the hell away from me brat." Kyuubi growls, but apart from a sharp slap against his arm from a tail, Kyuubi does not move Naruto. Naruto just smirks and makes a show of snuggling closer to the fox's warm body. Eventually, he drifts to sleep next to the Kyuubi, curled into a ball. The fox sighs and looks away as if disgusted, but he doesn't move an inch. **

**It only seems a short time, but soon Naruto is being shaken awake. Genma is above him, shaking his shoulder. "Your turn kid, let's go." Genma murmurs, already rising to move to his sleeping bag.**

**Yawning, Naruto brushes mussed bangs away from his eyes and gets up with a small groan. He makes five clones to go around the perimeter of their camp, and then sits himself at the same tree Kakashi had leaned against earlier in the night. **

_**Shōdo . . . I knew a demon named Shōdo once. **_**Kyuubi muses.**

**Naruto's interest is perked. **_**Oh really? Cool name . . . was he a cool guy?**_

_**Nope. He was a dick . . . the only thing I enjoyed about him was the way he died. **_**Kyuubi laughs, and Naruto is hard pressed to contain a snort. **

"Oh I like that." Obito murmurs. He turns to Kushina, grinning. "Ask Kyuubi if I can use that pretty please?"

Kushina snorts. "It's not as easy as—" _Yes, he can have it. _"— Apparently it is. Yes, you can have it."

_**Terrible. **_**He scolds half-heartedly. The Kyuubi leaves him to his thoughts, and Naruto lifts his head to look through the tree branches. Annoyed at the obscured view of the sky, he gets up and moves from under the tree, watching the sky gradually lighten. Occasionally the crack of a twig from an animal's step, or the ambience of the forest will catch his attention for a brief moment. **

**He takes a deep breath. The dawn approaches soon, he can smell the changes as the dew beads and the nocturnal creatures retreat. When morning breaches and the light begins to penetrate deep slumber, Naruto wakes Kakashi and Genma. **

**They continue in much the same fashion as the day before, though now the group was a bit chattier in compliance with Ayako's wishes. On the morning of the third day, they arrived in Shōdo.**

**Tall buildings and cramped spaces filled with vendors, loiterers, and street players. Lines of wash went from building to building, sometimes wires crisscrossed from street to street covered with paper lanterns, other random tidbits. It was busy and chaotic and if you didn't walk in single file with only a breath of space between you you'd be swallowed by the crowd.**

**Naruto absolutely adored Shōdo. **

"Figures— he's a social butterfly despite his handicap in the village." Kakashi mutters.

"**Don't look so . . . energetic you blonde kappa." Genma grumbled. Naruto just grinned and walked up to the Akiyama siblings.**

"**So will you be heading to the hotel first? Or is there some business you must attend to?" Naruto inquires politely.**

**Ayako smiles down at the boy. "Yes we plan to spend three days here and then your mission is complete! So, you'll either be guarding us or doing your own thing." **

"**Genma and I have guard duty, so you kids can just do what you want." Kakashi smiles, but as he catches Naruto's eye, and the boy understands what his brother wants him to do. Naruto looks away, and Kakashi is sure the message was understood.**

**They escort the siblings to their hotel, just as elaborate but more modern than the one in Fujiwara. Then they are given the two keys to their rooms— one room for the jounins, one for the kids. **

"**Okay, let's go explore the town guys!" Naruto cheers, and not leaving any room for dissent he puts his hands firmly on Sasuke and Sakura's backs as he leads them away.**

"**Have fun!" Ayako waves goodbye, and they all wave back.**

"**Hey, I never agreed to have fun." Sasuke grumbles as they walk out the hotel. When Naruto continues to walk them down the street, he throws an irritated glance at the blonde boy.**

"**Naru—"**

"**We have our orders genin, and for the foreseeable future your orders are to follow my orders." It is Naruto's quiet voice, not the demanding words that make Sasuke pause.**

"**Naruto?" Sakura asks meekly, Naruto's command subduing her.**

"**We were also instructed to find out about Hashimoto Daiki were we not?" Naruto reminds them. Going back into the heart of the town, they stick close together in the thick sea of bodies. Lunchtime, and Naruto wonders if the traffic could get any worse.**

"**So? We can't do anything without Kakashi—" Sakura tries to argue.**

"**Correction. You two cannot do anything without the approval and guidance of a superior and, what do you know? I'm your superior in the field!" Naruto says mockingly. **

"Rub it in why don't you?" Obito drawls with a sly look to Kakashi.

"You'd be even worse if the positions were switched— and that is _not_ what I meant." Kakashi scowls at Obito's grin, knowing he should have just said roles. But then, wouldn't Obito have still found a dirty joke in there?

**Sasuke grits his teeth at the reminder— yes, Naruto was a chuunin. He was still a **_**genin**_**. His train of thought was derailed by Naruto's abrupt hold on his shirt as he pushes him down into a seat under an umbrella. They had moved to an open air restaurant, and Naruto slips in to his seat, smoothly opening his menu.**

"**My treat, so you guys get whatever." Naruto grins. **

"**Did you just derail my train of thought on purpose?" Sasuke blurts out, and he has to further restrain himself from slapping a hand to his face, in order to **_**save**_** face. He cannot believe he just said that.**

**Though Naruto has a perfect expression of cluelessness, his eyes glow with something akin to humor. "I have no idea what you are talking about."**

"**Should we really be eating at a time like this?" Sakura whispers.**

"**You get caught up in the hype too much. You think just because we decide to find Hashimoto, we will? Welcome to Spying 101, I'm your professor for this course. First lesson: gathering Intel." Naruto pauses as a waiter comes up. Smiling he orders sushi and iced tea.**

"Take note Minato. Spying 101 for the Academy." Jiraiya orders with a cheeky grin.

**Spluttering, Sakura orders a slice of cheesecake, while Sasuke curtly orders coffee cake. **

"**So," Sasuke leans forward on his elbows, hands folded together in front of his mouth. "How do we do this then? Will you—"**

"**I," Naruto interrupts. "Am overseeing your first time trying out information gathering and offering some assistance along the way. So, let's start this way . . . you guys are going to go around and listen out for the name Hashimoto Daiki. You will not engage in the conversation, but you will listen for any pertinent information. The first step is not to talk, but listen. So no **_**looking**_** interested, just here it and move on."**

"Acceptable advice for greenhorns, by a slightly more advanced greenhorn." Jiraiya muses.

"Sounds good to me." Kushina chirps in support of her sochi.

**Naruto once again stops to thank the waiter as their food and drinks are brought. Plucking up a roll of sushi he savors it. **

"**Once you're done eating, you have three hours to get as much information as you can." Naruto informs them, taking a sip of his tea.**

"**But we have to be back in three hours!" Sakura protests.**

"**Why yes," Naruto murmurs, chopsticks twirling around dexterous fingers. "So you had better hurry." **

"Just look at him," Minato boasts. "He was _made_ to be a sensei!"

**Sakura and Sasuke gape at the audacity of the young blonde, who just smiles around his bite of wasabi-dipped sushi. Glaring at him, they scarf down their meals, gulp their drinks and then dash off. Naruto watches them go with a sigh, shaking his head.**

"**Way to blend in." He sighs. He raises his hand to signal for the waiter. "Check please!" he calls. **

**When Naruto has paid for his meal and left, he loiters around town, taking in the sights and sounds of the ever busy Shōdo. He passes by a gaggle of girls who all coo and stare at him. When he winks at them, they all burst into frenzied whispers and even higher giggles. **

"Hmph." Kushina sniffs. "Hussies."

**Walking away from them, Naruto stops as he sees a woman selling eggs by the crate. A wicked idea forms in his head. He buys a crate and then buys a water bottle and quickly takes to the rooftops, searching for Kakashi's chakra signature. The man is only two miles from him. He finds him, with Genma waiting outside an official looking building where no doubt there clients are. The same building he happens to be on. **

**Crouching down, he quickly unscrews the cap on the water bottle and cracks three eggs inside of it. He swishes the gooey mixture around, making sure it is loose. He seals the lid back on, then pops the small cap up to let the gooey mixture flow. Leaning over the edge, he tilts the bottle directly over Genma, grinning widely as the egg yolk slithers down.**

"Oh, eeww!" Rin, Obito, Tsunade and Kushina whine and shudder.

"Good one." Minato congratulates.

**Genma abruptly stiffens, feeling something slimy slide down the back of his neck, soaking his shirt collar and getting in his hair. Kakashi looks over, confused. "You alright?" he aksks warily, seeing Genma shudder and twitch violently.**

"**What the **_**hell**_** is on my neck?" Genma hisses, hand coming up to wipe at whatever is there. Looking at his hand, he frowns at the shiny liquid. He leans forward and sniffs it, growling dangerously. "Egg yolk. Then—!" he snarls, looking up just in time to see a shadow grow as it descends upon him.**

**Kakashi looks annoyed as he watches Naruto tackle Genma to the floor with wild cackles, the two immediately tussling in the dirt. As dirt clouds waft up and stares grow, he feels the need to speak. **

"That is _not_ professional behavior Naruto." Minato reprimands with cold blue eyes, Kushina also stern by his side.

"The client isn't there to see them." Rin murmurs in way of defense.

"That doesn't matter. Right now two leaf nins are tussling like thugs in the street— what does that say? When on a mission, you are always professional no matter what." Jiraiya rumbles.

"**You guys—" **_**Crack**_**. Kakashi freezes as he feels something slimy go down his neck. Reaching up, he feels his hair matted by egg yolk, and feels the sharp little bits of the egg that cracked against his head. He snatches his hand away and takes a deep breath.**

**Two deep breaths.**

"**Naruto—"**

_**Crack**_**.**

"**What the fuck?!" he growls, looking up to see a grinning clone. **

Minato opens his mouth to warn his kids against yet another unprofessional action. He did not expect laughter.

"I mean . . ." he starts, but then sighs. He points at Kakashi. "HA!"

**Kaoru and Ayako leave the building. "Kakashi-san, Genma-san we can—" The two stop as they see the egg covered jounin, Genma in particular roughed up and dirtied. "What happened here?" Kaoru asked slowly, gaze roving over the bedraggled men.**

**Kakashi wishes he could explain, but the perpetrator had disappeared as soon as the two come out, making use of some commendable speed. Kakashi forces himself to smile, thankful for the mask that hid the twitching muscles in his jaw. "Some kids being kids." He tells a half-truth.**

"**So, little boy wants to play." Genma purrs, chuckling shakily as he stands up, trying in vain to brush off the dust. **

"So, this is how it starts." Tsunade murmurs.

**Ayako is confused, but brushes it off. "Well . . . let's continue back to the hotel." **

**As the group walks off, Kakashi and Genma look back to the roof, and see a cackling Naruto. The two jounin narrow their eyes, promising vengeance. **

**Naruto smiles as he sees them walk off. Grinning, he looks down at the crate off eggs. "What should I do with the rest?" he wonders. Shrugging, he takes them back to the hotel with him, and waits for Sasuke and Sakura. **

**Two hours later there is a knock on the door. Sensing his friends' chakra, he opens the door and sees them looking faintly nervous. He frowns. "What?"**

"**Grab him!" Naruto's eyes widen as he is grabbed by the front of his jacket and hauled to a chest, and then closes his eyes as they shunshin. Naruto is shoved into another pair of arms that restrict him and his eyes open, blinking rapidly. He looks back to see Genma grinning wildly, now clean of any traces of dirt or yolk. He looks forward to see Kakashi glaring at him with vengeful glee. **

"**Where are . . . ?" Naruto trailed off, paling as he saw the signs and the telltale signs of very loose kimono clad waifs and girlish laughter, mixing with the raucous laughter of inebriated men.**

"Kakashi," Minato sighs. "You're encouraging this behavior?"

"And you're sending my baby to a Red Light District? At least he knows the one in Konoha!" Kushina protests, a scar scowl on her face.

"**When did you have time to find the Red Light District?" Naruto asks.**

"**We're ninja. Of course we had this place mapped out." Genma smirks. Pushing Naruto away, the boy stands between the two men as he looks at them warily. Suddenly, Kakashi's arm is a blur and Naruto gapes in disbelief as he's hit with a cloud of powder . . . glitter?**

**Again, he is hit from the back. Turning his head he spies more glitter of the rainbow variety. Glaring at the two, he growls out, "You won't win."**

**Kakashi smiles cheerfully. "I beg to differ." And, with that same smile, he lifts a bag over Naruto's head, upends it, and covers the young man in pounds of rainbow glitter.**

Minato chuckles, head going back to lean against the back of the couch. "You win— play to your heart's content. I should just enjoy my son enjoying himself right?"

"That's the spirit!" Obito cheers, much to the amusement of the others.

**Naruto closes his eyes, refusing to look at himself. "You . . . son of a bitch."**

"**Sticks and stones, Naru-chan." Genma chirps cheerfully.**

"**When I— ack!" Naruto is stopped from bellowing an impressive threat as he is lifted by Kakashi and Genma, and then thrown through the swinging doors of an establishment with impressive force, flying until he lands in a pile of soft . . **_**. OH, my Kami, I'm in a pile of whores! **_

**Kakashi's and Genma's cheerful voices unify from outside the establishment he was bodily thrown into. "Have fun Naru-chan! Don't do anything we wouldn't do!"**

**They were gone. He could feel them leaving.**

**He could also feel the agitated tensing of the bodies he was currently entangled with. They shoved him off, and he fell to the floor with an oof. **

"**Kid, you got thirty seconds to either come up with some money for the free feels you got, or a good enough story we don't automatically kill you." An icy, feminine voice comes from in front of him and he can smell the sweet perfume and the many other scents that mingle on the body before him.**

"Well, it's his first Jiraiya situation. Let's see how he handles this." Tsunade declares.

"Hey!" Jiraiya grumbles.

**His eyes were still closed. He only had one card left to play. Naruto's eyes shoot open, blinking rapidly. He turns and sightless blue eyes clouded over with a hazy film stare in the general direction of the girls.**

"**W-where am I?" He whimpers. "Who . . . who are you?"**

"HOLY FUCK HE DID NOT." Obito shouts, jumping out of his chair. Falling to his knees, he grabs at his hair. "My kami . . . the answer was truly that simple. I am in awe. He is my new God."

Jiraiya was in similar conniptions. "That's _it?!_ Just pretend to be _blind_?! Shit, why didn't I think of that _before_!"

**Back at the hotel, Kakashi and Genma sip tea in the room of the little genin, listening to their report on Hashimoto. It seemed discretion was not in the man's vocabulary— he was a prominent part of daily life, and more worrisome, he just so happened to be one of the guests invited to the very same party the Akiyama's were attending. **

"**Hm," Kakashi mutters. "You guys did good work. It appears we can do nothing more. Well, if it happens that we have to see him let's not do anything. We were only sent to observe him, not act."**

"**Yes sensei." Sakura mutters, and Sasuke just nods curtly.**

"**Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asks.**

**Genma and Kakashi look at each other. "He's—"**

**The door bursts open to reveal the glittering boy in question, hand tight and trembling on the doorknob. "Right. Here." He grits out. Pointing to Sasuke and Sakura as he stomps toward his bag, he growls, "Tell me everything after I take a shower."**

**Grabbing some clothes, he stomps into the bathroom, slamming it shut. "Was he . . . ?" Sakura trails off, pointing to the door.**

"**Yes." Sasuke answers, deactivating the Sharingan. "Yes he was. And I shall remember it **_**forever**_**."**

"Excellent, my young student." Kakashi chuckles evilly.

"**Very good my young student." Kakashi nods.**

**After Naruto had washed away most traces of the dreaded glitter— the exceptions being the odd patch on his arms or on his neck for example— then the team was informed they were to escort the Akiyamas to a smaller dinner party and scout from the outside.**

"**So, we'll all be in the trees— Naruto it would be nice if you could henge some clones so that we could be sure of the inside as well." Kakashi mentioned.**

**Naruto nodded. "Sure, I'll henge two clones into pins or something for the Akiyama's to carry inside with them."**

"**Excellent. Well, let's move out."**

**Walking down to the reception area, the shinobi met up with Ayako and Kaoru.**

"**Are you guys ready to go?" Kakashi asks.**

**Kaoru grunts. "Almost, we're waiting for Hashimoto."**

**The shinobi all show interested reactions. "Oh?" Genma murmurs. **

**Speak of the devil and he shall appear. "Akiyama-san, Akiyama-chan!" a rich, jaunty voice calls.**

**Hashimoto Daiki is an older man in his mid-fifties with hair that's beginning to gray at his temples and a gracefully lined face that almost seems pressed and ironed in its disciplined form. And yet, that same ironed face is creased into a genial smile that by all rights should promote good feelings. So why is it, Naruto wonders, that he feels distinctly uncomfortable under the man's sharp gaze? Judging by the small shudder Sakura gives, he knows he's not the only one. **

"Crime bosses tend not to give off good aura." Tsunade confesses, as if owning up to some big secret.

"**My, what lovely company you keep!" Hashimoto laughs. It appears he is speaking about Sakura since he looked at her.**

**. . . Right?**

Minato frowns. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Who would he be looking at?" Rin murmurs.

"**These are the shinobi brother hired to keep us safe." Ayako says, and though it is a lie not one of them who know the truth will call her on it. **

"**Ah, then I best keep on my toes." The man jokes with a congenial wink to, once again, Sakura. Or at least, the general direction of her and the other two boys.**

"What is he winking at her for?" Obito asks in disgust.

"If he's winking at any of those kids it is not good." Kushina corrects roughly.

**The restaurant was not very far from the hotel, on the water's edge of a lake that had floating boats full of candles slicing through its otherwise crystal clear surfaces. The pagoda-styled eatery was lit up and beautiful, fine ladies in dresses or kimonos, and men in suits or kimono themselves stepped in and dined with a happy atmosphere.**

**The same could not be said for all the shinobi in the trees.**

"**Man, wish we could have some of that food." Naruto sighs, tilting his head back to bask in the moonlight. **

"**And risk being near that Hashimoto creep? Ugh, no way." Sakura protests lowly over their radio com link.**

"**He was an uncomfortable guy wasn't he?" Genma chuckles.**

"**Yeah, i—" Naruto pauses, turning in the direction of the large window where their clients and guests sit.**

"**Naruto?" Sasuke asks.**

**Naruto scans the party, then the surrounding darkness outside of the warm glowing bubble they create. "Nothing . . . I felt like I was being watched. I can't sense anybody. Must just be my imagination."**

"Don't ignore your instincts son, they're usually pretty good." Minato shakes his head.

"**Hm, you sure? You're usually spot on." Kakashi mutters.**

"**Yeah, I'm not sensing anything." Naruto nods. **

"**Whatever you say!" Kakashi sighs.**

Tsunade raises an eyebrow. "And you're letting it go just like that?"

Kakashi frowns. "This is a book, it's more general point of view. In my point of view, perhaps some things haven't been caught in my notice."

**The dinner is over soon, and the shinobi meet the Akiyama's at the front of the restaurant to escort them back to the hotel. Hashimoto bids them all goodnight, but Sasuke is the only one to notice the way his eyes stay on Naruto and Sakura for a second too long. He frowns, but decides to address it with the blonde in question and Kakashi tomorrow.**

"By all accounts it seems it's Sakura he's keeping an eye on." Kakashi murmurs.

"And yet . . ." Kushina trails off, biting her lip.

**That night the team settles in for a restful sleep. The hour darkens and the shadows lengthen.**

_**Clack.**_

**Genma's eyes open halfway, a hand already moving to the bedside stand. **

"**Leave it, these are civilians." Kakashi murmurs. Genma's ears prick at the broken silence, and he turns over on his back as he blinks in response to his eyes adjusting to the dark.**

"**What the hell are they doing here?" Genma questions.**

"Stupid civilians." Tsunade mutters.

**The door opens. They'll find out soon enough, he supposes.**

**Light footsteps and soft, fluffy giggles. "Special delivery from Naru to his favorite jounin?" a low voice invites them. Genma raises an eyebrow at the husky tone of the voice. Well, as long as they screamed high, he didn't care.**

"Hookers?" Kushina sighs in disapproval.

"Hookers Naruto?" Kakashi sighs in a far lighter tone than Kushina. "Oh little brother, you shouldn't have!"

"**Well Kakashi, look at Naruto! A regular good sport." Genma cheers.**

"**Hm." Kakashi mutters. "Ladies I thank you for the offer but—"**

"**Oh little Naruto said you'd be difficult." Another voice, a little lighter than the first muses. "Don't you worry baby, we'll leave you a little something left for the morning."**

"Man this feels awkward to read." Jiraiya mutters.

"It's Naruto. This can't be genuine— this has to be a revenge trick." Rin insists.

"**Well if you insist." Genma murmurs with a wide grin, feeling a body's weight make his mattress dip, then feeling a body straddle his hips. His grin falters there, just a little, because something feels rather weird. **

"**Uh, ladies . . ." Kakashi seems to have found the same oddness in his own girl. "Naruto picked you up from where?"**

"**Does it matter?" A throaty whisper.**

"**I guess not. Does it matter to you if the lights are on? I feel a little better that way." Kakashi's smooth lie brings butterflies to Genma's stomach. If Kakashi felt a need for visual confirmation, then something was seriously afoot. **

**The light turns on.**

**Genma promptly screams at the same time Kakashi goes, "Aw fuck!"**

"What?! What is it?" Obito squeals.

"Damn, they won't tell us yet." Jiraiya grumbles.

**In the joining room Naruto awakes violently at the sound of the screams and banging noises coming from the other room.**

"**What . . . ? What's happening?" Sakura slurs.**

**Naruto furrows his brows, and then it clicks. He bursts into raucous guffaws that not even thrown pillows and irritated grumbles can alleviate. **

**He hears screams from the other room. "**_**Transvestites**_** Naruto?! **_**Seriously!**_**" Genma screams, and he falls helplessly to the floor in his amusement. **

"Ooh!" The group collectively wince.

"Vindictive little fucker!" Kakashi spits under his breath.

**The next morning the tension is palpable between Naruto and the two lead jounin, though the Uzumaki only smiles benignly in response. Kakashi seemed only seconds away from snapping Naruto's neck and Genma instead fisted his senbon as opposed to chewing on toothpicks as he usually did. **

"**Your death will be slow, painful, and not at all clean." Kakashi's silky murmur seems to wrap around Naruto with the distinct malicious intent to kill. Naruto just winks at the older man. **

**That tension was only heightened and transferred to Hashimoto Daiki when he made a surprise visit to the Akiyama's breakfast. He once again smiled at Sakura— this time Sasuke was not the only one to notice that the man wasn't looking specifically at Sakura, just in her direction. Genma noticed, and he frowned contemplatively before looking away— and the overall atmosphere was one of discomfort. You wouldn't know it from Hashimoto's careful smile however, though there was some speculation as to whether or not he knew how uncomfortable they were and it amused him. **

Kushina whines in discomfort. "There's a pattern here and I don't like it."

"What do you see?" Tsuande asks worriedly.

"Whenever he looks at Sakura, Naruto also happens to be near her." Kushina growls.

"Honey, it's fine. As long as the kids are near Kakashi or Genma, nothing will happen." Minato murmurs soothingly, rubbing warm hands up and down Kushina's arms.

**Later Ayako apologizes. "You must excuse us, but we cannot be as candid as we like with Hashimoto-san. He might be a potential business partner, despite my many vocal complaints about him to brother."**

**Kaoru merely sighs. "Despite his . . . mannerisms Hashimoto is a shrewd businessman."**

"**But the way he looks at the children!" Ayako frowns.**

"See? She notices." Kushina points out.

**Genma raises an eyebrow. "So you noticed as well?"**

**Ayako nods. "Hashimoto is known largely for his fascination with aesthetics. But, I've never heard of anything untoward happening involving him, so you don't have to worry. Just a bachelor with a playful streak."**

"**So long as he plays with himself, he can live another day." Naruto murmurs, smiling reassuringly at Sakura who laughs quietly. **

**Sasuke narrows his eyes, but says nothing. Then, that would account for that strange look the other day. Figuring that to be it, he casts his mind to other subjects like the mission, new jutsus that Naruto had introduced him to, and so on . . . **

**The day is spent with the jounin tailing their clients and the genin fishing for more information under Naruto's command. He too, is searching through in his own way.**

"**So . . ." Naruto murmurs, swirling his drink with one finger. "You from around here? You look far too young and pure to be a local."**

**The girl, a few years older than him, smirks in faux confidence though the blush and the wavering of her eyes suggests her inexperience with flirting. "I'm telling you— born and bred on the streets. But you're a **_**tourist**_**," she flicks eyes up and down his slim frame. "Pretty risky to be coming in this place kid."**

"That's all me." Jiraiya pats his own chest in pride, smirking.

"Excuse me? This wouldn't happen without _my_ looks." Minato smirks.

"Now I know who to beat up, dattebane!" Kushina growls.

"**You aren't that much older than me." Naruto smirks. "I'm here looking around for a friend."**

"**A friend?" the girl repeats, pushing back dirty blonde hair. **

"**He's looking to start up a little business, figures Shōdo is the best place to start. Wanted me to scope out any competition, potential threats . . ." Naruto trails off. He tips his head back and takes a long gulp of his drink. He can **_**feel**_** her eyes follow the path of his neck as he swallows. Licking his lower lip, he asks her, "Got a bite or two of info to share?"**

"That seduction book from Genma is coming in handy here." Obito comments with barely a discernible shake in his voice from repressed amusement.

"**What do I get out of it?" The girl pouts, flushing deeper.**

"**A free drink . . . for now. Now, I hear that I have to really look out for some Hashimoto character. But he's just an old man, right?" Naruto smiles.**

**She spills quite a bit to Naruto. How Hashimoto started making waves about a year and a half ago, squashing any small or upstart businesses quickly and ruthlessly. She detailed Hashimoto's lavish parties and the equally lavish eye candy he kept in stock for such occasions. The man was one for lush aesthetics and had a taste for the exotic everything— clothes, foods, women, whatever could look striking he wanted it. **

"Lavish and exotic . . . huh?" Rin murmurs, eyes narrowing. "Just women though?"

No one else hears her musings except for Obito, who casts a furtive glance at her.

**Naruto tells his team this much later that evening, and the jounin have thoughtful looks upon their faces.**

"**Lavish women huh? That falls in line with what we've heard. Hashimoto seems to be quite the pleasure seeker, in more ways than one." Genma recalls, reclining against the headboard of his bed.**

"**He also has quite the reputation for monopolizing the financial game. After ruining local competition, his interest in the Akiyama business does not seem unfounded or unplanned." Kakashi adds quietly. **

Tsunade snorts. "Another Gato?"

"**So what do we do? Should we alert the Akiyama's?" Sakura asks in concern.**

**Kakashi smiles, ruffling her hair and ignoring the venomous glare he gets in return. "No, they've pretty much made up their mind to say no. They've got sharp instincts, and so they won't ruin their fortune on a man like Hashimoto."**

"**Instead, we should be focusing on a plan of action for tomorrow night." Genma brings them back to the main point of the mission. "We'll be surrounding the perimeter— Kakashi and I already have the place mapped out so here are your areas." He stands up, reaching over to the dresser to snatch a rolled up map and then unfolds it, revealing a sketch of the party pavilion. **

"**Sasuke you'll be with Kakashi in the southern and eastern end, and Sakura you're with me in the north and west. Naruto, you've got the areas closest to the party pavilion, so you'll be our eagle eyes for the night." Genma rattles off.**

"Kakashi you should keep him with you." Kushina whispers.

"Kushina-san, I'm sure he'll be fine." Kakakshi murmurs, but he is beginning to feel the worried and tensed atmosphere in the room. He wonders if future him is making the right choice.

"**Sounds good to me." Naruto affirms. **

"**That good with the rest of you?" Kakashi asks, looking down at Sasuke and Sakura.**

"**Yes." They answer shortly, nodding their heads. **

"**Good. So, let's get some rest. All of us will be tagging the clients as they prepare for the party for the day, and then at night we take our places." Kakashi lays out the orders in clear terms. **

**The morning dawns bright and cheery . . . and so does Genma's face.**

"**NARUTO!" **

Kushina's lips twitch, but she can't take joy in her son's marvelous pranking streak when she feels something seriously off . . . women's intuition, and it had never failed her before. Most of the time.

**The shout is heard all up and down the hall, and the blonde in question just smiles in contentment as he opens the window and throws himself out of it at the exact same time his door is kicked open by the enraged jounin. Sakura and Sasuke snort, struggling to contain their amusement at the painted face of Genma. Sparkling gold eyeliner, emerald eye shadow and a light tint of red on his lips . . . really, the terrible thing was that Genma's makeup was fabulous. **

"I'd wonder where he learned that, but . . ." Minato snorts. "I can take a guess."

"I wonder why he learned that." Obito snorts.

Rin frowns. "What will you do if you can't use henge? He's got an advantage at hand-crafted disguise."

**Genma had no time to exact revenge as he had to focus all his energies on removing the makeup— though halfway through his good humor returned and he left the gold eyeliner on his bottom lid— and setting off with Kakashi to guard the Akiyama duo as they prepared for the party. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto just spent the day in their hotel room, playing card games or playing spitball with the unsuspecting passerby that passed by their windows. **

**Dinner is sent up to them, and they are so taken by the room service their eyes sparkle. "Who is it from?" Sasuke asks suspiciously.**

"**Akiyama." The server replies shortly. They take the answer at face value and let themselves enjoy it. **

"Hold on." Tsunade interrupts forcefully. "The way that was worded . . . take the answer at face value? It would be easy to bribe hotel workers, with enough money . . ."

"Well drugs take effect relatively quickly." Rin shrugs.

"With metabolism like that, I think not. Besides, new drugs are made all the time." Tsunade murmurs, face dark.

**A large banquet that comes up in several trays, and even Sakura indulges herself and eats two plates, while the boys help themselves to even healthier portions. **

**Around late afternoon, as sunset encroached, Kakashi returned. "Get ready everyone, in an hour we leave to guard the Akiyama's, alright?" he eye smiled, and without waiting for a confirmation he shunshined away. **

"I suppose the plates were cleared away before I got there." Kakashi murmurs, face carefully blank.

**Night cast itself upon the land quickly, the dark sky liquid and the stars that peppered it liberally like diamond dust thrown into the water. The moon hung heavy and sterling in the sky as the shinobi traversed patches of shadow and rooftops to guard the Akiyama's discreetly. The pavilion where the event was being held was several miles away from the hotel, further away from the seedier areas of Shōdo. When a cloud passed over the moon, they were no longer in city limits, but now at home in the trees. The guests walked along a lit path in the forest, the trees on either side encircled with strings of clear lights. Women and men in kimono walked with dignity and grace, giggles hushed to more demure forms and smiles carefully masked behind fans or controlled to proper levels.**

**Kakashi raises an eyebrow when he sees Kaoru look to the tree line, obviously searching for something. He leaps toward the man, standing with a hand in his pocket as he watches the group. Hashimoto Daiki has joined the two, and judging by the looks in his and his sister's faces, they dearly wished they hadn't.**

"Him, always him." Kakashi mumbles. "What is he so taken with their presence for?"

"**Kakashi," Kaoru murmurs. "Daiki-san wished to give these roses to your student, Sakura. Would you . . . ?" **

**Kakashi looks at the arrangement of a dozen scarlet blooms with a curious interest. "Well, I'm sure she'll appreciate this." He smiles at the man.**

**Hashimoto smiles back. "My company is also funding this party, and all the ladies here are receiving flowers— I'm sure you're student would also appreciate some, goodness knows we have enough!" he laughs.**

**Kakashi just smiles, opting not to speak. Looking around he can see the man speaks the truth, and there isn't anything wrong exactly with his student receiving flowers, but . . . his instincts are telling him to be wary. Of what exactly? He'd seen the women Hashimoto liked, Sakura was quite a few years from that standard if ever. **

"She's not . . . exotic enough." Rin murmurs, nose scrunching in her confusion. "So why . . . ?"

"**Well, I'll be off now." Kakashi excuses himself, and grabbing the bouquet carefully he departs with nary a sound. Returning to his group, he smirks at Sakura and hands her the roses. **

"**A party favor." Kakashi informs, watching with amusement as Sakura handles the flowers gingerly like an exploding tag liable to blow up in her face at any moment.**

"**Ugh— no thanks. Here!" she thrusts the flowers into Naruto's arms, blinking at the growl that erupts from the boy.**

"**There are thorns on this thing bitch!" Naruto growls, moving the bouquet into his hands while observing the faint red lines on his inner arms from the surprisingly sharp, large thorns. If he had worn his gloves this wouldn't have happened, he clucked his tongue.**

"Thorns on roses meant as party favors?" Jiraiya raises an eyebrow.

"Hashimoto had it on him. Did he make sure to give them the thorny roses? As a warning?" Minato wonders.

"**Sorry, I didn't notice!" Sakura winces.**

**Naruto, not satisfied with that light apology mutters, "You'd have noticed if it was the Uchiha you were giving them too." Glaring at Sakura, mouth open for a heated retort, they are sidelined by Kakashi who bonks them lightly on both their heads. **

"**There were thorns? Why would he give the guests roses that haven't had the thorns taken off?" Kakashi mutters.**

"**Does it matter?" Sasuke sighs. "Let's just get the mission done."**

**Kakashi sighs. "So impatient. Okay, Naruto you just go a little further over there, okay? Sasuke, let's go." He and the last Uchiha disappear into the inky darkness of the forest. **

"**Sakura, let's go." Genma whispers and the pink-haired girl nods sharply, eyes burning in determination. They jump away to their posts, turning on their radio com links. **

**Naruto snorts, moving to situate himself. He's not close enough where anyone could glimpse him, but where he could observe his clients perfectly. He settles himself back into the tree, letting the bark and the branches act as nature's couch. Glaring down at the roses, he contemplates throwing them down but they're such beautiful blooms he feels it would be a waste. So he just settles them against his sternum, between his arms as he takes watch. **

"That's nice of you Naru-chan, but you should probably get rid of them." Rin chuckles nervously.

_**Let's hope the siblings are not heavy partiers. **_**Kyuubi comments.**

**Naruto chuckles. **_**Man I hope not. Otherwise I'll have to do some party crashing— henge, of course. **_

_**No I don't imagine you could control yourself from not being in a party. You just aren't the type. **_**Kyuubi snorts. **_**So long as I see interesting things, I don't particularly care. Provided, of course, it's not life threatening.**_

_**Concerned?**_

_**For myself, brat, don't get cocky. You die, I die remember?**_

_**Oh all too well. **_**Naruto teases, stifling a snort at the Kyuubi's growl. He yawns lightly, and then frowns. He had gotten a good sleep, and hadn't done anything strenuous today. Could he be bored already?**

_**Why are you asking yourself that? **_**Kyuubi scoffs. Inwardly though, the demon fox frowns in contemplation. **

Rin narrows her eyes, and Obito catches notice of it. "Rin?" he whispers.

"Those thorns scratched him . . . deeply? It didn't say." She murmurs.

**Naruto smirks, and shakes his head to rid himself of any feeling of boredom or tiredness. But . . . if anything, that makes it worse. He frowns, a feeling almost like nausea beginning to build in his stomach.**

"Tsunade-sama." Rin calls sharply.

"Damn," Tsunade mutters, biting her thumb. "If that truly is . . ."

"What?" Kushina demands, but Tsunade waves her down to silence and gestures for the reading to continue.

_**What the hell . . . ? Did I eat something weird? **_**Naruto frowns, thinking about it. The food had smelled fresh, and it had tasted even better. He taps the radio com link.**

"**Sasuke, Sakura." He mutters quietly, waiting for a response.**

"**What dobe?" Sasuke grunts.**

"**Do you guys . . . feel weird or something?" Naruto asks, feeling a little stupid.**

"**What are you talking about? The only thing I feel is bored, and cramped from crouching in this stupid tree." Sakura's annoyed voice quells any suspicions in Naruto's mind, if only because he doesn't want to annoy the girl further. They'd hear about it all night long. **

**But he starts to feel worse, and absentmindedly he crushes the roses to him, only noticing when once again he's scratched by the thorns. He winces, snarling at the roses. **

_**Naruto, throw the roses down! **_**Kyuubi's harsh bark startles Naruto so much he nearly falls.**

"He felt bad after the roses scratched him." Kushina murmurs, the events starting to connect.

"He only realized after that, but I think this has been building." Tsunade corrects quietly.

"You don't mean to say . . . he's being drugged? Then, if Sakura hadn't of been careful she would have been drugged?" Kakashi asks.

"No," Rin speaks up, drawing their attention. "Hashimoto likes exotic looks, lush things . . . Naruto, by his very nature, is more appealing than Sakura in objective terms like that."

_**Wha— **_**he tries to make sense of the order, feeling strangely lethargic.**

_**Drop them! **_**Kyuubi snarls. Naruto does so in an instant, feeling confused and a whole host of other things. As he drops them though, he takes notice of the way his arms just dropped limply, not the usual smooth motions.**

**Oh, his head . . . he winces. What was this film of cotton that seemed to cover his senses? **

_**Naruto, call Kakashi. Call him, Naruto. **_**The Kyuubi's urgency is shared by him, panic starting to flare lightly as he realizes the shadows seem to be moving. His arms are sluggish, his bodies are slow to follow commands.**

"Please, call Kakashi. Just call him." Kushina murmurs.

_**I . . . I can't move very well . . . **_**even his thought process is starting to fog up, he thinks fuzzily. **_**Kyuubi . . . **_

_**Don't fall asleep, just call Kakashi. Call someone, anyone— out loud you idiot, just call! **_**Kyuubi snaps. Was Kyuubi's voice starting to fade?**

"**. . . nggh." Naruto can't speak. He drops to the forest floor, branches and twigs snapping as he falls heavily. His entire world goes black and cold, only Kyuubi's frustrated snarl echoing in his mind as the last cognizant thought. **

**He wakes up slowly, and even then he wonders if he woke up at all. He feels terrible, fuzzy and uncoordinated, and his limbs still won't respond to him!**

**But maybe that's because his wrists are bound and his arms are stretched above his head. **

**Ah, no . . . his arms still won't move. His body cannot move. His head lolls to the side and he sees his feet bound. His legs aren't responding either. Was he drugged . . . ? What the hell kind of drug could incapacitate him, with his super metabolism?**

_**It's not so much the type of drug, as the fact that you're pumped with enough of it to down two full grown elephants. **_**Kyuubi's grumblings are a welcome relief, and he relaxes. Well, not like he can do much else, his body wouldn't even tense up. **

"How would someone know to do that?" Tsunade asks suspiciously.

"They wouldn't." Kushina growls. "That bastard just put any old drug, and enough to probably kill a regular person. Even still, Naruto could be adversely affected long after the drug leaves!"

_**What happened? **_**He whimpers to the Kyuubi. His head was aching, and the inability to move or assess his situation was unnerving. **

_**I have absolutely no idea. My senses are connected to yours, once you shut down; I'm left without any information. However, I can guess that you were drugged . . . but the way you were drugged . . . and the fact that you're alive . . . kidnapping? I don't know. But it's very hard trying to work through these drugs, there's a lot and it's unfamiliar. Your antibodies are having a hard time making defenses against it. **_**This is the most Kyuubi's ever spoken, and Naruto wonders why he's chosen now to be so chatty.**

"We babble when we're nervous. It's always been a trait of my family, those I remember anyway." Kushina murmurs.

_**Ah . . . I see. **_**Naruto replies to the Kyuubi absently. **

**His eyes widen when the click of the doorknob turning catches his attention. Inwardly he curses his state. He should have been able to hear footsteps from down the hall! The door opens, only enough to let in the form of a man . . . and there is no light in the hallway so Naruto squints to recognize this person. Well, his vision is still a little off, but he can clearly see the form of Hashimoto Daiki, and the slippery smile that darkens the room once the man steps into moonlight. He glares at the man, wishing he had enough control of his body to snarl, or perhaps bite off the man's foot from the ankle.**

"**Ah, I see you are awake. Funny, my men assured me you'd be out for a lot longer. You must have a hardy constitution!" the man laughs gently, as if speaking with a favored grandson as he walks forward. He moves to stand in front of the window that allows light to pour in from the room, lighting up the entirety of Naruto's body. He gazes down at Naruto.**

Rin shivers, a cold feeling that seems to seep into her like water through her clothing. Please, she begged, don't let her be right.

**Naruto feels his insides squirm uncomfortably at the stare. Why did Hashimoto look at him with such a gaze? It was weird . . . like the man wanted to eat him or something. Why would Hashimoto kidnap him?**

They are starting to understand why— a reasoning that happens more quickly than with Naruto, both because of their outside perspective and their more jaded outlooks. The horror and disgust that starts to bloom in them grows rapidly.

"**I'm terribly sorry," Hashimoto stirs the silence with a soft voice, gazing down at Naruto with a tender look in his eye. "Usually I'm much more thorough with my ways, but as I heard you would only be here for three days I had to make haste."**

**Naruto's scrunched brows telegraph his confusion for all to see. Hashimoto kneels down by Naruto's hip, one hand reaching up to gently cup a whiskered cheek. "I noticed you right off, my young beauty." Hashimoto chuckles.**

"No," Kushina whispers, fists tight. She can feel the blunt half-moons of her nails digging so hard into her palm they cut into skin. "Please . . . _please_ no."

Minato uncurls one fist and nearly crushes it in his grip, face frozen and tense, eyes starting to glow in a promise of pain and vengeance.

**If Naruto's mouth were dry, it felt like the Suna desert now.**

_**Oh hell no.**_

"**As soon as I looked into those beautiful blue eyes of yours . . . so full of fire! I just had to take that fire and crush it under my heel, make it mine." Hashimoto cries. **

_**Oh HELL no. **_**Naruto deadpans, glaring even hotly when the man starts to rub the cupped cheek with a soft touch. Wasn't this old bastard interested in Sakura?!**

**Hashimoto seems in the mood to monologue, which would have been fine for Naruto if the man hadn't decided to be efficient and multitask. "I know . . . all the rumors that circulate around the town, nothing had mentioned my being attracted to males right?" he chuckles, the knuckle of his right index finger tracing the thin whisker marks on Naruto's face. "Well of course not, I'd never get much business that way! Besides, I'm not attracted to them exclusively. I'm a lover of beauty, no matter what barrier is cast in my way! Gender, social class, age . . ."**

**Naruto thought he might be sick. Hashimoto was now tracing his jawline, down to his neck . . . "I have to admit though, no one has intrigued me quite like you. You, with your blonde hair that shines like a crown— such bewitching blue eyes, they glow!" Hashimoto moves down, lovingly caressing Naruto's collarbone.**

Minato, if he could speak beyond the choking dryness and lump in his throat, would probably have hissed a few venomous things that would have scared the group. As it was, he could only snarl, and roughly pull Kushina to him, stilling her trembling form in his own constricting grip.

_Not my baby, not my son! _He thinks in agony. _Please, don't make us read this!_

"**I've been having you watched, and I knew that girl would mistake those roses as tokens of my affection. She'd just throw them at you, because you aren't the one she's interested in, she doesn't care about you." Hashimoto simpers. **

_**No— don't you dare blame her for this! **_**Naruto vainly wishes to rebel from the foreign touch, to rebel before the man can go further. But no matter how hard he tries, the best he can do is flop his head to the side and slur out some sort of incoherent mess or groan. **

_**Hush, Naruto, I just need to keep working . . . **_**Kyuubi's quiet words are filled with a powerful anger and intensity that simultaneously cows and bolsters Naruto. **_**There's just so much, I'm working as hard as I can.**_

"Hurry, please, please hurry." Kushina chokes out, gripping fistfuls of Minato's shirt with enough force to perhaps rip out chunks of the fabric.

"I'm so sorry," Kakashi mutters, face in his hands as he shakes his head slowly. "I'm so very sorry."

_**Please . . . Kyuubi I— **_**Naruto is taken from the Kyuubi's attention when he sees Hashimoto rise up to his feet, grabbing something on the dresser he's tied to. Coming back down to kneel on his knees the older man shuffles around to Naruto's legs. He spreads them and moves in between them, letting the boy's slim legs rest on his thighs. **

"Oh, Kami . . ." Tsunade whispers, head dropping into her hands, fingers tangling and tugging at pale blonde hair.

Kushina starts to rock back and forth, dislodging herself almost violently from Minato's grip. Her legs come up, face burying in her knees as she slaps her hands over her ears. "I can't hear this! I can't hear this!" she wails shrilly.

Minato cannot bear this, does not want to . . . but they must go through this, so that this can never happen. He pulls Kushina onto his lap, curled up as she is, and pulls her hands away from her ears to lace their fingers together and wrap around her. He hugs her tightly, so tight she gasps shallowly for breath.

"I don't want to either," he whispers, pained. "But we have to, and I'm so sorry."

**Inside his mind, the only place his voice isn't held back, there are growls and hisses, hurling vitriol at the man he desperately wishes could be heard. He's not sure who's louder, him or Kyuubi as they snarl at the situation.**

_**When is someone going to notice I'm missing?! **_**He thinks frantically. **_**Genma, Sakura, Sasuke . . . where is onii-san?**_

That almost breaks Kakashi, who hunches over as if having taken a blow to the midsection, and he groans in misery. "Please forgive me, I'm so _so_ sorry." He prays over and over.

Obito shakes his head, or maybe that's just his whole body shaking. "This . . . this can't happen. Somebody . . . someone has to save him. This just _can't_ happen!"

"Obito!" Jiraiya calls sharply, roughly. It's the first thing he's said since this started besides reading, but he was always the type to internalize his agony, carefully fold it into a compartment in his heart so as not to disturb anyone. But this is his godson they are talking about, and the fact that he's nowhere near enough to help is appalling.

**Hashimoto brings up the thing he's taken from the dresser— a knife. He reaches over with the knife and plucks at the zipper of Naruto's jacket. The jacket is unzipped and pushed aside to reveal the black cotton shirt underneath. Naruto eyes the knife warily, watching it descend towards him. Hashimoto traces the silver, icy edge down his neck, circling the hollow of his throat, and then catches the t-shirt. A hand pulls at the edge as the knife makes a laborious path down the shirt, cutting it raggedly in two.**

**Hashimoto breathes out a sigh, and Naruto is wildly alarmed at the ragged quality the man's breathing has taken. **

"**Beautiful." Hashimoto's breathy whisper is a litany and it sends a jolt of fear through Naruto.**

"My baby's scared . . ." Kushina moans as if in pain. Minato kisses her forehead, smoothing back bloody hair as he breathes in deep and holds it in, lest he screams.

Jiraiya's voice gets gruff, and it is clear to all that it pains him to read the words.

**His head turns to the side in protest as he feels smooth hands— greedy hands, hands that have never known labor and only taking— trace paths down his front. From chest to hip, and Hashimoto does take special care to trace his hipbones. **

"Get off him, get off him . . ." Rin chants in almost a monotone, if not for the intensity behind his words.

"**Bas . . ." Naruto groans, but still groggy he can't form the words on a tongue that feels covered in cotton. **

_**No, no, no, no . . . get off! Get OFF me! **_**Naruto snarls. **_**I don't want this . . . let me go—**_

_**Kit . . . **_**Kyuubi growls, and Naruto is alarmed at the off tone in his voice. Like he's withholding something. **_**Just focus on me, okay? **_

**Kyuubi speaks in quiet murmurs, each word carefully measured with intent to keep Naruto's mind preoccupied, even as he eyes the seal on his collar with hatred. If only . . . he scratches at the collar. If only . . . even if he could just rush more power through Naruto!**

_**Kyuubi . . . **_**Naruto's tone has changed from panic to a shaky vindictive anger. **

_**Yes, Naruto? **_**Kyuubi replies, huffing as he stalks the cave up and down with growing frustration, the drugs in the boy's system too much for what little he could do.**

_**Don't worry. Just keep working. Even if . . . no matter what he does to me, it'll be alright if I can move eventually. I'll rip out his throat, and when he's choking on his own blood but still clinging to life I'll ROAST him. **_**Naruto promises in a dark tone. The familiar feelings of anger and wrath fill Kyuubi.**

"He's dead, he is _so_ dead when we find him." Obito snaps.

_**Don't give up just yet. I'll keep working— **_**Kyuubi is abruptly startled as rocks start to shake from the cave. What?!**

**Naruto's heart races in fear— was this it? He didn't want this, he couldn't **_**take**_** this . . . Hashimoto's hands drift to his hips, gripping them firmly as he shuffles back.**

"Oh Kami no." Minato sobs, his self-control starting to fail as he grips a near hysterical Kushina closer, now rocking with her.

"**. . . Nn . . ." Naruto moans. "No . . ." **

"**Now . . . don't worry my pet," Hashimoto croons. "I'll make you happy, and you can be my little assassin. Your rewards shall be **_**most pleasurable**_**." The thumbs that rub at caramel skin set the blonde boy's nerves on edge like ice and electricity— **_**please, **_**he begs, eyes closing. **_**Please, someone . . . !**_

**Hashimoto smiles, reaching for the boy's pants. He was so close . . . **

**He jerks to a stop, eyes bulging at the sharp needle like pains that hit him. A trembling hand pats his back, where long needle like projections are imbedded. More come, and in his pain he is like a marionette with cut strings. **

"Oh Kami please let that be Genma!" Rin cries out, hands harshly shoving back hair from her face as she snaps up.

**Naruto's eyes pop open, a gasp escaping his parted lips as the weight of a body drops on him. In his panic his eyes rove around, and his gaze is locked on a very familiar mask.**

"**. . . H-ha . . ." His voice is a choked whisper, but he is rewarded with the turning of the mask, a slim hand rising up to take it off and revealing the beautiful face of his friend. Haku's face is a careful mask of concern, but if Naruto were more aware he'd see the wild seething in those dark eyes.**

Kushina freezes, taking in the words, and upon hearing Haku's name she falls against Minato, weeping in relief. Minato sighs shakily, tears that are now useless wobbling in his voice. He hugs Kushina to him, kissing her gently and wiping away tears.

"There now, our baby is fine . . ." he croons, still rocking her gently. "Naru-chan is saved now."

"Oh thank you Kami!" Obito and Kakashi sigh in relief, while Rin just sags against Obito with a hand to her heart, face pale but utterly relieved. Tsunade claps Jiraiya on the back, the latter grinning at the Slug Princess in liberation.

"**It's okay Naruto. I'm going to take you out of here." Haku murmurs, striding forward with a swift gait. Hashimoto is thrown away from him without a care, and Naruto is soon lifted up, embarrassingly enough in bridal style.**

Obito keeps his thought to himself, suppressing a snort. _After all that, you find being carried embarrassing? You're something else Naruto. _

"**Wh—"**

**Haku smiles at him. "Zabuza-sama and I just so happened to be in the neighborhood, and we saw your sensei rushing around like a chicken with his head cut off. Once Zabuza-sama heard you were involved, he quickly helped."**

**Naruto has enough energy to let the corners of his lips wobble in a semblance of a smile. "Thank . . . you, Ha—"**

"**Don't talk, conserve your energy. You'll need it to flush out those drugs." Haku walks away, leaving a gasping Hashimoto to grasp at thin air, begging in a weak, reedy voice for his precious possession back. Naruto shivers— more grateful than he could express that Haku had saved him.**

**Once they step out of the room, they are immediately joined by Kakashi and Genma, who stare at him with haunted expressions. **

**What hurts Kakashi most though, is the way Naruto's face lights up upon seeing them, and the way he tries to lean forward despite his drug-induced state of relaxation. "Nii . . . just in time . . . !"**

Kushina, left abruptly with emotional turmoil that built inside her so tremendously, has plenty to say about Kakashi's involvement and his timing, but the utterly heartbroken expression on the boy's face stops her. Really, she could never be that cruel, and Haku said Kakashi had been looking for him.

**(Kakashi would **_**never**_** be able to forgive himself for this entirely) He smiles and ruffles hair corn silk in the fading moonlight. "Go back to the hotel, Naruto . . . Zubuza and I just have to finish some things up." Kakashi gives Haku a meaningful glance, and the Hyouton user reclines his head.**

**Naruto was only aware of a fleeting pain, as Haku chopped the back of his neck and knocked him out.**

**He was suddenly in his mindscape, and he looked around frantically for the only one who could comfort him now. He sees Kyuubi, who had noticed his arrival and risen to sit on his haunches. Trembling with relief (and fear, and to his self-disgust **_**shame**_**) he sprints for the large demon fox and nearly throws himself at the bijuu. He slides down and hugs the fox around the middle, burying his face into a large hindquarter as he shakes. The brush of a tail against his shoulder prompts him to look up.**

**Kyuubi is staring down at him with a blank face but approval clear in his eyes. "You did not give up."**

Kushina smiles shakily, head dropping into the crook of Minato's neck as she sends fervent litanies of gratitude to the demon within.

**Naruto swallows, though it does nothing for his parched throat. "B-but I . . . I did, I—"**

**Kyuubi's tails brush against him comfortingly, never wrapping around him (but Naruto is so grateful for even this he feels tears burn at his eyes), as the fox murmurs, "You never did." **

**Naruto stares at Kyuubi, blinking rapidly, before he smiles tremulously and just sinks into the fox almost, body sagging with untold relief. Kyuubi lets him, never looking away from the human. **

**Naruto wakes up who knows how many hours later and notices right off the bat that he is in a bed, effectively surrounded in a circle by Haku, Sakura and Sasuke. Genma is off to the side sitting in chair. But the first thing he sees is the sight of Zabuza knocking a fist into Kakashi's masked jaw with such force the man stumbles back a few feet.**

**Kakashi growls, but does not retaliate. "Not here— outside." He snarls, and grabbing Zabuza's shirt— since when did he wear shirts? — the two vanish in a swirl of leaves. **

Minato thinks that whatever Zabuza— and most likely after reading the mission reports, Tsunade— will say to Kakashi negates the purpose of speaking to Kakashi now. Besides, the poor child still looks lost and heartbroken by the faith of his little brother.

**Naruto takes this time to alert the others to his return to the world of the waking, groaning pitifully when he feels his stomach flip-flop, or more accurately completely roll over and twist into knots. He suddenly feels himself shivering, and feels strangely sleepy, despite having just woken up.**

"**Naruto!" Sakura gasps, and immediately everyone shift in his direction. As Haku and Sakura, the only ones with medical training, fuss over him Naruto takes the time to observe Sasuke, who is nearly boring holes into him with his intense scrutiny.**

"**I . . . I think I'm going to—" Naruto whimpers, and then he nearly hurls himself off the bed, thankful for Genma's quick reaction in getting a wastebasket under him. A hand rubs soothing circles on his back as he empties his stomach, and perhaps throws up that as well.**

"**God I feel awful." He moans, slumping back onto the bed.**

"**That's to be expected," Genma sighs, standing up to walk over and crouch beside the bed. "Apparently you were pumped with enough drugs to kill anyone else."**

**Naruto snorted. "Yeah, I figured that out. How did you guys find me?" **

"**Kakashi's dogs managed to catch your scent." Genma explained. "As for the getting in the building part . . . well, Zabuza was a great help. However, neither I nor Kakashi saw him and thus it was the adrenaline. Officially."**

**Naruto opens his mouth to respond, but the door opens and in stomps Zabuza looking a little less deadly than before, a slightly ruffled but otherwise placid Kakashi sauntering in behind him.**

"He left you alive?" Obito gasps dramatically.

"**Hello there **_**Zaza**_**." Naruto teases with a smirk. He imagines it is only the fact that he looks like death warmed over and his voice has yet to recover that saves him from being chopped up like so much firewood. **

"**So, you just can't help but get in trouble. What happened to the kid with an ace up his sleeve for every occasion?" Zabuza snorted, leaning back on one leg and crossing his arms over his black grey t-shirt.**

"**This kid underestimated his own sex appeal." Naruto jokes weakly, chuckling.**

"Too soon you reckless brat." Tsunade huffs.

"**Too soon kid, that was no joke." Genma murmurs in gentle reproach, making Naruto sigh and droop. **

"**What were you and Haku doing here?" Naruto switches topics, realizing the truth in Genma's words when he sees the wound-up bodies of his old team.**

**Zabuza chuckles for a short moment, actually glancing away. As Naruto marvels at the deliberate showoff weakness from **_**Zabuza**_** of all people, the missing nin answers. "Well . . . I heard Hashimoto Daiki was looking for some temporary bodyguards for his foray into Tetsu no Kuni."**

"Anyone else getting déjà vu?" Rin jokes.

"Oh Zaza . . . just can't help yourself!" Obito sighs.

**Naruto's lips twitch, struggling to hide a smile. "Were you also aware he was an up-and-coming crime boss?"**

**Zabuza allows a small smirk to grace his features, even if it is not entirely visible from behind his bandages. "It didn't escape my notice."**

**Naruto laughs heartily, for about five seconds— then his body tries its hardest to cough out his internal organs and Haku and Sakura begin fussing over him again. **

**Naruto discovers that he had apparently been out for an entire day, waking at the end just as they were discussing who would take him back to Konoha. However, the Akiyama's plans deviate slightly and so they relieve the Konoha shinobis of their duty to escort them back to Fujiwara— a true blessing as the brother and sister had no idea what happened to Naruto. **

**Naruto was rather relieved to find out that Hashimoto had been disposed of (and he can guess who, glancing at the spot of blood on the edge of Kakashi's jacket, and the small spots of crusted blood underneath the man's fingernails). So, when he is told that a letter was sent back to Tsunade in order for her to be aware of the situation, he understand and excepts it but does not really understand the implications of this. Kakashi is then tasked with explaining just what it really means, and he feels somewhat guilty to see Naruto's expression of acceptance morph into horrified mortification in a split second.**

"You shouldn't be mortified," Kushina chastises softly. "You should be thankful, not embarrassed."

"It's different for boys than for girls." Tsunade shrugs. "And seeing as I'm family, that makes it even more embarrassing I bet."

**Tsunade knows exactly what happened, and she has ordered in her return letter that as soon as they return to the village Naruto is to be taken to the hospital for any damage. Of **_**any**_** kind.**

**And, despite Naruto's vehement insistence that Hashimoto had done nothing of **_**that**__**nature**_** to him, he must also grudgingly admit that there are a few hours gap in which he was unconscious and therefore cannot say with certainty that nothing happened. He still maintains however, that since his healing factor was messed up significantly by the drugs, he would know— "So this whole thing is completely **_**stupid**_** and **_**embarrassing**_** dattebayo!" **

"It may be embarrassing, but it's completely necessary." Rin corrects with a stern tone of voice.

**The trip home is extremely irritating for Naruto. No one will let him walk any further than five feet from the group, and he is constantly watched to make sure he's eating all his food and to ensure no nausea or illness has struck him. It might have been better had Haku and Zabuza come along, but they left long ago to find fortune somewhere else, and of course to avoid hunter-nins. While in any other case he would have railed against such overprotective measures, he also remembers the red eyes of Sakura with drying tears still clinging to her eyelashes and the cold look in Sasuke's eyes when he stumbled or had to draw a deep breath in his fever-like state from the night before. So, with a grimly set mouth and a forbearance that surprises even him, he allows them to treat him like an invalid, because he figures he deserves it for being caught off guard so pathetically. **

"The forbearance is appreciated, but you weren't caught off guard pathetically. You're thirteen, you haven't had near enough years to get paranoid enough to suspect everything." Jiraiya points out mildly.

"Right, but he certainly has learned a lesson now." Minato sighs, feeling strangely drained.

**The gates of Konoha loom ahead of them, dark silhouettes against the sky that bleeds into dusk. It fills Naruto with relief and something like dread because Shizune is standing right in front of the gates, and has her eyes trained on the path for them. So with a heavy sigh he allows himself to be escorted by the fretting woman to the hospital while the others head to the Hokage Tower to fill in the report and perhaps speak to Tsunade about the mission.**

**Except Tsunade is in the hospital, and is the one in charge of his examination. **

"I can't believe he expected anything else." Tsunade laughs.

**Seeing his ashen expression, Tsunade eases his worries. "I'm only doing a normal check-up, and some blood work. If I find anything out of the ordinary," she pauses, a brief prayer that she doesn't and never ever will running through her head. "Then another doctor, male, will be checking you."**

**It's not much of a compromise, Naruto thinks sullenly, but he is quiet and merely steps into Tsunade's reach for the hug they both reach out for. Tsunade squeezes him so hard he thinks a rib is about to shatter, and then releases him, all business now. She checks his heart rate, takes blood samples and sends them to the lab for inspection. As glowing green palms hover over him, examining his chakra network and other internal affairs, Naruto huffs but sits still.**

**When she steps back and frowns, Naruto takes it to be a thoughtful frown and not an 'oh-dear' frown. "Is everything in order then— **_**like I said**_**— Tsunade baa-chan?" Naruto asks knowingly.**

**Tsunade sighs, her sharp glare letting him know she would let the grandmother slide just this once (again). "Yes, Naruto . . . the drugs have nearly left your system. You'll be fine . . ." **_**Physically. **_**It's the word she left out, and it's a very meaningful word.**

**Naruto smiles. "I'm not the type to have panic attacks, Nade. My mental state is just fine— I was scared, but then I was saved, so now I'm fine."**

**Tsunade eyes him, but she knows that if he wanted to hide something, it'd take a Yamanaka and some serious incentive to get him to confide. "I'm taking your word for it Naruto." **_**Don't abuse my trust. **_

"**Great!" Naruto cheers with a smile. **_**I won't. **_

**Tsunade seems to remember something, because she starts and then looks at him a little sheepishly. **

**Naruto frowns, puzzled, but then his face drains of color. "Oh my Kami you told Jiraiya."**

"What's wrong with telling me?" Jiraiya frowns.

"You're the godfather, the second father!" Obito cries. "Of course it'd be embarrassing to tell you . . . it's like . . . I mean . . . it's you!"

"**I **_**had**_** to—"**

"**Oh my sweet lord." **

"**He **_**is**_** your godfather—"**

"**But you told him, and **_**exaggerated**_** I bet—"**

"**It's not like he'll be mad at **_**you**_**—"**

"**Kakashi is one of your best jounin, you can't **_**afford**_** to have him dead—"**

"Oh." Jiraiya realized, eyes widening. Seeing Kakashi's hurt expression he backtracks. "Well, it's the future! The _future!_ Older you is probably expecting it, anyway."

"**If he plays dead after fifteen minutes or so, Jiraiya will back off!" **

"**Tsunade. How could you." Naruto mumbles, shaking his head. Tsunade looks at him, then giggles and ruffles his hair. Naruto peeks up at her from under long bangs, and unwillingly a smile curls the right side of his lips. **

**At this point he's spent far too long in this hospital and Tsunade, quite accustomed to the instinctual dislike of hospitals all ninja have, just scoffs. "Go home brat, and get some good food in you. As I recall, Katsu—"**

**He's already gone. Tsunade sighs in exasperation. "He was just waiting for confirmation she was home wasn't he?" **

"Ooh, he's gotten fast." Minato mumbles.

**That's exactly what Naruto was waiting for. A quick shower later, he is burrowing into the downy soft sheets of the bed, and curling around Katsu quite like the boa constrictor Anko showed them once just to brag. Katsu, to her credit, simply accept this and takes special care to make sure her arms are wrapped around Naruto in a hug just as securely. **

"And that chapter, thank the kamis, is over." Jiraiya sighs, shutting the book and dropping it on the table.

"I need a drink, who's with me?" Tsunade rises up, looking over at them.

Every hand rises. _"I am!"_

* * *

**Well how about it folks? Reviews are quite interesting to read, you know. We've got two more fillers to go, then VotE! Woo! Woo!**

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad~3**


	28. Chapter 28

**And so we begin another chapter of Genesis of the Nindo! Ara! Congratulations to all those who weathered the storm, and made it hear. For those who are still floundering, swim back to shore and good luck on finding other fics. Seriously people. I get there would be some who wouldn't like the chapter, but when i have people sayin, "Oh you can't do that to Naruto! He's too good/ the main character/ a kid!"**

**Please. Are you serious. **

**For those who felt no such compunction or a heavy blow to your morals from this FICTIONAL story and have continued to read, congrats! Because shit's getting really fucking real and you will be here to witness it. Guys, i'm trying to prepare you for the blow that will be Shippuden. Remember watching Naruto? How you were all excited about the VotE battle and was like "Oh yeah! Shit just got real!"**

**And then you watched Shippuden and shit got REALLY real? Shippuden was like a bitch slap to the face with all the seriousness and feels. Well i don't want my version of Shippuden to be such a blow. So now i'm bringing in the darkness. Prepare yourselves. On that note.**

**A HINT FOR NEXT CHAPTER! If you wanna guess as to what will happen, go find Naruto's True Nindo and read chapter 46. Also, please prepare yourselve for the bullshit i'm going to wrap around it. Granted it will be researched bullshit, but bullshit nonetheless.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Eight_

_It's just like Chess, Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

The morning is early— they think, there weren't any clocks around to truly verify— but they did not feel fresh and new. The last chapter had severely drained them, and about half of them were coming to terms with the hangovers their comfort drinks had left them with. Truly, they wanted to go back to sleep, but a sense of duty prevented them. Though they figured that time here was different than back home, they were anxious to keep their reading pace and change the future quickly. As in _very soon_.

As in _someone pick up the damn book._

"I'm almost scared to." Kushina admits, slumping over to prop her head up with her hands, elbows on knees. Minato rubs her back comfortingly with an understanding expression.

Tsunade sighs explosively, head dropping back to the couch in her drowsiness. "I doubt I'll let Naruto do anything— at all— for at least a year. So I'm sure this chapter won't be so . . . explosive."

Kushina raises an eyebrow at the choice of description, but nods resolutely. Commanding herself to stop being a pansy ass little girl, she plucks up the book and opens it with a determined air to the new chapter.

**The days, weeks after that mission to Shōdo was strange. Naruto felt almost like he was stuck in limbo, or hiatus . . . and he felt stuck in the quagmire of irritating memories and reactions that happened all of their own accord whenever he was near adult males. Nothing had actually happened, so why did his traitorous mind and body sometimes acts up, pretending like something did?**

"Even a scare like that is enough to make you skittish. Nothing wrong with that." Rin murmurs, wishing Naruto could hear her.

**It didn't help that Tsunade refused to give him missions outside the village that could not be completed in a day, assuming she was feeling very lax. Mostly he had office nin duties, or guard duties. What's worse, once Jiraiya had arrived back to Konoha very soon after he himself returned, the man stuck around. Every day. Not that he minded Jiraiya's company, but he knew why Jiraiya stuck around and honestly it grated on his nerves and his pride.**

"How ungrateful." Jiraiya grumbles, but he can understand the boy's point.

**He would never forget the look on the man's face when he first spotted a white-faced Kakashi, who realized they were in an open field with no people to use as meat shields. He would never forget the hysteria that overtook his usually calm brother when Jiraiya chased after him with Rasengans blazing, and toads bellowing for blood. Not even a raikiri scare on Kakashi's part would shake Jiraiya off his tail. **

"Seriously?" Kakashi asked, glaring incredulously at Jiraiya.

"Well, some sort of punishment had to be exacted." Jiraiya shrugs.

"**You idiot! Get back here and face my wrath like a man!" Jiraiya shouted, darting after Kakashi as they trashed the training grounds. When Naruto finally caught up to them, Jiraiya was laying right hooks liberally on the poor silver-haired jounin. It took profuse begging and pleading on Naruto's part to get Jiraiya to lay off and not break Kakashi's jaw. **

**Of course, after that nearly every adult shinobi he knew personally found out. Well, except for Asuma-oji, and he planned to keep it that way. If Jiraiya was hell on wheels, Iruka had been the Shinigami himself, and even Anko had stepped aside to watch the normally mild-mannered chuunin extract his pound of flesh from the quaking, shivering Hatake. **

"Quaking?" Minato mouthed, looking at his grimacing student.

"Shivering?" Obito snorted.

"**If you ever," Iruka hissed furiously, hands fisted into Kakashi's vest front. "**_**Ever!**_** Let something like that happen to Naruto again, I won't kill you Kakashi. Oh no, death would be too good for you. I'll scalp you, but make sure you don't die. Then I'll pour salt over the fresh scalp, rub it in— after that I'll break both arms and legs, and mutilate your face so badly you'll have to wear a full mask. Then, and only then, will I hear your pleas for death and if I feel I've had enough, perhaps I'll listen to your request. Got it?"**

Kakashi whimpers as everyone around him mutters in obvious shock. "We got it."

**Everyone did.**

**Surprisingly enough, Katsu was the only one to not give Kakashi any sort of grief over what occurred.**

Kushina whistles. "Well color me surprised."

"That brat can have her good sides too." Kakashi mumbles, but the softness in his tone makes everyone grin.

**And she was very strict about anyone giving Kakashi grief in her presence, which was probably why his brother hung around so much, along with Sakura and Sasuke. At least, Naruto figured, the prolonged contact left Kakashi incapable of wallowing in guilt as he would always immediately snap the older man out of it. **

**So now here Naruto was, panting as he lay on his back in a clearing, the hot noon sun beating down upon him. Jiraiya loomed overhead, shaking his head as he looked down at his student.**

"**Get up Naruto, let's try that again." Jiraiya grunts, pointing at Naruto.**

**Naruto glares at the Sannin, but does as told. "You still haven't explained what this is all about."**

"**What? I thought you'd be happy to get some training done?" Jiraiya asks.**

"**This isn't training this is a free-for-all on your poor student," Naruto takes a deep breath. Getting heated never solved much of anything, and he figured Jiraiya might be in the mood to actually take him to task on an attitude today. "If I could understand the meaning behind your sudden vigor for training, I'd be happy to oblige to you to a near coma."**

"I see what you did there." Minato approves with a nod of acknowledgment.

**Jiraiya snorts. "Since you're beating yourself up mentally, I thought you might appreciate your physical state compensating, so at least your poor mind can rest easily."**

**Naruto stiffens, understanding several things clearly. "Beat me until I'm so tired I'll spill everything? How old school."**

"**Hey if the system works, don't knock it." Jiraiya shrugs. Sitting down suddenly, he pats the ground in front of him. "Come on kid, you can't depend on Katsu to keep letting you use her as a human teddy bear. Eventually, you have to talk about your feelings. I know, it's not manly, but sacrifices must be made sometimes for the greater good."**

"**Can too!" Naruto pouts, before sighing and moving forward. He sinks down gracefully, legs crossing in one smooth motion. **

"**So . . . come on, tell Ero-sennin everything." Jiraiya insists, one hand on his knee, the other cupping his face as he slumps over lazily.**

**Naruto snorts, a spark of delight flashing in his eye. If Ero-sennin was calling himself Ero-sennin, then perhaps he should be more accommodating too. **

**Naruto sighs, looking around at the clearing. "I'm just . . . frustrated with myself. Nothing happened; I was spooked and perhaps a little molested—"**

Kushina shivers. A little he says! Just a little?

"What a reckless child." Obito sighs.

"**A little?" Jiraiya mumbles skeptically.**

"—**But in the end I was saved by my friends!" Naruto ignores Jiraiya's interruption. "And yet, sometimes when I'm approached too quickly or caught off guard by a guy, I just tense up. Which is really stupid because these guys I know wouldn't touch me, if only because no one wants to touch the demon."**

"Because _that's_ so much better." Kakashi mutters sarcastically.

"**You know not too many shinobi think that way anymore." Jiraiya pointed out in mild reproach. Naruto waves away the chiding, looking impatient.**

"**That's not the point. I . . . I guess I'm just ashamed of myself." Naruto sighs.**

"**There's nothing to be ashamed of. Yes, it was a mistake to eat that food when you had no idea where it came from, and you should be less sympathetic to the romantic machinations of wierdos— but you've learned from your mistakes. Shinobi typically tend to trust only what they have made to eat, or something they know with good probability has not been tampered with. So, what? It's not like you could fight back, you were drugged." Jiraiya stresses the word, both a curse and an excuse.**

**Naruto shakes his head. "I felt weak. Couldn't I have done something? I just got caught and compromised so easily . . . all that training, and in the moment I needed it most I am just completely helpless. I hated it."**

"Well of course you hated it, but it was a combination of drugs and admittedly shoddy seal work that caught you flat-footed." Tsunade amends.

"Can't win them all— just be lucky you had such great friends to help you." Rin advises.

**Jiraiya sighs. "Well, unless you can become a medic-nin, then you might be able to purge yourself. As it stands however, I don't think you'll really have to worry about drugs or poison, as not many shinobi or even civilians are willing to risk overdoses and death just to keep you sleeping. Honestly, in all my years of spying and being an all-around badass shinobi, what happened to you is really a rarity." Well, the drugging at any rate.**

**Naruto is still thoughtful. "Fine, there's that then. But I just feel like, after this, I've been deemed a flight risk or something. Nade hasn't let me out of the village but twice since I've returned, and always well by Konoha."**

"Excuse me for fretting in a very justified manner." Tsunade scoffs, completely unapologetic.

"**She just worries about you." Jiraiya chuckles.**

**Naruto glares at him sternly, because this is not a laughing matter. "It makes me feel incompetent!"**

"**That's not the case and you know it." Jiraiya sighed. After a few moments of silence between them, Jiraiya got a certain expression on his face that had Naruto both curious and wary.**

"**What?" he asked in a resigned fashion, knowing he'd be forced along into the crazy plan of his sensei.**

"**Well, I just thought about what you said before. Being caught by surprise and all— you're just having a delayed reaction in recognizing friends from foe, and understandably so. What I propose is to teach you how to sense chakra signatures and judge friend from foe that way!" Jiraiya proclaimed.**

"A very useful skill." Minato adds, smiling at his sensei. "That's a good plan, sensei."

**Naruto tilted his head. "You mean like how I can sense onii-san?" **

"**Yes, and not quite. You sense Kakashi and him only, because you know the 'taste' of his chakra. Just like you can differentiate foods based on taste, you can tell Kakashi and other people who are close to you apart. However, I want you to go further, and feel the emotion in each chakra signature. If it fluctuates, if it's dark, if it's calm, etc. When you can tell friend from enemy by chakra signature to a satisfactory degree, then it will be way harder to sneak up on you." Jiraiya explains, grinning at his godson.**

"Of course, such a method is not foolproof," Tsunade speaks up, looking at Jiraiya with a strange expression. "And I hope you explain that to him."

"Sure, after I've restored his sense of security." Jiraiya retorts.

**Naruto takes this all in quietly, gaze moving from Jiraiya to a point just in front of his feet. He grins suddenly, and looks at Jiraiya with keen interest. "Sounds like fun Ero-sennin! When do we start?"**

**Jiraiya grins, and prompts Naruto to rise for their training. Then he promptly bashes Naruto back down.**

"**What the hell?!" Naruto wails, rubbing furiously at the bruised spot.**

"You didn't think to get off so easily did you?" Jiraiya laughs.

**Jiraiya harrumphs, glaring at the whimpering kid. "That was for being reckless. Honestly, eating room service! We're ninja, we don't **_**do**_** room service. And **_**don't **__**think**_** I don't know about you fooling around with Genma and Kakashi. You're a chuunin, damn well act like it or I'll make **_**sure**_** you're demoted."**

"**But Ero-sennin . . . !" Naruto protested, about ready to blow a gasket.**

"**But nothing." Jiraiya cuts him off, then puts his foot down when Naruto still looks offended. "Naruto."**

**Naruto closes his mouth, stewing for a moment before he droops, all tension ebbing away. "Okay. I'm sorry; my actions were not befitting a Konoha Shinobi. I'm sorry I made you worry, Jiraiya-sensei."**

Minato turns to Kakashi. "See that? That's how you properly scold Naruto; you just let him get away with too much."

Kakashi snorts, "Oh sure. Jiraiya is _so_ stern with him; he'd _never_ be run around by Naruto." The he coughs, something suspiciously like 'guitar' and 'jutsu' coming out at the same time.

**Jiraiya stares at him for a few minutes, face blank and neutral. When Naruto widens his eyes pathetically, Jiraiya snorts, letting a smile break the mask. "Alright brat, now let's get to work. Just for being so mature, I'll regale you with tales from the royal court of Fire!" **

**It is a few weeks after, when Naruto stands in front of Tsunade, whose brow furrows over her his request for a mission.**

**She sighs, reluctant to let him go far, but all too aware that what she was doing was essentially showing favoritism. Something no Kage should ever do, regardless of the relationship. "It's just that most of the missions are in different lands and take up quite a bit of time, I have no one to partner you with."**

"**Nade, you have to let me back out there sometime." Naruto speaks quietly. **

"Not anytime soon." Kushina whispers defiantly, fully approving of Tsunade's tactics. Whoever wanted to whine and cry favoritism, Tsunade should really give them something to whine about.

**Tsunade looks at him, eyes steady and intense. "There is one mission . . . to deal with a group of bandits. You're mission is to run them out of here. They're about twenty miles southwest of Konoha, a rather large group of about ten bandits. It's a simple A-rank . . . can you handle this yourself?"**

**Naruto resists the urge to snort, and the much larger urge to celebrate. "Of course, Hokage-sama." He murmurs with restraint and dignity, bowing. **

**Tsunade looks at him sharply, and then nods currently. "Then I want this done by lunch tomorrow. Dismissed!"**

**Naruto turns and walks out carefully, closing the door to the Hokage's office behind him quietly. He looks around; making sure no one is in the hall to see him. When he's sure the coast is clear, he smiles wide enough to split his face in two and jumps up and down.**

"**Yes, yes, yes!" he hisses, punching the air in victory. With a jaunty step and a merry whistle, Naruto heads straight out to do his mission. **

"My, he's very excited to get this mission." Rin chuckles.

"I can understand that!" Obito laughs. "It's like house arrest, only you're kind enough to make it village-wide."

**Naruto jogs over to Iruka's apartment, where he'd been staying for the past week. **

"What's wrong with the house?" Kushina asks, frowning.

**Grabbing his gear, he hightails it over to the teahouse Katsu works in, letting her know he'd be gone for a mission.**

"**Oh, so they finally let you out huh?" Katsu teases, pushing back a flyaway strand of hair as she navigates the heavy traffic of the early dinner hour. "Well great! Just in time, since the paint is now completely dry in the house, and I'm anticipating the arrival of our new furniture soon."**

**Naruto chuckles sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry again I . . ."**

**Katsu throws him a disbelieving look a bark of laughter escaping her. "Trust me; no one could have anticipated just what all that paint would do to you. I don't think I've ever seen Shikamaru laugh that hard."**

Kakashi and Kushina realize at the exact same time. "Oh!" they realize softly, then look at each other with soft snorts of amusement.

"Want to share with the rest of the class?" Obito asks, crossing his arms.

"Well, with heightened senses, anything with fumes as intense as paint, especially if they painted the whole house, can really mess with your sense of smell. For me, I just get really woozy and a little lightheaded." Kakashi explains.

"A faint high sensation for me." Kushina adds.

"**. . . I couldn't help it! I was high, what do you want from me?" Naruto grumbles.**

**Giggling at the memory of a glazed over, high as a kite Naruto who was trying gamely to flirt with a tree, Katsu couldn't help but smile. Who would have thought paint fumes were Naruto's weakness? So much for a superior nose! "Right, well, come home safely okay?" she presses, suddenly looking anxious.**

"That's a whole other level of high." Minato snorts.

**Naruto smiles warmly, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. "Of course I will!" he promises, and with a short wave, he leaps off, traversing rooftops to get to Konoha's Gate. **

**Waving at the guards on duty, Naruto runs through the gates, and immediately flies into the trees. **

_**Ah, the smell of bark and freshly turned earth, **_**Kyuubi sighs. **_**About time.**_

_**Right? **_**Naruto agrees, eyes nearly glowing with the feel of the forest around him. Southwest, eh? It takes Naruto only three hours to arrive at the camp of the bandits. Crouching high in the branches of a tree, Naruto feeds the tiniest amount of chakra to his eyes, memorizing the details of the camp. **

**Sighing, he flies through familiar hand seals, and whispers, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."**

**From a tiny cloud of smoke, pops out the tiny forms of Geroro and his brother Gamaro. "Been a while, Naruto-san! Eh?" Geroro greets jovially, a small webbed hand waving wildly.**

"**Eh? So this is that Naruto." Gamaro mutters, craning his wide head back to look at the brightly colored human.**

**Naruto smiles. "Ah, so Geroro is taking his brother on a mission? What a good aniki."**

"**What do you need Naruto-san?" Geroro asks.**

"**Over there is a bandit camp— I'd like you and Gamaro to scope it out, check for any hostages and such. Also, if you could confirm that there are only ten bandits, I'd be much obliged." Naruto lists off quietly, looking at them. **

"Toads can be stealthy?" Rin asks, skeptical.

"I never summoned the toads when we did missions?" Minato asks, looking confused.

"Yeah, but not for recon." Rin points out.

"Well, suffice it to say that toads are actually rather good at stealth." Jiraiya leaves it at that with a smile.

**Gamara salutes him in a comically over exaggerated fashion, squeaking, "Yes sir!"**

**Naruto nods, grinning. "Good! One more thing, place this—" he hands them one if his daggers— "in a safe place, make sure it won't be found. Now, off you go!" **

**The two mint green toads hop away, down the tree and heading for the camp. Naruto sends out three shadow clones to take watch at the same distance he was from the camp, around the perimeter. Just in case.**

"Excellent, always set up extra measures." Kakashi and Minato say at the exact same time. As the others laugh at their twin moment, they share an amused glance.

**A few minutes later, the toads are back with their reports. "Naruto-san!" Geroro pipes up. "There are, as you said before, ten bandits but they are all rather large and seem to have some experience. Some are even training as they wait, so it won't be the regular thugs. Also, there is one hostage— a kid— maybe a couple years older than you in the central tent. It's large and crimson, belongs to the head bandit."**

**Naruto nods thoughtfully, chewing over the information. "Excellent work Geroro, Gamaro. You guys can go back home now, and tell Gamakichi and his brother I said hello."**

**Smiling happily at a job well done, Gamaro and Geroro leave in a puff of smoke. Naruto thinks about his next course of action. He glances up into the canopy, spying darkening sky through the tree boughs. He bites his lip.**

**Well, attacking now while they're training is definitely stupid. Due to the presence of the hostage, he would have to be Naruto's first priority. It might be better to wait until night, when they'd be sleeping and he'd only have to worry about a couple of guards. He was second to only jounin in stealth, this he was sure of . . . hell, he'd **_**better**_** be with all those pranks!**

**With this plan in mind, Naruto settles into the tree, and waits the few extra hours for the natural cloak of night. His clones pop one by one, ad he assimilates the information given— the bandits were all, as Geroro said, quite large and had a glint of hunger and steely resolve in their eyes. These were the most troublesome types of opponents— those with actual goals and a deep rooted resolve, as opposed to the usual treasure hunters out for glory and a good time. He'd have to be extra careful, but he'd known this to be an A-rank walking into this right?**

**The darkness steals over the land, and the only illumination is provided by the campfire the bandits set up. Naruto listens in carefully, hearing their laughter and jeers, the stories of previous conquests and future marks. Naruto waits, if a little impatiently, chewing reluctantly on his own ration bar. Alas, if only he'd stopped by Ichiraku's before coming here!**

**The fire is eventually put out, and three men separate from the group to guard the camp as the others settle into their tents. **

**Naruto takes in a deep breath. Showtime.**

**With nary a whisper, two clones pop up beside him. As silently as they arrive, they leave to melt into the shadows. They would be watchmen, and when the time came, extras to help drive out the bandits. Naruto pulls up his hood, covering his bright locks as he creeps forward, subconscious mindful of the twigs and rocks that could upset the mission. **

Minato sighs, a hand raking through his own golden mop. "Yes, that certainly is important. Blonde isn't easy to hide, even at night."

"Red is even worse, let me tell you. I understand your pain." Kushina sympathizes, patting Minato's back.

"Hey, you think you two have it bad? Try hiding silver hair, or worse—" Kakashi points to a solemnly nodding Jiraiya. "_White_. We've got starlight on our heads, man."

**When he creeps up to the tree line, he whispers, "Kawarimi no jutsu."**

**The barest puff of disturbed air. Naruto is in the training camp, crouched behind a pile of the bandits' spoils. Naruto smiles, mentally praising the small Geroro and Gamaro. He sheathes the dagger in his seal, looking around swiftly before rising up to see over the pile he's hidden behind. **

"Clap for ingenuity," Obito invites with a sophisticated air, he and Rin clapping politely. The others follow their lead for a few seconds, before laughing and returning to the book.

**He cocks his head to the side, hearing the deep breaths of the sleeping bandits, the scuffs and grunts of the pacing guards. Now, where was the central tent again . . . ? He runs through his memories, and those of the clones as he gains his bearings.**

**Naruto shrugs, and slips around the pile as he makes his way through the camp. He makes no sound, and to anyone else's eye he might just be the inkiest shadow in the night. Which was just dandy for the blonde in question.**

"**Around here . . . past the pile of whatever-it-is . . . and hello, big red tent." Naruto mutters. He steps back and thinks for a moment. Just how would he go about this? Gah, he should have paid more attention when Kakashi was telling him about his first time clearing out bandits— but Jiraiya's story involved a hooker, a suiton jutsu and a teapot had been **_**way**_** more interesting! **

"Oh sure, when you put it like that then anyone would be interested." Kakashi mutters scathingly. Looking at Jiraiya he growls, "Stop trying to take him from me!"

"I'm his godfather!" Jiraiya protests. "I'm not taking anything. Stop being jealous brat."

**Naruto frowned, but then he smiled in realization and delight.**

**He performs the hand seals taught to him a mere month ago by Genma. "Doton: underground Fish Projection." He murmurs, and then he is sinking into the ground. It's a rather strange sensation to travel underground, your chakra moving you. It's also rather uncomfortable, though that might be the fact that Doton is not his affinity, primary or secondary. Nevertheless, he stomachs the momentary discomfort and slowly rises up inside the tent.**

"Very good sochi!" Kushina grins, clapping her hands delightedly.

**Right in front of the Head Bandit.**

_**Oops. Close call . . . **_**Naruto realizes, and so as he rises up he shifts back a few inches. The head of this whole operation is a huge man, with one arm the size of both of Naruto's legs. Naruto shifts back a little more, keeping a wary eye on the bandit. Eventually he looks around the tent, seeing the man's bags and weapons discarded to the side. And, looking straight at him with calculating eyes, the hostage.**

**Naruto and the boy stare at each other, neither blinking for a while as they observe the other. Like Geroro said, this boy was a couple years older than him, appearing to be fifteen. But the thing that stood out was just how **_**polished**_** the boy looked. Fair skin without blemish or scar, silky black hair that Naruto could smell honeysuckle from, and those keen amethyst eyes that seemed to judge your worth with merely a glance.**

"Royalty of some kind? Perhaps he strayed away from his guards." Minato suggests quietly.

**Naruto then takes a second look at those eyes, and has to work hard to keep any element of shock or surprise off his facial features, and out of his eyes. Those weren't two amethyst eyes . . . one was amethyst and another was a blue so deep it looked purple. And he knew of only one person with eyes like that . . . **_**Could it really be . . . ?**_

"Does he know him personally?" Rin wonders.

Kakashi shakes his head. "If that were the case, the boy would have reacted. No, this is a case of profiling, not exactly knowing."

**Naruto grins, hand reaching for his hitai-ate to display the symbol of Konoha. The boy nods, still assessing Naruto. Naruto shuffles forward and cuts the bindings on the boy's wrists and ankles with smooth motions, no sounds coming from either of them. Naruto gently grabs the boy's right wrist and gives a small squeeze, and he stares into the boy's eyes asking for some trust. The boy just smirks wryly and waves his other hand in a careless manner. With a grin, Naruto repeats the jutsu that got him in here, keeping a firm grip on the hostage. Once out of the tent, it is easy for Naruto to make his way back to his lookout tree.**

"**I wasn't expecting a rescue so soon." The boy speaks once Naruto has finished checking around. The smooth, slightly husky voice is faintly amused and casual. Naruto looks at him with a grin.**

"He wasn't expecting someone to know he was gone so soon, it might be." Minato mentions critically. Kushina shakes her head at her lover's lightning quick mind, picking up things with one or two clues it'd take most others a few more clues to get.

"Sensei, quit it! One of these days you might just spoil a chapter." Rin reprimands, quelling her giggles at Minato's wide-eyed angel pout as best as she could.

"**This isn't a sanctioned rescue. I had no idea who the hostage was, still have no idea frankly. Though, you do seem familiar." Naruto admits breezily. "Enough of that now, I've got a job to do. Would you mind waiting here please?" **

"**Take your time." The boy nods, reclining against the tree with a sigh. Naruto creates a kage bushin, the boy looking on with interest as the clone takes guard a few feet from him.**

**Smiling at the boy, Naruto goes back out to the tree line. Seemingly without a care, Naruto lobs an explosive tag straight into the heart of the camp.**

_**KABOOM!**_

"Now, now what if those bandits had some shinobi skills?" Jiraiya huffed. "It might not have been information added in the briefing, and most of the times theres' holes in your information anyway."

"Something that will come with more experience, he's only been a chuunin for a scant few months really. At most four or five." Tsunade reflects.

**Immediately the screams and shouts of confused and angered men fill the air, along with the rustling and clanking that accompanies suddenly trying to mobilize while rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. As one, three more tags are hurled from the kage bushin around the area, this time on the edges of the camp. They go off with an explosive bang, and this time with an extra. Naruto had created these to not only explode, but to flash for a brief period, blinding any opponents he used it against. So now, the bandits were half-blinded, singed, and all around in terrible shape.**

"Well that's as good a neutralizer as any. If even they could use jutsu or something, they're pretty scattered and dazed right about now." Rin observes.

**Over the din, a single roar sounds. "Who dares to take us on?!" It was the head bandit who roared this, spinning around futilely as he tried to manhandle his men back into some semblance of order.**

**Naruto gives him a hint: Three men are struck by kunai, though not killing them it would indeed slow them down with the pain of the hits. **

"**Ninjas!" one bandit cries frantically. "Let's get out of here!"**

"**No!" the leader snarls, bashing the man who said this with the pommel of his sword. "We stand and—"**

"**Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" The shout comes from one voice, but in three different directions. Immediately the air overhead is suddenly airspace for flames, three fireballs that clash and form a spectacular mushroom cloud of flame that frightens the bandits. With screams of terror, the men forget whatever it is their leader is trying to say, and rush off. Eventually, only the leader is left standing in the camp, badly burnt from the flames that caught at his large frame. **

"**You bastard!" he howls. "Come out and face me like a man! I'll cut you down you—" His threat is left hanging as Naruto delivers a punishing chakra-enhanced chop to the back of his neck, his impressive speed allowing him to get the drop on the man.**

"**Now then, what to do with him?" Naruto mutters, nudging the limp form with his foot.**

"**Well he is wanted in Hi no Kuni." Naruto turns as he sees the boy he saved walk up, arms crossed loosely as he too stares at the man. "I suppose it'll be chump change compared to nabbing a missing-nin but . . ."**

"**You're giving out information quite readily friend." Naruto chuckles, figuring that if he could indeed get some reward money for this then he had better take the man back to Konoha. Binding the man with ninja wire, and placing a sleeping tag on his forehead, Naruto summons a toad large enough to carry the man.**

"**Gamamaru!" Naruto greets. "Would you mind carrying this guy as I travel back to Konoha?"**

**Gamamaru nodded in reply, grabbing the man and slinging him across his back, applying chakra to keep the man sticking there. Naruto, knowing that Gamamaru was just a stoic type, nodded happily and then turned to his hostage.**

"**You're showing some interesting tricks friend." The boy noted with a spark of curiosity in his mismatched eyes.**

**Naruto smirks. "What's the harm in showing a civilian a few tricks?"**

**The boy's smirk seems to sharpen, and something passes over his eyes. "I admit, there seems to be nothing wrong with that."**

"Playing a game with a boy he's barely met?" Kushina clucked her tongue.

"They must have clicked automatically." Rin giggles. "It's good to have friends like that."

"Who says they're going to be friends?" Tsunade frowns. "To take everyone you see as a friend is naïve. However, having contacts is essential, and this could prove to be beneficial of the boy is related to a high-ranking officer or even the immediate Royal Family."

"**So it would seem. Now, I'm going to hightail it back to Konoha. Would you be opposed to me carrying you?" Naruto asks, only to be polite. No way was he going to slow down for some prideful brat.**

**Said prideful brat seem to realize his train of thought, since the smirk widened. "Not at all. I hope it won't be too much trouble."**

"**Not at all." Naruto answers with a shake if his head. He walks forward and turns around, only tensing (**_**only slightly**_**) up when the boy's hands brush his stomach as they wrap around him. **

_**Take it easy . . . **_**Kyuubi cautions, but it is not a dire caution. Kyuubi knows his limits. **

"Good to have him looking out for you." Kushina whispers.

_**I know. **_**Naruto replies.**

**Once the boy— Naruto shakes his head. "Forgive me, my manners were absent until just now. What shall I call you?"**

"Call him? But he might not give you his name?" Obito asks, confused.

Jiraiya smirks. "Exactly."

"**You could call me Ryuu." The boy offers with a soft chuckle. Naruto nods and, adjusting his grip to make sure, Naruto sets off into the tree tops with Gamamaru hopping below him. It was three hours to get there, and so it took three hours to get back, and Naruto was glad to be done with the mission in time to return home. The skeleton crew was, for once, alert and rather perky so they're way was paved. The only snag was Ryuu himself and the bandit on his toad's back.**

"**Uzumaki-san, who is this?" The guard asked. None of them noticed the flicker that passed through Ryuu's eyes when he heard the surname. **

"Ryuu knows Naruto too." Minato murmurs.

"**Ah! Well, he's the hostage I saved. I'd appreciate it if you guys could let him in, and I'll speak with the Hokage about his stay here in the morning until we can arrange something for him to go home." Naruto answered simply.**

"**And . . . him?" The other guard poked the sleeping form of the bandit with a pen.**

"**Extra income, I'm hoping." Naruto replied promptly. **

**The guards nodded. "Ah, I see. Then we'll just . . ." with a wave of the first guard's hand, an ANBU appeared and took the body from the toad, nodding curtly to Naruto and then vanishing just as abruptly as he came. **

**Now what to do about Ryuu? The guards looked at each other, deliberating. Security had tightened rather strictly since the Suna and Oto invasion, but Naruto was hoping his clout could let it pass just this once.**

"**I'll be keeping an eye on him. As of now, from the moment he steps into the village he is my responsibility." Naruto vowed.**

**The guards deliberated for a moment longer. "Alright Uzumaki-san, just be sure to let the Hokage know in the morning since she's retired for the night. Good evening then."**

"**Good evening." Naruto replied with a smile, and then led Ryuu into Konoha.**

"**You'll be staying with me tonight. And, if you wish, for the rest of your stay here in Konoha." Naruto informed Ryuu, looking up at the taller boy to gauge his reaction.**

**Ryuu looks down at him, an eyebrow raised. "That's generous of you." **

**Naruto smirks. "You think so? I wonder how you'll enjoy staying at my home."**

"**I'm sure it will be a pleasant stay indeed." Ryuu insisted diplomatically.**

**Naruto just smirked and led the boy to his house. The lights were, predictably, off and the house silent. Naruto guided Ryuu to the second floor, opening the door of the guest bedroom. "This is the guest bedroom, and in the morning you can take a bath. This used to be my room, so there should be some new clothes in the back drawers that I never bothered with. You can change into them." Naruto pointed out the things he spoke of.**

**Ryuu nodded, stepping into the room. He turned to Naruto, and showed his first sign of vulnerability— a look of gratitude. "I appreciate this Uzumaki-san." **

**Naruto smirked; knowing full well that show of "vulnerability" was just that. A show. "Pleasant dreams, Ryuu-san." **

**When the door closes, Naruto moves to his room. Opening the door, he sees the lump in the right side of the bed that is his best friend, nestled amongst the sheets and sleeping peacefully. A sigh releases the tension in his body, and with quick movements he changes into pajamas, deciding to also take a bath in the morning. He slips into bed, sighing blissfully as the cloud-soft sheets soothe him, the relatively cool air a joy in the warm spring of Konoha. **

**With a grin, quick hands dart forward and fingers press softly into the belly of the sleeping girl next to him. She jerks awake with a squeak, blinking rapidly then glaring at him. "Damn it you—" A palm silences her, and she glares gold fire at Naruto.**

**The blonde in question merely grins. "I just wanted to let you know that there's a guest in the house, and should he make the slightest threatening motion you are to maim him, and then leave his fate to me."**

**Katsu rolls her eyes at the dramatics, but assents with a nod, licking Naruto's palm. The palm is quickly retracted and the boy gives her a dirty look, which she returns unrepentantly. "Ok, so I'll be careful. Now **_**goodnight**_**." She stresses the word, almost makes it a growl.**

**Sunlight, bright and warm hits Naruto's eyes directly in the morning. Blinking rapidly, he turns away from the window and rubs his eyes, a small groan escaping him. Sighing, he looks at the clock on his nightstand. Brow furrowing at the late morning hour, he rises up and starts to get ready for his day. A quick shower and a chance to brush his teeth has Naruto feeling like a remarkable human being, and his appetite makes itself known with a sleepy growl once his nose catches a whiff of the strawberry pancakes— **_**ah, sweet, juicy strawberries**_**, he rejoices— Katsu is cooking up in the kitchen.**

**Jogging down the steps, he bounces into the kitchen with a smile. "Morning everyone!" **

"**Morning!" Katsu chirps back, sliding scrambled eggs onto a plate heaped with a stack of pancakes and French toast. Grinning, she hands him the plate and he nearly cries from the delicious smell.**

"**Oh sweet food . . . !" Naruto sings, turning to sit at the kitchen table.**

"**A better morning now, Uzumaki-san?" Ryuu chuckles, also enjoying his own plate. "I can't say I blame you. This food is scrumptious." He sends a wink to Katsu, who just grins— **_**don't think I don't see that blush hime!**_

"Would you look at this?" Obito complains, shaking his head. "He takes this kid into his home— his kingdom. And the ungrateful brat is flirting with his girl! Kids these days, honestly!"

"**Oh?" Naruto feigns amazement, smiling wickedly. "You were so cautious last night; don't think a little girl could poison you Ryuu-**_**sama**_**?" he only uses the fake name as a way to show Ryuu could keep a little faith in him, and by the slight curl at the corner of the older boy's lips, he knew it too. **

**Ryuu blinks in surprise, but then laughs. "So I was right all along. You know who I am, Uzumaki Naruto— I must say, I'm surprised."**

"**What's to be surprised about? Is it so strange to know about royalty? If anyone's surprised, it should be me. How do you know a mere soldier like me?" Naruto countered, spearing a piece of pancake on his fork. He shuffles over to give Katsu room when she sits down to eat, automatically making some clones for clean-up. **

"Aww, good boy." Tsunade and Kushina coo, smiling proudly.

**Ryuu grins— Naruto notices that he hasn't once seen a true smile from this boy, only secrets and careful mannerisms. He approves. "Your reputation precedes you."**

"**Only to those who know of it." Naruto corrects. "Koyuki just couldn't help herself huh?"**

"**Koyuki . . . so you are on first-name terms with the Daimyou of Yuki no Kuni?" Ryuu asks, chewing on a piece of fruit. He doesn't ask how Naruto knew he had even met the actress-turned ruler, because that was all part of the young blonde's mystique he was sure. **

"Somehow, I feel like they get along really well." Kushina thinks aloud.

"**Of course, we are friends after all." Naruto laughs.**

**A strange expression comes upon Ryuu's face then. "Friends? Well, from what I remember it's not so unbelievable." He murmurs. **

**Katsu and Naruto exchange looks, wondering what the look on Ryuu's face was before. "Anyway, Ryuu-san, will you be informing the Hokage of your identity? Or would you prefer a more anonymous vacation?" Katsu asks.**

**Ryuu smiles politely at Katsu. Still not a true smile. "I see no reason why the Hokage must inform the populace about me. So long as she knows, I see no reason why I must be hassled here." **

"**Then, would you like to head to the Hokage Tower after this? Oh, but your clothes . . ." Naruto frowns. Ryuu was taller than him; he has nothing for the boy to wear.**

"**It's alright. I have a sealing scroll on me with some clothes that the bandits never managed to find." Ryuu assures, smirking at the impressed look that comes to Naruto's face.**

"It's not . . . impossible to find royals who have some knowledge— both theoretical and practical— of chakra." Minato supplies, upon seeing the creased faces of his students.

"It's just, not all that common." Jiraiya adds, nodding to himself in agreement.

"**You can use storage seals?" Naruto asks.**

"**I have access to my chakra, my tutor thought it beneficial to know. So, one of the Guardians under my uncle's employ taught me. He also showed me how to create the seals, as they're quite useful."**

"**Indeed." Naruto murmurs, hiding his grin by taking a large bite of his breakfast. How intriguing! **

"**Crap, look at the time!" Katsu yelps, jumping up. Putting her dish in the sink and thanking the clone washing up with a kiss on the cheek— ignoring the original's cry of, "Where's my thanks?!"— She scurries out of the kitchen with a hasty goodbye thrown over her shoulder.**

**Ryuu blinks. "If she's getting to school, she's more than a little late."**

"**No, she's going to work. She attends school, in a strange way . . . anyway; let's head over to the Hokage Tower now." Naruto sighs, throwing a dirty look at the goofy grin on the face of the clone Katsu kissed. **

Minato and Kushina snort in laughter, imagining the pout their son is sporting. "She still kissed you, musuko." Minato laughs.

**Ryuu, noticing the interaction, points out, "Well he **_**is**_** you."**

"**Doesn't count, since I'll only get the memory. The ghost of the real thing!" Naruto sniffs. **

**Ryuu just shakes his head as the two leave the house, Naruto locking up behind him. The walk to the Hokage Tower is spent by quietly pointing out some of the attributes of the fair village, and it was something indeed to see the almost shocked expression on Ryuu's face at the Hokage Monument. Naruto is also quite grateful Ryuu does not make a fuss, or even seem to pay attention to, the stares that the two garner. Aside from Katsu, Ryuu is probably the first non-shinobi person they've seen Naruto walk with, and for those who are still on the fence about him it does mean something.**

**They arrive to the Hokage Tower and make their way up, greeting various ninja who are familiar with Naruto in his office stints. The door to Tsunade's office is open, with a few jounin trailing out after a meeting. **

"**Yo, onii-san!" Naruto chirps, greeting the silver-haired shinobi with a wide smile.**

"**Yo, Naruto." Kakashi greets lazily, sparing a brief glance at the boy and his companion before returning to his book, this one green but still part of the Icha Icha series. "Who's your friend?"**

"**This is Ryuu. Ryuu this is my old sensei and older brother by heart, Kakashi." Naruto introduces. **

**Ryuu bows. "It is an honor to meet a shinobi of your caliber, Kakashi-san." **

Obito coughs, hiding a strained cackle. "Of your caliber, he says . . ."

Kakashi glaring, socks the boy in his shoulder, grinning at the howl of pain.

**Kakashi eye smiles. "Well, no need to be formal. Nice to meet a friend of Naruto's as well, Ryuu. Naruto, I'll see you around." With a wave, and a swirl of leaves, Kakashi has gone. **

"**Naruto? Come in, we've got to talk about your mission anyway." Tsunade calls from inside the office and both boys walk inside. Immediately, Tsunade's eyes lock on Ryuu. She seems to gaze straight through him, but after a moment or two she looks back to Naruto.**

"**Let's hear the report then." Tsunade prompts with a graceful wave of her hand. **

**So Naruto gives his report with clear details but succinct enough to not bore anyone. Tsunade has to hide a smile behind her hand— her little godson gets better and better every time she sees him. **

"Aww, softie!" Kushina teases with a grin.

"**Well, that bandit does indeed have a ransom, though the money will take about a week to come. And now, I will hear your story Masahiro-san." Tsunade motions Ryuu forward, and meets his cool gaze with ease.**

_**This child . . . from what whispers float down from the Royal Court, he is something special indeed. A very shrewd, clever boy— but he's still decades too early to try and hide things from me with that stony gaze. **_**Tsunade allows a light smirk to stretch her lips, as she waits for him to speak.**

"**I was heading to the countryside of Hi no Kuni, hoping to observe the crops of this year and go over some figures. However, I was besieged by a group of bandits and my two guards killed, and then taken hostage. Though, I am confident they had no idea who I am and only suspected I was of a . . . well-off family." He pauses to smirk. "Well, I was rescued by Uzumaki-san and I stayed the night at his residence. I was treated kindly and given a wonderful breakfast."**

**Tsunade nods. "To be expected of Naruto. Now, where do you see this story ending Masahiro-san?"**

"**Please, I'd prefer just Masahiro . . . I'm far too inexperienced to be given such respects by true royalty." Masahiro denies with a short bow. **

"Still breaking hearts young and old you cougar you?" Jiraiya snorts.

"I'll break your face if you don't shut up." Tsunade snaps.

"**And you're far too shrewd to think I'd fall for such pandering kid." Tsunade quips back, chuckling at the light of surprise that enters Masahiro's eyes. "Masahiro, what do you wish to do?" she presses.**

"**I . . . I must report my safety in Konoha to the castle." Masahiro answers formally.**

**Naruto wonders what he's hiding, but Tsunade catches the hidden message. **_**To the castle, not to his family. **_

"Typical Royal Family drama." Jiraiya and Tsunade sigh.

"**Well, I'll send out a hawk to the capital immediately." Tsunade decides promptly, and hides a smirk at the dimming light in Masahiro's eyes. "However that won't be for some time. My hawks are all tied up until tomorrow, and it'll take a couple days for the hawk to get there. Until then, you are to stay here under the guard of Chuunin Uzumaki Naruto since you two are already so familiar. Here is an allowance for your stay, use it as you see fit."**

"You are such a soft-hearted woman to my son." Minato snorts.

"I can't help it I suppose." Tsunade excuse in a low voice, smile faint.

**Masahiro and Naruto both twitch, working hard to keep the surprises off their faces. Not so skillfully of course, under Tsunade's experienced eyes. **

"**That would be agreeable Hokage-sama," Masahiro accepts formally grabbing the bag of money, before turning to Naruto. "If that is fine with you Uzumaki-san?"**

"**There is no problem with the arrangement." Naruto accepts with a smile.**

"**Then, enjoy your stay here in Konohagakure no Sato." Tsunade dismisses them casually, and both boys bow to her in respect before turning to leave. Naruto hangs back though, and as Masahiro opens the door, Naruto turns on a dime and lunges toward the desk, leaning over and ignoring the sting of the desk edge in his gut to give Tsunade a smacking kiss on her cheek.**

"Ugh, again!" Kushina cries. "That's it, I'm giving him _extra_ kisses just to make up for all this."

"And I'm giving him extra lessons in how to retain his manhood." Jiraiya grumbles under his breath. "Extra kisses, honestly."

**Tsunade squeaks in surprise, jerking her head away on contact though a silly smile spreads across her face. "Shoo!" she hisses, swatting at him though he's already laughing his way out of the office. **

**Masahiro looks at Naruto from the corner of his blue eye, watching the younger boy with interest. "You seem to have a friendly relationship with the leaders of both Yuki and Konoha." He notes, suppressing the urge to add a sly comment. This boy could be useful, but he had no reason to be close to him.**

Immediately the tone shifts. "What sort of idiot thinks they can just use this kid?" Obito asks, shaking his head.

"Well it was said he's shrewd . . . but inexperience could lead him to bite off more than he can chew." Minato ponders, eyes narrowed and thoughtful.

"**Tsunade is my grandmother and my big sister all rolled into one." Naruto laughs freely. "I can count on my hand the number of people I'd admit hold my heart, and sad to say, that battle princess has it."**

Cue "aww"ing from the audience. Yes, even you.

"**Interesting," Masahiro hums. **

**Naruto, out the corner of his own bright blue eye, is also analyzing the older boy. "Some important figure you must be, huh? Isn't gathering agriculture data for officers looking to raise ranks though?"**

**Masahiro allows a crooked smile to light his face. "I believe in starting from the bottom, no matter how high up you are."**

"He's shrewd, but he seems to have a decent grasp of honor." Rin points out.

**Naruto raised a brow. "A nice work ethic. Come on— if you're staying here for a few days then you need clothes."**

**Naruto guides the boy through the shopping district of Konoha, hiding a smirk at the cautious stares he receives and his confusion therein— he doesn't know about his dubious reputation and therefore believes they're just taken aback by his eyes. Mismatched eyes are the last thing that would phase a citizen of Konoha of course. **

"**You should get a shirt with the Konoha emblem, as a nice souvenir of your time here." Naruto suggests with a grin.**

**Masahiro raises an eyebrow. "Such trinkets are not really my style."**

"More like a personal shinobi right?" Obito rags.

**Naruto teases, "Perhaps a tanto then? Or some chakra metal weapons?"**

**After a few hours Naruto suggests they head back home for dinner, for it's his turn to cook tonight.**

**Naruto cooks udon and makes a fresh salad, while Masahiro asks some questions.**

"**It's rather strange you and Katsu live here by yourself . . . is there no guardian appointed to you?" he asks innocently. **

"**Well," Naruto pauses as he stirs the noodles. "When I received this headband I was looked upon as an adult so there would be no guardian for me. As for Katsu, well . . . the Sandaime Hokage saw fit to let us be as we were responsible enough."**

"**That sounds . . . interesting. Not quite so lonely with you two?" Masahiro asks.**

"**We had Nami-baba . . . Katsu's grandmother up until just about age ten, so we could stand on our own two feet thanks to her." Naruto answers vaguely.**

"Thinking about it now . . . how Nami-san was young when she had Katsuro, and she died when Katsu was ten— Nami-san died rather early didn't she?" Kushina asked.

"I think the term early is subjective. Perhaps she could have had another ten years or so in her, but . . . well, as it happens she died naturally." Tsunade shrugs.

**Katsu comes home after a few minutes of light conversation, and dinner is undertaken.**

"**Oh, I almost forgot to mention!" Katsu remembers suddenly, placing her chopsticks down. "Listen— the new furniture is coming in tomorrow, and I've hired a genin team to help move the furniture. Most of the clothes are already packed away into boxes and I'll finish up the rest later. Naruto, will you help too?"**

"Oh jeez, the furniture from like two chapters ago?" Kakashi chuckles.

"Hence the new paint job around the house . . . she doesn't do things half way." Minato chuckles.

"**Well, duh!" Naruto scoffs. "Ah, but this must be an inconvenience to you Masahiro-san, I'm sorry."**

"**Not at all, as a matter of fact I'd be glad to help." Masahiro quirks the corners of his lips, meeting the challenging glint in Naruto's eyes. **

**After a cup of after-dinner tea and slices of the cake she'd made at work, they bid each other goodnight.**

**As all three go to sleep, they each have their own ideas and goals in mind.**

**Masahiro has taken a direct interest in young Uzumaki Naruto, and is confident that boy will be of use to him and his goals for the future. With the connections Naruto had, and the charisma and charm that seemed to ooze from the boy for anyone receptive to it, he would be a most helpful stepping stone indeed. He'd have to work around Naruto's non-expendable state, which might damper his plans . . . but it was simply another roadblock— small really, in comparison to the giant chessboard he was playing on.**

"Oh, real flattering." Rin scoffs.

"An interesting boy indeed . . . if Naruto wasn't on to you about your lies." Obito points out confidently.

**Naruto had taken a keen liking to Masahiro, despite the boy's calculating eyes and the masks that no doubt hid a shrewd and rather merciless mind.**

"Oh for fuck's sake Naruto!" Obito snaps.

**He could practically smell the ambition and desire to prove something coming from the boy, and he was even more interested because of it. Now if he could just get the boy off idea of trying to use him as a tool, and see him as a friend, then all would be right and good! For Masahiro. He'd hate to have to scar the boy . . . mentally or physically.**

**Katsu just hoped the stupidity of the two boys would not in any way impede the process of putting in the new furniture, or even worse damage anything. It would be difficult indeed to explain the sudden decline in sanity of Konoha's best Chuunin and a noble of Fire. **

**At the exact hour of six o'clock Naruto was awoken abruptly by a splash of icy water to the face.**

"**Wh— Whoa, I— what?!" Naruto sputters, gasping from the icy chill.**

"**I've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes now!" Katsu huffs, unapologetic as she holds the now empty glass of water and taps the fingers of the other hand on a cocked hip. "Wake up now, the team will arrive here in thirty minutes and I'll have breakfast up by then."**

"**What about Masahiro? Is **_**he**_** going to get water to the face?" Naruto demands, glaring even colder than the water that soaks his shirt front. **

"**He would have, had he not woken up by himself." Katsu replies smugly, and then strides out of the room. "Kakashi is coming over to, I asked him to when he stopped to my work place for lunch yesterday."**

**Naruto grumbles mutinously, grabbing clothes and stomping into the bathroom. After an extra-long shower in hot water just to make up for the morning, he walks down to the kitchen calmly.**

"**Good morning, Uzumaki-san." Masahiro greets with a tired grin, hiding a yawn behind his hand almost delicately.**

"**Good morning, Masahiro-san." Naruto greets back.**

"**Morning to you too sunshine." Katsu giggles.**

"**Woman. Give me food." Naruto demands, glaring at the orange-haired half-pint.**

"Notice, not his best friend anymore . . . the orange-haired half-pint." Kushina sniggers.

"I'd call you a tomato-top twig too if you threw water in my face." Minato warns her playfully.

"**There, there now— once everyone is here we can eat and you'll feel better." Katsu soothes, managing to snag a whiskered cheek before he pulls back and gently bats her hand away. **

**So he and Masahiro are forced to sit there, in that kitchen, as she makes heaps of food (already he has an idea of which team she's hired, and he was hoping some time would pass before he saw Shikamaru after the Paint Incident) and does not. **_**Let. Them. Touch it.**_

"Oh, the torture." Obito bemoans in mock sympathy.

"**Yoohoo, anyone call in a team of capable genin?" Ino's singsong voice breaks the tension.**

"**Oh sweet kami, **_**yes**_**! Yes we can eat!" Naruto rejoices, springing up and bounding to the door. He opens the door, and faces Team Ten, complete with smokestack sensei.**

"**Yo, Naruto." Asuma greets.**

"**Hurry up and get in here so we can eat already." Naruto urges, grabbing the man's arm and dragging him in. A nearly dead on his feet Shikamaru stumbles in, awakening with the smell of food and Chouji is already chipper. Ino saunters in like she owns the place, calling loudly for Katsu.**

"**In here Ino-san!" Katsu calls. "We can't eat until Kakashi gets here, I promised him he'd get some pancakes this time." **

"Denied!" Kakashi deadpans.

"**What?!" Naruto groans, nearly doubling over.**

"**Hey there, don't look so upset. Kakashi is here to save the day!" That lazy yet cheerful drawl is a welcome sound. Naruto jerks up to see Kakashi smirking at him from behind his ever present little book, Sasuke and Sakura behind him.**

"**Oh, this is a surprise!" Naruto smiles at his friends, moving aside to let them in. He turns to retreat to the kitchen and claim his breakfast when a fast-moving purple blur nearly bowls him over. Jumping at the contact, he forces himself to relax when he realizes the blur is female, and his friend. **

Rin muffles a snarl. _Stupid Hashimoto! _

She isn't the only one cursing that name.

"**Eh?" he grunts, hands coming up to the shoulders of Ino, looking at her strangely. **

"**Naruto," she whispers excitedly. "Who is that **_**gorgeous**_** guy in your kitchen?" **

**Naruto smirks at Ino, peeling her off of him. "He is out of your league."**

"No, seriously he's not being mean," Rin jokes. "He is so not one of us."

"You still don't say that though!" Kushina huffs.

**Ino scoffs, and wishes for a brief moment her hair was long again so she could flip it for added effect. "Excuse me?"**

**Naruto pouts poking her in the side as he moves to the kitchen. "How dare you ask about another man Dolly. What would Shikamaru think? Nay, Chouji-kun?! Ara!"**

**Ino turns deathly furious, prepared to add physical violence to her scolding when they are interrupted. "Will you two come on?! We have to hurry and eat, because the furniture is coming in three hours!" Katsu shouts in exasperation. **

"_**Three hours**_**— hime what the hell?! We only have **_**three**_** hours to get all the furniture out of here! Some of this stuff still has to be cleared out!" Naruto argues, stomping into the kitchen.**

"**Well things would have gone a lot faster if you weren't tripping over colors every time you took a whiff of paint!" Katsu accuses, daring him to comeback. **

**Naruto starts to retort, then thinks about it. Amidst the snickers he wisely keeps his mouth occupied with food, growls rolling from his throat every time he took a breath. **

"Forget everyone else son, pick and choose your battles." Minato mutters under his breath, grinning when his girlfriend gives him a suspicious glance.

**Breakfast was eaten quickly but gratefully. Once the last plate had been sponged clean of syrup then Kakashi and Naruto were tasked with cleaning the dishes whilst Katsu ordered everyone else to their posts.**

"**Ino, Sakura you two are the only ones here besides me with organizational skills to be of any use," Katsu explains, ignoring the disgruntled looks from the other males.**

"Nitpicking women." Kakashi and Obito snort.

"Sloppy, lazy men!" Rin and Kushina bite back.

"**So in addition to clearing out the last of the books and other things off shelves and placing them in boxes, you'll be overseeing the boys. Make sure they're not slacking!"**

"**Oh, you've come to the right girls." Ino assures, chuckling darkly.**

**Katsu rounds on Asuma, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke. "You four!" they snap to attention, gulping nervously. "Asuma and Chouji, start pulling out the living room furniture! Shikamaru and Sasuke, go upstairs and start dismantling and bringing down the beds. After wards whoever is free get cracking on the dressers and such. Now, move out people!" **

**As the others scurry about, carrying out the orders given to them, Masahiro hides his amusement and approaches. "Kuroshio-san, what can I help with?"**

**Katsu blinks in surprise. "It's not necessary for you to help Masahiro-san, you're our guest!" **

**Masahiro smiles gently— **_**plastic**_**, it crosses Katsu's mind briefly as she inwardly frowns at the fake expression— and says, "Nonsense, I can't just laze about. I suppose I'll just help you with what you are doing."**

**Katsu looks at him for a moment and then nods. "If that is your wish. I'm moving all the boxes to the back porch— let's start with the ones upstairs."**

**So Katsu and Masahiro work steadily, with little conversation but no stifling silences. Katsu will stop briefly to hand out more orders, or to boss around Naruto and his clones, while Masahiro chuckles at the sight. **

**Then, Masahiro starts the subtleties.**

"**Kuroshio-san, I must admit I find you very interesting." Masahiro speaks suddenly.**

**Katsu tilts her head, gently depositing her box on the back porch and then straightening up. "I'm sure I don't know what I could have done to warrant such interest Masahiro-san." They return into the house, to grab the last boxes upstairs. **

"**Well, you're quite comfortable with all these shinobi; even feel confident enough to try roughing around with them. From what I've observed, most civilians don't try and get too close with shinobi— or even samurai." Masahiro confesses, grabbing some more boxes and then walking down the stairs with them. **

"Trying to get her under your thumb too Masahiro?" Rin muses with a frown.

**Katsu snorts. "Oh that? That's nothing special. They're no different from you and me I believe. I don't know about other hidden villages, but Konoha shinobi don't lord their strength or superior chakra over civilians."**

**Masahiro grins, chuckling. "Yes, that is indeed a beautiful thing. Of course, the threat of execution is indeed a powerful stopper as well on any such thoughts." **

**Katsu giggles. "Well, you'd be right there!" **

**As the two laugh and chat away, they don't notice a pair of sly eyes glancing at them. Kakashi and Asuma look at each other, then Naruto, and grin.**

"**Oi, Naruto . . . Masahiro's a friendly guy?" Asuma asks, grinning.**

**Naruto flicks his gaze toward Masahiro and Katsu— both jounin delight at the slight narrowing of his eyes before they return to normal— and then to Asuma. "Yeah, he's cool."**

"**Yeah?" Kakashi drawls. "Katsu seems to be taking a liking to him."**

**Naruto glares at Kakashi, unimpressed. "Yes, she holds certain esteem for men who don't incur a bad impression the first time around."**

**Kakashi realizes where Naruto is going with this and gives the slyly smirking boy a flat look, ignoring Asuma's choked sniggers. Naruto snorts, turning away, yet even so . . . he chances one last glance at Masahiro, seeing a sly curl of the boy's lips.**

**Naruto resists the urge to glare, having heard their conversation. Masahiro had better not try and manipulate Katsu.**

**He is taken out of his thoughts by a thump on the back. Wide eyes turn to a smirking Sasuke. "Last one to put the furniture on the pile pays for lunch next week?"**

"It seems Sasuke and Naruto have become good friends." Tsunade murmurs with a pleased smile.

"I get the feeling that's a Naruto only privilege." Obito chuckles.

**Naruto grins. "You are so on Uchiha." **

**Masahiro watches Naruto glance at them one last time before moving around the house to the front yard, and seizes the chance. **

"**Still . . . I bet it was easier to acclimate to their world having someone close to you being a shinobi yes?" Masahiro points out, stretching to his full height. Crouching so much could really wear one out.**

"We're getting to the main point now." Kakashi sighs.

"No . . ." Kushina denies slowly. "Something tells me there's more going on here."

**Katsu thinks about this, before nodding in agreement. "Yes I suppose so. Naruto was always eager to share what he learned, and I was there helping him study most of the time." **

"**Only the theory though . . . it would have been too much to ask to learn some interesting jutsu or how to fight like ninja do!" Masahiro jokes. **

**Katsu keeps her smile up, but mentally she is wondering where Masahiro is going with this . . . what he's trying to say. "Well if I wanted all that I should have joined the Academy myself."**

"**True, and then we wouldn't even be having this conversation." Masahiro nods in agreement. "No, you had your reasons for not going in right? Not that I'm asking for them, that would be rude."**

"**Well I did have my own reasons." Katsu murmurs, and now she is wary. She felt like Masahiro had suddenly lunged forward into her guard, and was now easing away to give her a false sense of security. But she as on guard now.**

"Good, keep on guard." Minato murmurs.

"**Uzumaki-san is a remarkable ninja— I could tell that even just by his ways in the mission where he rescued me." Masahiro adds in casually.**

**Well, there was no harming in boasting a little about her best friend was there? "Of course! Naruto has great will power, and he's strong . . . he's one of the top chuunin, I'd bet." **

"That's a bet even I could win." Tsunade laughs.

**Masahiro hums in thought, nodding. "Tsunade-sama said as much too. I'm well aware that climbing ranks here in the shinobi world is far different than in the Royal Court." He smirks mirthlessly. "For the right price, or the right bloodline, the doors are wide open to you."**

"Well I could count a few shinobi who wish the system worked that way." Kushina snorts.

"So long as our Hokage's are all of a decent mind, that won't be happening." Jiraiya says with a smirk.

"**Well, no system is without faults." Katsu replies diplomatically, smiling in satisfaction when the last box is taken out. "Done!"**

**Masahiro smiles. "Kuroshio-san, you're a very positive person, I'm sure that's what helped Uzumaki-san during his trials."**

"What's he trying now? He totally switched from Naruto to her." Obito remarks quizzically.

**Katsu blushes in surprise. Where was this coming from? "Well, I don't know about that . . ." **

"**Truly," Masahiro insists, grinning. "I can only hope you remain positive and your friendship with Uzumaki-san stays true."**

"**What do you mean?" Katsu asks quietly, eyes hard. She didn't know what his angle was, but calling her bond with Naruto into question was a major taboo in her books. **

"In ours too." Rin growls.

"Is he trying to shake her? Because the only thing that will accomplish is a trip to the emergency room courtesy of Naruto." Kakashi scoffs.

"**Well, shinobi and civilian life is just so different." Masahiro explains. "I imagine he can't tell you everything about his work— not only for official protocol and such, but because sometimes the darkest sides of humanity are the things we desperately wish to shield our loved ones from."**

"**Naruto knows he can talk to me about anything, and I wouldn't push him to talk if he didn't wish to." Katsu refutes, hoping to end the conversation.**

**Masahiro was only getting started. "I'm sure that is very much appreciated Kuroshio-san. Like I said, you're a very positive person, and interesting too. However, can that energy bridge the gap that might pop up between you two?" he points out quietly. "Uzumaki-san is strong, and will continue to grow strong . . . my sympathies are with you Kuroshio-san make no doubt about that."**

"Your sympathies are bullshit and totally unappreciated." Rin snarls lowly.

" **. . . Why?" Katsu whispers, suddenly feeling unsure about what she perceived to be Masahiro's true intent in this conversation. She had just believed he was trying to fish for Naruto's weak spots, but . . . **

"You're not wrong Katsu," Minato murmurs. "You _are_ Naruto's weak spot."

"**It's a terrible thing, to be left behind by the people we love." Masahiro answers.**

**He could have struck her, and she wouldn't be any more shocked. Somehow those words were blows, opening up a hollow feeling inside her. "He wouldn't, Naruto's not like that!" She responds quickly, and then curses herself. The quick way she reacted, it would let Masahiro know he hit a nerve. A nerve she herself hadn't even realized was there, and yet this boy had picked up on it with accuracy. **

"That's a low blow, Naruto would never leave her behind!" Obito cries out.

"We know that," Tsunade corrects. "Reading their training together and all they've been though. But, it _is_ a legitimate concern. Typically, most relationships between shinobi and civilians fall through simply because of the inferiority complex that happens to spring up on the civilian side. It's too hard for some, to adjust to our level of secrecy or our ways of doing things. Isn't it true that to most civilians, shinobi are kind of crazy? They'll just never know what it is we do, what we do with every breath we take."

"**Of course not, Uzumaki-san is an honorable man. Still, while he goes higher . . . can the role of support really be all that he needs?" Masahiro presses, keen eyes picking up on every twitch and hitch of breath.**

"Now that's uncalled for. What a shinobi needs most is someone who will listen and not judge, not condemn or probe. That's a piece of mind no amount of gold can buy." Minato shakes his head.

**Katsu takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. When she opens them, her glare is blistering, and it seems to sizzle along Masahiro's nerves and not in a good way. **

**That was **_**enough**_**.**

"**You've tripped yourself up Masahiro," she hisses. "You pressed in way too deep, and now I know your game. Thinking you can weaken me, and get Naruto involved because I'll just automatically go crying to him? Whatever weak-willed little trollops you deal with in the Royal Court, that's over there. Here in Konoha? The women are a little tougher. I made a promise to Naruto to always be here for him as his best friend no matter what." **

"**Just as a friend?" Masahiro presses with a sly smirk.**

**Katsu bristles at his audacity. "Whatever! Naruto can do better than anyone in this village— which is so not the point here! The point is that you're questioning Naruto's character and if you ever do it again I'll leave you a few teeth short got it?" **

Tsunade snorts, laughing. "Oh please. She can't have deluded herself into thinking Naruto would ever fall for someone other than her?"

"It just seems to be an inherent trait in girls, that there's always someone better for the people they like." Rin murmurs.

**As Katsu storms away, she can feel the calculated gaze of Masahiro on her back, but she doesn't pay any attention to it. Right now she had to think about how she wanted to organize the living room furniture, and the bedroom furniture . . .**

**She sniffs, scrunching her nose against the feeling of tears. She **_**would not**_** cry. **

"Don't honey," Kushina softens. "There's nothing to cry about, just a jaded little boy trying to find new toys to play with. You were the victor there."

"**Katsu?" She turns to see Kakashi looking at her impassively. "The furniture is here."**

"**Oh, great!" she enthuses, hiding her uneasiness with a grin. "Come on lazy bones, let's get to work."**

**Kakashi doesn't react, but instead falls into step behind her. Katsu knows he knows something is wrong with her, but hopefully his laid back attitude will come in handy for today. **

Kakashi nods. "True, I doubt I'll pry unless you come to me first."

**So they worked steadily throughout the day, under the intense scrutiny of the lady of the house, who made no secret of her desire to disembowel anyone who scratched her new furniture. Whatever tension lingered between Masahiro and Katsu was soon overcome by the whip-like voice of the latter as she set everyone to work.**

"**Come on guys, a little bit more and I'll make you all lunch!" Katsu cheers.**

**Well, the work was done quickly.**

**That night, Katsu oh so carefully moved onto the new mattress of her new bed, and shivered at the delicious smell of new furniture. "Ah, if only obaa-chan could see us now!" she sighed, flopping back onto the mattress and grasping the sheets in quivering fists.**

"**Good thing she can't— she'd beat me for still sleeping with you like we were little kids." Naruto mumbles under his breath, though Katsu still catches it and sends him a grin. **

"**Well . . . this should last us at least another ten years." Katsu muses thoughtfully. "Then . . . I'll try another land!"**

"Might I suggest Waterfall? The quality of the wood there is _fantastic_." Obito deadpans, making an 'ok' sign with his hand.

"**You're too spoiled." Naruto snaps playfully, shoving her to the side so he could move onto the bed. **

**Katsu chuckles, hugging a pillow to her body.**

"**Katsu . . ."**

"**Yeah?" she mutters, slipping under the sheets.**

"**Why were you crying?" Naruto asks as he turns off the lamp and eases back into bed.**

"**Crying?" Katsu blinks. **_**He must have smelled tears . . . ?**_** Biting her lip, she thinks about what she could tell him. Not a lie, surely— he knew when she lied. "I . . . was just a little overexcited. I wasn't **_**crying**_**. It was just tears."**

"Sure and the funny thing is she actually believes it." Minato snorts, looking away from his girlfriend, who scowls at his attitude.

**Naruto presses his lips together, but doesn't question it. She wasn't lying to him— outright at least, he could tell. "Oh . . . because I could have sworn it had something to do with Masahiro." **

**Katsu curls up a little, a pout forming before she smoothed her face out. Naruto's night vision was quite good, he'd be able to see any expression of guilt or hurt. "He just . . . unknowingly pressed a nerve. I felt . . . a little hurt."**

"**Unknowingly huh?" Naruto murmurs, closing his eyes so she wouldn't, by chance, see his anger. "Well if it was unknowing I guess I can let him off with just a broken finger."**

"**As if!" Katsu laughs quietly. "Good night, Ru."**

"**Night, Hime." **

"Someone's gonna get it, and we know who~" Rin and Obito sing.

**It's raining.**

**It's pouring.**

**And Naruto was stuck with Masahiro. No missions, no office duties, and he certainly did not feel like training in this weather. **

"It might not be enjoyable, but you won't always get nice weather to do missions in." Minato chides gently.

**The two are in the living room, Katsu having left in the early morning while the clouds were still heavily pregnant, yet not ready to burst. Well, a few hours later . . . they had burst. And Naruto was beginning to wonder about the possibility of flooding. **

"**The rain is beautiful, is it not Uzumaki-san?" Naruto's gaze flickers over to an almost pensive Masahiro, who reclines on a wicker chair by the window and gazes out at the downpour outside.**

"**Depending on one's mood." Naruto allows. He wasn't quite as open as he had been before with Masahiro . . . he could sense the older boy's determination to have a soldier underfoot before he left. Originally he had wanted to break Masahiro of that notion but . . . after seeing the red eyes of his precious person, he wasn't quite so sure anymore. **

"Damn right." Obito snorts.

"**Back at home . . . I would play a game during long rainy afternoons with my father, back when he was still alive." Masahiro murmurs, nostalgia thick in his tone.**

**Though Naruto raised a brow at the sudden parting of information from the boy, he wasn't too optimistic. Masahiro was just throwing out a tidbit— baiting him. When you suddenly made yourself vulnerable, made yourself just as human as your target, it was a little easier to gain their trust.**

**It was what he would do, after all.**

"Geez, sochi, I just want to keep imagining you as a boy with a heart of gold." Kushina sighs. "You're just as cold as your father."

"Hey!" Minato protests.

"**Mm, my grandfather and uncle would also indulge me." Naruto agrees. "We'd play shougi." **

"**Shougi, eh?" Masahiro chuckles. "Yes that was the first game I was introduced to. However, later on . . . I was shown the game of chess."**

"**Chess? I don't believe I've heard of it." Naruto confesses.**

"Neither have I." Kakashi murmurs, looking at his sensei.

"Well it's a very rare game here in the Elemental Nations. It's fairly new, came around about fifty years ago." Minato informs.

"**It's a game of strategy much like shougi . . . it's not very commonly played in these lands but somehow it made its way to the Fire Country Court. It's a board with a white and black checkerboard pattern, and different pieces. There's . . . the rook, the knight, the pawns . . ." Masahiro quietly explains.**

_**Well . . . a game would be a nice ice breaker. **_

**Naruto cocks his head to the side in thought. "Well the pieces are foreign but I think I know the board you're talking about. I think it was up in the attic." Naruto moves abruptly, jogging up the stairs and leaving Masahiro's sight. **

**He takes the stairs quickly, and then walks down the hall to the end. Gathering chakra, his hand forms a seal and he crouches down, placing his palm on the floor. As a seal glows on the hallway floor, so does a seal glow on the ceiling above him, more symbols glowing around it.**

"That is a very good idea." Jiraiya interrupts here, looking emphatic as he shares a nod with Minato. "If you can, seals are a great way to protect your home. A better bet than traps."

"Even better than a Sharingan?" Obito jokes.

"I'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole." Jiraiya jokes back.

_**Well, if it hadn't been for Kakashi-nii's paranoia I might not have bothered with this— but he is right about securing your home. **_**Naruto admits ruefully. **

**By the work of the seal, a door opens and out comes a ladder to the attic. He ascends the attic steps and blinks in the darkness, adjusting his eyes to an acceptable level of night vision. Grinning, he walks through the attic, trying to remember exactly where he saw the old game set. He remembered helping clean the attic with Nami-baba and Katsu, and how the old woman had smiled rather bittersweet before placing the box set away.**

_**And it should be . . . right . . . here! **_**Naruto grabs the box he's looking for and drags it to him, opening up the musty flaps. His nose crinkles slightly at the smell but he rifles through the box anyway. His hands hit a solid tin, long and wide and he pulls it up with a noise of victory in the back of his throat. Opening it, he grins when he sees the checkerboard pattern Masahiro had spoken about. **

**Masahiro looks up as quick footsteps sound above his head. He turns his head when they come closer, and sees a smiling Naruto come down the steps holding a large, thin tin. **

"**I think this might be your game." Naruto informs quietly, standing in front of him.**

**Masahiro looks at the boy, then smirks. "Well how about a game then? Could we play outside— just under the porch awning?"**

**Naruto considers this, looking outside. The winds blew north . . . so they wouldn't get hit with any rain. "That sounds fine. I'll grab a little table for us to play with."**

"**I'll grab some refreshments and we can go outside then." Masahiro offers. With a nod, both boys break away to get what they said, and go outside. Immediately the temperature change hits them. It's not a cold rain . . . but there is simultaneously humidity and a cool sort of whisper of a breeze that tingles along the nerves. The smell of the rain invites them to take deep breaths of the fresh scent. They set up the table and the drinks, and then Masahiro sets up the chess set.**

"**My, this is old!" he exclaims softly. "But it's made of real wood . . . it feels almost silky to the touch."**

"**I take that to be a good thing then." Naruto comments loftily.**

**Masahiro nods. "Ah— let's begin instructing you then Uzumaki-san. I have no doubt you'll be a quick study . . ."**

**Masahiro explains the finer points of the game to Naruto, taking care to be specific with the abilities and limits of each piece. Naruto wonders if Masahiro realizes he puts a very subtle, almost imperceptible, emphasis on the knight and king pieces. In his opinion, the piece of the Queen was far more handy— whilst the King could only move one place per turn, and the knight could only move diagonally, the Queen could move back and forth and side to side however many spaces she pleased.**

"Yes, it does seem cooler doesn't it?" Kushina's comment would almost be offhand if not for her smug grin. A tactful silence is maintained by the men.

**Naruto points this out to Masahiro.**

**It is then that he is treated to the boy's first genuine smile of the whole stay— small and a little reluctant, but a real smile without pretenses or abominable plasticity. "Yes . . . a smart woman can have the reign of the entire board if she is careful. Precisely why I'm so wary of the Queen . . . especially with such a weak King. But at least I'm the one in control." **

"Oh— it's fine if the Queen is under your thumb, so you can control where all that power goes." Rin snorts.

**Naruto tactfully holds his silence, and merely invites the boy to start playing with a smile.**

**Masahiro points out that as Naruto is only a novice, he should have the white side and therefore can have the first move as that side dictates. Which isn't exactly an advantage (which they both know). **

**There is a quiet thoughtfulness that falls over them. Broken only by the quiet clacks and shuffles of their pieces as they move across the board; the hum of thoughtfulness or the quiet sip of iced tea. The rather heavy rainfall that patters along the roof and drips from gutters and along posts is their background music. **

"**You are, as I thought, a quick study Uzumaki-san." Masahiro points out, breaking the stillness with an almost audible snap.**

**Naruto smirks mirthlessly. "You only flatter me to make my imminent defeat gentle."**

"This whole chapter has been like a game of chess." Minato chuckles. "And I think a defeat is imminent . . . on the other side."

"**You won't lose so easily yet, and even so I'd like to have another round if you'd permit it." Masahiro counters in amusement.**

"**As you wish." Naruto acquiesces. **

**More moves. A drum of fingers in impatient thought. The almost audible lighting of a bulb over heads. **

"**This is fun." Masahiro murmurs.**

**Naruto glances up. "Surely you get better intellectual stimulation from your colleagues?"**

"**Scholars and nobility they may be— but that's only on paper, and it doesn't account for much let me assure you." Masahiro mutters almost scathingly, and Naruto laughs quietly. **

"**Does it bother you? To have no equal there?" Naruto asks curiously.**

"**No it makes things easier for me when I need things to be done. With the right attitude and turn of phrase, business can be conducted in a relatively smooth manner." Masahiro murmurs almost absentmindedly.**

**Masahiro was most certainly not absent of mind or wit. **

"**And you Uzumaki-san? I can't imagine there is an equal to you among your peers?" Masahiro asks in kind.**

**Naruto exhales sharply, and Masahiro detects a faint tremble in his shoulders as if from laughter. "I have more than my fair share of equals, and more superiors than I'd like to admit. I feel almost intimidated but I know it's a lacking on my part." **

"In all honesty if you were to just run wild with Kyuubi's chakra there would be no equals." Kushina mutters in thought. She can hear a faint snort of amusement somewhere in the back of her mind, and acknowledges it with a tentative smile.

"**A lacking not entirely your fault, but entirely fixable by your own means." Masahiro whispers.**

"**It's fun holding the cards in your hands. Or rather, having all the pieces on your side." Naruto whispers back.**

**A common ground— a truce?**

"**I overheard something interesting yesterday Uzumaki-san," Masahiro comments nonchalantly. "You seem to balk at a position of leadership?"**

"**Only The position of leadership." Naruto counters calmly.**

**They were getting to the matter at hand, it seems.**

"**Why? It seems we had similar ideas about being underfoot, and yet you wouldn't wish to hold all the cards in your hand?" Masahiro presses.**

"**Because nine times out of ten it is better to work behind-the-scenes than to be the one in the spotlight. Then you have to keep up appearances. And what must be done has to be done, with no bother about appearances to anyone else but yourself." Naruto's answer almost makes no sense, if anyone were to be listening in.**

"Yeah, I don't get it." Obito confesses, Rin and Kushina nodding too. Even Tsunade looks tentative, as if she might know but is not sure.

**Masahiro understands perfectly. And he must tread ever more carefully. **

"**You would be a puppet master?" Masahiro questions. He had no use for a thinking tool. Perhaps he was mistaken to consider trying to use Uzumaki Naruto— the boy was crafty, on his way to being shrewd. To have such talent bloom under him would be a boon, but it could also result in a curse most dire for him.**

"Why is it so difficult to assimilate the word 'friend' into your vocabulary?" Rin sighs.

"**I would be a friend." Naruto refutes pleasantly.**

_**Ball's in your court Masahiro.**_

**Masahiro paused his move, eyes flicking up to bore into matching sapphire pools. "Being friends with a major political head? That could get . . . rocky." **

"**It could be. If I was a radical, or that person was. However, compromises are just fine." Naruto reminds him.**

**Masahiro smirks. "Compromises . . . it still feels like a loss somehow."**

**Coincidentally, Naruto has just lost his game. Naruto grins wryly. "Doesn't it?"**

**Another foundation laid down. They reset the board, Naruto goes first again.**

"**Could I ask something personal?" Naruto asks, starting to weary from this delicate dance.**

**Masahiro eyes him. "I suppose you could."**

"**You said you used to play this with your father. The way you said it though— I assume your father passed long ago?" Naruto asks carefully, gauging the boy's reaction.**

**Masahiro nods slowly. "I was nine when he passed. I was then taken in by my uncle and his wife— they have no children of their own."**

"**An act of kindness?" Naruto asks.**

**Masahiro smirks coldly. "As far as I can figure."**

"**Are they also unequal?" **

**Masahiro opens his mouth as if to spout something off reflexively, but then closes it. He takes a slow breath in and out. "They are good people. I strive to be better. Does that make them unequal? I don't know, but they are the past generation."**

"**The new generation always tries to outdo the former." Naruto murmurs. **

"**You also have someone to outdo?" Masahiro asks curiously, detecting a knowing tone in her voice.**

**Naruto grins. "Yes." **_**Ooh, how I'd love to make tou-chan's Hiraishin look like a basic shunshin!**_

Minato grins widely, mood elevated. "I'd _love_ to see that too." He says truthfully.

"I wouldn't. That's not even cool— no one needs to be that fast." Kakashi deadpans.

**Naruto brings the conversation back to Masahiro. "You thought about your answer. You must care for them— then again, they are family."**

"**Family . . . a subjective term for me." Masahiro dismisses.**

"**You'll have to forgive me then. I find family to be very important." Naruto laughs.**

"**Even if your own family is subjective?" Masahiro probe slyly.**

**My, how sharp these pieces seemed all of a sudden. Naruto took care to have a firm grip, lest he accidentally shove them down Masahiro's throat.**

_**How deliciously violent! **_**Kyuubi snickered.**

_**You've been quiet all this time, don't stop now. **_**Naruto snorts, pushing back the voice of the chuckling demon.**

"**I don't really think any of my family was chosen . . . we just are. Therefore, it's not quite so subjective." Naruto answers.**

"You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family?" Rin quotes and chuckles.

**Masahiro chuckles. "What a romantic notion."**

"**I'm in love with loving people, perhaps." Naruto chuckles.**

**Something about the lofty comment must touch a nerve in Masahiro, since the smirk becomes sharp. **

"**Such a thing is almost sinister! Take care not to get your heart broken; it would hurt your family. Such a thing reminds me of what Kuroshio-san was saying— that you were of great character, and great will power. Is love perhaps the one thing that weakens your will?"**

**Challenge accepted.**

"Shit just got real." Obito whispered to his seatmates, face set in deadpan seriousness.

"**I find love to strengthen my resolve and will, actually." Naruto corrects smugly, smirking at Masahiro. "Usually all my enemies were those without love, or a twisted ideal of loving themselves or power. They thought all the cards were in their hands, until they suddenly weren't."**

The whole room 'ooh's. They knew what just went down.

_**Perhaps I came on a little too strong there, **_**Naruto muses. Masahiro's smirk has suddenly dulled to a thin, sharp smile.**

"**Interesting. You seem so sure of your bonds and connections." Masahiro murmurs.**

"**Because I like to believe there's good in people. Don't you?" Naruto counters.**

"**I like to believe they have a good purpose." Masahiro states.**

"**Even better if that purpose is serving you well." Naruto snorts. When did they stop playing the game?**

"**I simply do whatever it takes to get ahead Uzumaki-san. I was under the impression that a shinobi did that too. Harden their hearts and use whatever and whoever available?" Masahiro points out.**

**Naruto glares. "I'm not your average shinobi."**

"Hell yeah!" Kushina and Obito whoop.

"**Clearly." Masahiro's clipped reply. "After all the work done to get you where you are . . ."**

"**I'm sure the people who had a hand in my development are quite happy with how I turned out." Naruto restrains himself from growling, giving his tone a bit of a strained sound.**

"We didn't have anything to do with it, and we're quite happy." Rin chirps, getting nods of agreement.

**Masahiro smirks, and allows his veneer of calm to slip in lieu of a sharper hit. "Kuroshio-san, being a naïve civilian, most certainly doesn't count."**

"Oh shit, it's about to go down." Kakashi sighs in mock disappointment.

**The growl that rips through the air is most definitely inhuman, and Naruto is shocked to realize about three seconds later, as he and Masahiro are rolling around in the mud, that it came from him.**

**He pins the boy underneath him and raises up, fists curling in the boy's collar. Grinning madly, Naruto rears a fist back and snarls, "I've been just waiting for her name to come out your mouth bastard. Don't think I don't know it was **_**you**_** who upset her yesterday!"**

**He peppers his words with punches. "Nobody— makes— my girl— cry!" he growls, grinning at the guttural sounds coming from Masahiro.**

"Yeah, baby!" Obito hoots. "Get him!"

"He's a Fire Country Royal, put him down! I can't protect you from a Daimyo's decree!" Tsuande cries.

**Masahiro glares at him, face nearly plastered with mud and bits of grass. While Naruto is rearing back for another punch, Masahiro makes use of the taijutsu knowledge taught to him by his shinobi guards and manages to loosen Naruto's hold on him enough for him to buck and flip them over. Now Naruto is the one getting smothered in mud as he and Masahiro tussle.**

**Naruto's breath whooshes out from him after a good hit from Masahiro, and he snarls, knocking the boy off. They tussle for minutes, gaining and losing ground both to the opponent and to the rain that turns the terrain into sludge. They both get up quickly, slipping in mud along the way, and tackle each other.**

**Straight into a **_**puddle**_** of mud.**

"**Oh— gah!" Naruto gags, but he doesn't have time for much else because Masahiro is on a mission, and he tries to strangle the blonde. Naruto coughs, but manages to dislodge the hands and flips them over. He takes hold of Masahiro's front and starts to tattoo the back of his head into the ground.**

Rin suddenly pauses, head tilted in thought. _Hmm . . . handsome boys mud wrestling? _

"**You—little— bast—" Masahiro's epithet was never finished, as Naruto twisted him around and started to grind his face into the mud.**

"**Can't hear you!" Naruto cackles. "Speak up!"**

**Masahiro's leg comes up and knocks into the back of Naruto's head, stunning the boy briefly and making him tilt— and tilting in slippery mud like that means Naruto fell over face first into the puddle.**

**Masahiro's head springs up with a gasp, deeply inhaling and spitting out mud. Naruto gets up a bit more slowly, trying to come to terms with the mud pie on his face.**

**Remembering their opponents, both boys whip around, the fast motions making them slip again, and forcing them to waste a couple minutes navigating out of the puddle— **_**not**_** of mud— they'd rolled into.**

**They stand up shakily, breathing rather heavily after the exertion of extracting themselves from the mud that could have doubled for quicksand.**

"**You! I . . ." Masahiro trails off, the finger that had lifted in accusation now drifting down as he takes a good look at Naruto. Covered head to toe in mud, the stuff dripping off him in either goop or rivulets from the torrential downpour, the boy certainly made quite the sight.**

**Naruto, knowing why Masahiro trailed off snorted and gestured to the other, ignoring the mud that comes flying off his arm as a result. "You are no better."**

**Mashiro follows the remark and looks down at himself, blinking rapidly. His fine linens . . . the silk! His expensive and rich dies!**

**All ruined by mud.**

**When was the last time he played in mud? He wondered. He didn't recall ever doing so. **

"Oh you missed out." Kushina laughs.

"You used to play . . . ?" Minato shakes his head. "No I believe that."

"You have no childhood if you didn't once play in mud or puddles." Obito insists strongly.

**When was the last time he had really **_**played**_**?**

**That . . . Masahiro looks up at Naruto, who is now standing at ease, with both hands on hips and looking himself over with disgusted fascination. Naruto looks up and he catches the boy's eyes.**

**They stare.**

**Masahiro's twitching lips means he breaks first. "I've never gotten dirty playing before. This is all your fault."**

**Naruto barks a laugh. "My fault? Whatever! You look much better with the mud on anyway."**

**They stare, now both have twitching lips, biting down to restrain smiles. They are unsuccessful. Masahiro grins . . . and then he laughs . . . he tries to stop but he slaps his knees and doubles over laughing.**

**Naruto follows suit in seconds flat. **

**Under the rain that has lightened but still falls heavily, two boys succumb to deep laughter, heads thrown back to cleanse dirt off their skin, bodies warmed by their own humor and high spirits. **

"Anyone else notice that the entire time he was wrestling with Masahiro, he never flinched or anything?" Rin points out with a smile.

Kushina smiles, elated as she looks at Minato's own growing smile. "Yeah . . . it's pretty wonderful."

**Who knows how long after, the howls die down to chuckles, and then they are just breathing deeply to alleviate belly aches from deep laughter, smiles still stretching their faces until it almost hurts. **

**Naruto sighs. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have attacked you, it was rude."**

**Masahiro laughs gustily. "I think I needed that. But . . . I am sorry as well."**

**Naruto grins. "So . . . we friends now?"**

"**Either I have you arrested and tried on the grounds of attacking nobility or we become friends . . ." Masahiro mused. "Well . . . I **_**guess**_** we can be friends."**

"And we have another convert to the Uzumaki way!" Obito declares, clapping up a storm.

"**Oh you're so kind." Naruto snorted.**

"**Great," Katsu's voice coming from behind them startles them so badly they jump. "So now you can hose off and then come inside."**

**Naruto turns, grinning at the tangerine-haired girl tapping her foot impatiently on the porch. "When did you get here?"**

"**Around the time you guys rolled into a puddle of mud." Katsu answers with a roll of her eyes. "So I set up a pot of soup inside. Which you will not get until I can ensure no mud will track through my house after you two."**

**Masahiro and Naruto snort, looking at each other. "You know . . . this is really all her fault we got messy in the first place." Masahiro recounts thoughtfully.**

"How so?" Kushina asks, scrunching up her nose.

"**How so?" Katsu scoffs.**

"**Women. The source of all men's problems." Naruto sighed, shaking his head.**

"What?" all the women growl.

"Oh Naruto, I thought we were past these slip-ups." Jiraiya bemoans.

"**I guess someone doesn't want to eat **_**or**_** sleep inside the house. Fine by me." Katsu shrugs, feeling mildly annoyed by now. **

**Naruto grins. "Come on— don't be like that!"**

**Katsu stops, about to turn around and taunt Naruto when she suddenly feels weighted down by strangely warm-cold arms. Realizing what this means, she squeals in disgust.**

"**Ew, Naruto!" she complains. "You're wet— and cold! Agh, now I've got mud on me!"**

"**Might as well join us then." Naruto answers, swinging her around. Ignoring her screeched protests and the blows raining down on him, he leaps off the porch . . . **

**Straight into a puddle.**

"**Agh!" she shrieks, when Naruto promptly dumps her into said puddle. Gingerly lifting herself up, shivering from the unexpected hit of cold, she glares at the two cackling boys. Her entire body trembles from her fury.**

"Someone's gonna get it~" Rin and Kushina sing.

"Run, my son." Minato whispers under his breath so low only he could hear.

"**You . . ." she hisses between grit teeth.**

**Naruto starts to feel nervous. He hasn't seen her this mad in a long time. "Uh, I . . ."**

"**You are both dead! You hear me— **_**dead!**_**" she screams, and launches herself at them, bringing them all down with sprays of water and mud in the air. **

**Which explains why, thirty minutes later when Shizune and Iruka comes by for a visit, they see three cackling mud-caked bodies flitting and darting around the backyard— pushing and shoving each other into puddles of water that rinse off only some of the mud to show who they are, and then promptly dump themselves in kamikaze attacks on the others back into the mud. **

"**Naruto and Katsu get out of that mud **_**now**_**!" Iruka harps, a vein pulsing dangerously in his forehead.**

**The two kids promptly yelp and immediately begin trying to scrabble back up to the porch. "Yes Iruka-sensei." They mumble sedately. **

"**Masahiro-san, you too." Shizune sighs, and watches the older boy grin in apology as he plods after the others. **

**After hosing them off very thoroughly, the bedraggled trio is whisked upstairs into the bathrooms to get hot baths, and then they troop downstairs to accept the bowls of soup and blankets by the fireplace.**

"**Honestly, what were you thinking . . ." Iruka sighs aggravated, shaking his head. "You could get sick!"**

"**Well, not me at least." Naruto mumbles under his breath, grinning innocently when Iruka casts a suspicious glare his way. **

**Then comes the fourth day.**

**Masahiro waits outside the village gates with Naruto and Tsunade, waiting for his escorts to arrive. He sighs almost wistfully, tugging lightly at the strap of his messenger bag that carries the things he's gotten from Konoha. **

"**I hope you enjoyed your stay here in Konoha Masahiro?" Tsunade ventured.**

**Masahiro smiled genuinely. "It was a most interesting vacation. I hope to perhaps come here again one day."**

**Naruto grins sunnily. "Sure! It'll be great having you again."**

"**Right, and perhaps things will be easier once they're **_**planned**_**." Tsunade comments dryly.**

"**I couldn't agree more Tsunade-sama." A voice from off the side of the road in the forest makes them all look over.**

"**Oh? I thought you were going to retire Tohru." Tsunade comments.**

"Tohru . . ." Jiraiya frowns. "Do we know this guy?"

"There's more than one Tohru I'm sure. We'll never know . . . yet." Tsunade replies.

**A man with close cropped brown hair and narrow black eyes steps out from the trees. He wears attire almost similar to that of a monk, though the sleeves are ripped off from his shirt. "Well, I will this year." He amends with a faint grin.**

**Tohru turns to Masahiro and bows. "Masahiro-sama, your carriage awaits a few towns away— for now, I shall escort you."**

"**That will be fine Tohru." Masahiro dips his head in acknowledgment. "Has everything gone to rot since I've been gone?"**

**Tohru looks up, pressed lips hiding a grin. "We've had a few close calls but nothing unsalvageable. Your uncle has been most worried though, and Madam Shijimi's harpings have confused him terribly."**

**Naruto furrows his eyebrows. **_**Madam Shijimi . . . doesn't she own Tora? That's the Fire Daimyou's wife . . . **_**his eyes widen, and he turns to Masahiro who smirks at him.**

**Naruto smirks back. **_**So your uncle is the Fire Daimyou . . . a well off family indeed.**_

"Whoa!" Obito's and Rin's gasp isn't the only exclamation of surprise.

"Another royal friend." Minato snickers. "Ah, I can't wait to send Naruto off on these missions and get back the treaties! My single greatest act as Hokage— having a kid."

"You're the only Kage who can boast procreating as the best thing you've ever done for your village." Jiraiya snorts.

**Tohru turns again to Tsunade and bows. "Thank you for your swift recovery of Masahiro-sama. Whatever balance has been accrued will be swiftly returned to you."**

**Tsunade waves away the words. "Sure, sure."**

**Masahiro turns to Naruto, holding out a hand. "This is farewell for now, Naruto."**

**Naruto shakes his hand, smiling. "Yeah. Don't forget to write Masahiro— and don't forget the shorthand I gave you." Naruto smirks at Masahiro's widened eyes. **

"Oh, that's nice; he gave him one of the little seal scrolls he invented. It'll make talking much easier between the two." Kushina smiles.

**Masahiro's smile is mysterious. "I won't. And uh . . . just a head's up. You might want to discuss with Kuroshio-san why she thinks you could do better than someone from Konoha."**

**Naruto balks, then sighs, growling. "I can't believe she's still stuck on that. Right. Thanks." **

"So they've had this conversation before?" Kushina chuckles.

**They break away, but before Masahiro leaves with Tora he turns to Naruto. "Tell Kuroshio-san I said bye? It's a shame she couldn't take off to see me go."**

**Naruto laughs, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah— I was totally surprised when she just zipped out of there." He takes a disgruntled appearance. "Apparently, her boss sent her off on a week-long trip to get something or other from another town."**

"Probably with no genin team again." Minato snorts.

**Which wasn't exactly a lie. **

"Well I can see where this is going." Kushina mutters.

**Katsu was sent off by her boss on a trip. Only, the old woman gave her a week— she didn't necessarily **_**need**_** a week. In fact, it only took her a day to get the tea ingredients her boss needed and return. **

**She just didn't go home for a week. **

**Why? Well . . . **

**Katsu settled her pack down once she'd found a suitable clearing. She was about ten miles outside of Konoha, and it had taken her a while to hike here. Screwing open a bottle of water, she took quick gulps and finished the bottle. Looking around, she sighed as she thought about what she was going to do.**

**Masahiro's words had struck a chord in her. Even though he had apologized sincerely, those words still stuck with her. Logically, she knew that as a civilian the role of support for Naruto was really the best that she could do. This wasn't a game, where she could just run into a battle and think to help Naruto with the power of will and love. No, Naruto was on a whole other level— she couldn't fight beside him.**

"While that's true, in no way does that make what Masahiro said right about you." Tsunade argues.

"What, she's just going to train there for a week? That's not exactly viable." Kakashi points out, brow furrowing at the strange actions.

**But that didn't mean she would just wait around for him like some regular old housewife. Offer him warm food and a shoulder to cry on? Katsu snorted— he could go to a brothel for that, or even the Blackout. No, her role had always been to help Naruto— unobtrusively, from the shadows. For years, she had been by his side for some of his biggest breakthroughs. And she was selfish enough to admit that she wanted to be there for all the rest, regardless of what capacity she would hold in his life later on. **

Minato snorts. "Everyone knows you two are going to get together. And it isn't selfish to want to be by someone's side."

"I don't think it's that simple." Kushina mused. "This is as much about her pride as it is about Naruto."

**Thus leading her to her current decision. She wasn't stupid enough to hope that through training and dedication, she'd become a monster like Naruto. That wasn't even her thing anyway. No, but she would need to stand her ground, to be able to anchor herself without anyone's help to weather the coming storm. Akatsuki . . . Orochimaru . . . she wouldn't dream of trying to defeat these guys. But she'd rather gut herself than be a damsel in distress. She wasn't some pansy ass toddler, she was a **_**woman**_** damn it! **

"Whoa!" everyone muttered.

"I know I can't have been the only one to see Kushina in that." Minato voiced.

"Aw, isn't it great?" Kushina cheered.

"No!" they all shut her down quickly.

**So: her current choice. To get a summon. **

"Ooh, no— please, don't. You might die." Jiraiya pleads.

"This sounds like a recipe for a cluster fuck." Obito notes.

**Why as this important? Not only was there a significance in having a summon, but what all having a summon would require from her. You had to have a good level of chakra to even being to summon anything serious . . . and summons, or at least what she gleaned from seeing the toads and slugs, wouldn't take just anybody. It would create a **_**need**_** to improve herself to such dramatic heights. **

**If she could get a summon, that would be confirmation she could be something more than just the role of support. She could prove Masahiro and her own insecurities wrong. Masahiro had been the first person to shake her like that— it made her realize that if she continued with Naruto down this path, there would be others who'd try to capitalize on this weakness. **

"Yes, but you really don't have to go this far." Minato groans.

**So she would give them something to think about! She could do something else than just wait around with a handkerchief or whatever the hell damsels in distress did. She'd have to ask Sakura and Ino later on. **

"Burn!" Kushina laughs.

"So not a laughing matter right now." Kakashi mutters.

**IF she lived. **

Kushina got serious then. "You better live— I won't forgive you for dying and leaving my son to be alone again!"

"**Well, here goes nothing." Katsu sighs. She takes a deep breath, and blows it out gustily.**

_**Guts, fighting spirit! Come on, don't be a little girl I am so gonna kick ass! **_**Katsu reminds herself firmly.**

"Back out— you can still back out!" Jiraiya pleads.

**She gathers her chakra, as much as she can. She doesn't hesitate as she bites her thumb, drawing blood. She carefully, yet firmly goes through the hand seals she's seen Naruto do what seems like a hundred times now.**

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"**

**A plume of smoke. **

**Katsu is no longer in the clearing. **

"Well shit." Kakashi sighs.

"Oh I can't wait for when she pops up again." Minato chuckles nervously.

Tsunade sighs, opting not to say anything about the matter. "Well, how's about lunch? Then we can get to another chapter. I'll cook."

"Great, then I'll help." Kushina giggles, scurrying after Tsunade into the kitchen.

* * *

**Well why don't you review and let me know how you feel?**

** I know you guys wanted to see the full blown fight between Jiraiya nd Kakashi, or even hear about how Kakashi and Zabuza tortured Hashimoto, but there was too much to go through in this chapter to bother. Now, if i get enough PMs, perhaps i might be persuaded to make a "Genesis of the Ninda: Outtakes and Omakes" fic of things you wish could have been in the fic, or htings you wished had been more explained or fleshed out. MAYBE. Cuz im a busy girl. **

**Love, **

**Bloody Mad~3**


	29. Chapter 29

**Well hello hello lovelies! Now, let's see . . . AH! Thanks to all the new favorites and reviews, love seeing them in my inbox. About this chapter. If you followed my advice to check out Naruto's True Nindo, chapter 46, then you know what's going on . . . a little. Obviously, that author took it in one direction that i cannot go, due to the severe differences in our story. Anyway! I warned you, to prepare for some bullshit. Well here we go. Looking back, how i explained this chapter was flimsy AT BEST. But if you google this shit, it's real.**

**IT'S HAPPENING PEOPLE. Google Suspended Animation, it's like . . . whoa. And, for those who wanted romance in the story, well . . . i hope this works. Until Shippuden at least. Then romance gets heavy. **

**So . . . oh Jeremy Wolfe! Dude, i love your idea. However . . . it just wouldn't fit in very well with the way this story goes. If i had made this more technology oriented, and Naruto more techie, then yeah this would work. Thank you anyway though. **

**Er, and there was another guest, who had something about Katsu going to Frost Country . . . and being friends wit the guys from Host Club. I'm sorry but no. That just won't work. At ALL. Host Club and Naruto are as different as can be and . . . it just . . . thanks for your review anyway. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Nine_

_What Do You Believe, Uzumaki Naruto?_

* * *

A new fresh morning, and after breakfast the group is eager to read. After the last chapter they believed things would be steady for Naruto and his friends.

"So, who's reading?" Minato asks.

"Well Minato, we haven't heard from you in a while." Tsunade comments. With the others backing up her statement, Minato chuckles and obliges them all by taking up the book.

**Naruto frowns. "Something's wrong here." He mutters.**

**Iruka, who is engaged in a game of chess with Kakashi, looks annoyed as he glances over at Naruto. "What **_**now?**_** You've been saying that over and over for the past hour."**

**Naruto huffs, shaking his head. "It doesn't make any sense! Katsu should have been home by now."**

"Aw, he's pining." Rin and Kushina coo, smiling in amusement.

"Well considering we know what she's doing, he's on the right track." Minato murmurs in disapproval.

**Tsunade, sitting on the couch with Shizune, rolls her eyes. "Brat, she's working. They said she would be back in a week, it's not even been five days yet!"**

**Naruto growls sharply. "For a regular person it'd take a week. But Katsu was taught tree-walking same as me, and I taught her how to augment her limbs with chakra. There's a reason she is taking so long, and I have a bad feeling about it!" **

"Right on the money kid." Obito grunts.

**Kakashi sighs, taking a sip of the hot tea from his mug. "She has her reasons, and when she comes back all will be explained."**

**Naruto just sighs moodily, glancing out at the window and staring up at the large milky moon that hangs in the sky like a pendant. Wisps of smoke-like clouds cross the moon. **

**He sighs again. "I just—"**

**A sharp, loud sound cuts him off and sends them all into alert. Naruto jumps up, "It sounds like it came from the lake!"**

"**It sounded like an impact of some sort," Tsunade agrees, eyes narrowed. "We need to investigate this." **

**They all move quickly, rushing out the door and staring at the lake, the once mirror smooth surface now chaotic and rippling with the impact of whatever it was that hit it, as the last of the spray from the impact faded into the atmosphere. Naruto surveyed the surface and pointed out something strange. **

"**What are those bubbles? Someone or something must have hit it with great force." He murmurs.**

"**You think it could be a training incident?" Iruka speculates. **

**Tsunade shakes her head. "I doubt it, it's very late, and the nearest training ground is still too far for someone to get launched here."**

"**Whatever it is, it's coming up— the bubbles are coming faster." Shizune points out, and they all tense as they look towards the lake. The bubbles stop but they can see the dark figure just under the water, thanks to the moonlight, as it moves toward the docks. They are expecting something threatening— perhaps an escaped animal from the Forest of Death, or even some crazy ninja who had a spectacular accident. Even, most unlikely, an enemy attack!**

**So they are appropriately horrified when Katsu bursts up with a great gasp for air, grabbing onto the dock's edge and hauling herself up. She is on all fours and coughs up water.**

"What kind of . . . ?" Kakashi mutters in shock.

Jiraiya sighs. "Well that sounds about right. After I got done with my test for the Toad Summoning, I was forcefully ejected from that place and sent crashing back home right on top of Sarutobi-sensei. It was awfully hard to explain."

**For a while they don't move, sort of frozen as they watch the soaked girl flop onto her back on the dock, hands moving to her chest as she takes in fast, greedy gulps of air. **

"**Crap, if Naruto's here that might have woken him up. Please let him be on a mission." They hear her plead.**

"Your prayer was ignored. Faith won't save you here." Tsunade chuckles.

**So then they decide to move into action. Iruka and Kakashi hold down an incensed Naruto while Tsunade and Shizune run to the girl, checking for injuries. **

"**Ooh, I picked a horrible time to come home." Katsu whines. **

"**Quiet. I wouldn't be speaking just yet— you come home in a **_**very**_** strange way, and Naruto's been worrying about you." Tsunade scolds sharply. Katsu winces, head craning to the side to see a trembling Naruto looking at her with a stare so intense she wonders if her skin will blister and pop, as if his eyes were giving her third-degree burns.**

"Yeah we know the feeling." Minato's team, his girlfriend, and his sensei mutter. The blonde in question merely gives them a lethal sharp stare, smirking at their synchronized flinches.

**When Tsunade and Shizune declare her healthy, she is hauled up not unkindly by the two women and frog-marched to the porch where Naruto and the others wait. **

**Silence. Naruto's mouth is clamped firmly shut, and Katsu knows very well that it's not for lack of things to say, but rather his attempt to censor himself and calm down. He shakes his head sharply, wildly, three times.**

"**I . . ." he takes a deep breath. "You said your boss gave you a job. You lied."**

"**I didn't—!" Katsu denies. She persists even under the chilling stare leveled on her by the boy. "I did have to go to another village. I was given a week."**

"**How long did it take you?" Naruto asks, voice trembling again as his restrained, pent-up fury tries to bubble through. **

"Try and keep your temper sochi. I know it's hard, but try." Kushina sighs, and gracefully ignores the pointed cough from one of the others.

"**A . . . a day." Katsu admits lamely, trying to step back when Naruto exhales sharply, but unable to do so because they're corralled in by the adults who stare like this is the most fascinating thing they've ever seen. **

"**Why—" Naruto stops himself. He hadn't meant to shout, and he knew he had sounded far harsher than he intended when Tsunade glares at him in warning. "Why . . . did you leave again?"**

**Katsu's voice fails her. She swallows past the lead block in her throat. She hadn't expected her return to be quite so . . . antagonistic. If she could have just returned to where she put her pack . . . but, her summons dealt better with water. That and the wily old leader probably knew she would have to face the music eventually. **

"So she did get her summoning contract. And it's water-based?" Minato muses. It was indeed a feat worth congratulating— few shinobi ever got the opportunity to acquire a summoning contract, as it was really more of a connections thing.

"**Katsuhime. I asked you why you left again." Naruto reminded her tersely. **

**Katsu takes a big breath. She steels her resolve and shifts her stance— shoulders back, back straight, looks straight at Naruto. She had made this decision, and knew she would have to face any consequences. She had made her choice and she couldn't wail about it now. She had proved herself. **

"**I performed the Summoning Technique." She answers quietly, yet boldly.**

**The weight of her words didn't hit Naruto, who looked confused. But Iruka and Tsunade's breath hisses out of their teeth. **

"**You never signed a contract— nothing would come here." Naruto dismisses, growing angry at her lying to him. **_**Him!**_

"**No, Naruto, not here. But she would go there." Tsunade corrects. Naruto turns, seeing her face unusually grave as she directs her attention to Katsu, who doesn't back down, secure in her unshakeable resolve. **

"**What do you mean?" Naruto asks. She would go there . . . ? **

"**Haven't you thought about where the summons comes from?" Tsunade prompted.**

**Naruto frowns. "Well yes . . . I guess I just assumed it was a different dimension or something. But why— what, she went to the summoning dimension?"**

"**The Summoning World," Tsunade corrects. "Where all summons live. And, when one performs the jutsu but doesn't have a contract, they are taken to the Summoning Clan with whom they'd be best suited. I didn't get the Slug Contract handed down to me Naruto— I was chosen. After Jiraiya showed up after being missing two weeks in need of a full body cast almost, he told us what happened. I tried it, and thankfully got the less extreme Slugs, so my test wasn't quite so . . . bad."**

"Quit your exaggerating, I didn't need a full body cast." Jiraiya denies.

"No, but you did look like shit left in the sun for three days." Tsunade counters calmly.

**Naruto's eyes go wide, and he looks again to Katsu, who meets his stare head on. "So where did you go? What did you get?"**

**Katsu smiles, a light of happiness in her eyes. "I am now the proud owner of the Koi Summoning Scroll."**

"There's a summoning Koi family? Like, Koi fish?" Obito wrinkles his nose, unimpressed. "For all that trouble she got a bunch of goldfish."

"Hush, Obito, she didn't need some grand offensive animal summons. What were you expecting? Dragons and phoenixes?" Tsunade mocks. "They are all real animals, and Koi are fine animals themselves. Their symbolism and mythology are very interesting."

"Key word being _mythology_. Koi are fish, with no limbs or claws to adequately aid in any battle situation. So just what, Tsunade-sama, is the worth of a Koi summoning?" Obito snaps back, demanding answers.

Tsunade glares. "I may not know the answer, but there is no summoning that is completely useless. Perhaps we'll hear the advantages of Koi summoning this chapter."

**Though they are surprised, and would like dearly to ask about the Koi— they had never heard of such a summons— it warred with the need to scold her.**

**Naruto took the first countermeasure.**

"**STUPID!" He exploded, Katsu jumping in fright at the sudden shout. "How could you— I saw you coughing up water, whatever test they had you do was incredibly dangerous! Just going to another world that I can't get to if you need help is **_**incredibly dangerous!**_** What were you thinking?!"**

"**I—" Katsu tries to talk, but Naruto isn't having it. Feeling as if they were intruding upon a private moment, the others quietly walk back into the house. Not like they wouldn't be able to hear everything anyway. **

"**Shut up! You weren't thinking at all were you?" Naruto snaps, bristling and wishing for a nice strong log or four to obliterate. He yells and scolds, working himself up into frenzy. Katsu allows him since she knows he was seriously worried— a thought both heartwarming and a little amusing— and is scolded even more viciously for allowing her lips to twitch into a smile.**

"**I can't believe you were so reckless!" he cries at last. "**_**Why**_**? Why would you do something so dangerous?"**

**Katsu hesitates now. She'd have to explain her petty feelings now. "What Masahiro said to me . . . he said, that one day you'd leave me behind because I'm a civilian and you've got a whole lot more on your plate than I do—"**

"**You know that's not true!" he shouts, stopping when Katsu glares at him and holds a hand up for silence. **

"**I know that!" she scowls. "I don't doubt you Naru— you know that—"**

"**Then **_**why?!"**_** he snarls. **

"**Because I can!" Katsu shouts, and the answer throws Naruto for a loop.**

"That is not the correct answer." Kakashi admonishes softly, shaking his head.

"You're sinking, evasive action!" Obito cries.

**He stares at her, as if seeing Katsu for the first time. She endangered her life . . . just because she **_**could**_**? What kind of answer was that— who **_**does**_** that? Not the Kurohime he knew . . . not the brave, crafty, reasonable girl he knew. But the impulsive, wild, selfish comrade-in-arms of his many pranks? He started to deflate, starting to get the reason but still not quite there. **

"**I have always been with you, right by your side. Not on the sidelines, not behind you, not waiting around with my thumbs twiddling and hoping you'll be okay. **_**I was there!**_** I was part of the process of making you who you are today, every step of the way." Katsu starts to unload, her composure slipping again. "Academy— every test and quiz, every piece of homework that they gave you and still graded unfairly even when we both poured over textbooks for hours and got the correct answers. I was with you every lesson we took after school, I ran after you to **_**every**_** training ground we could go to practice taijutsu and ninjutsu. I'm here **_**now**_**, but it's the first time you've taken steps by **_**yourself**_** to chase a dream, and . . . I feel sad. Like something good passed by."**

"Objectively her reasons might be selfish and even petty, but . . . the emotions behind it are real and genuine." Tsunade analyzes.

"There's nothing petty about going after what you want, no matter what anyone else says." Kushina speaks up proudly, eyes glittering with a determined light.

"It's going to hell and back for a friend, just like Naruto would do for her." Jiraiya adds. "I honestly believe that boy would go nuke-nin for her."

"**Kurohime . . . I . . ." Naruto hesitated. He didn't want her to feel like this, but what could he say? "We still have plenty of good times ahead of us!"**

**Katsu rolled her eyes. "Yes, but only if we work for it." She stops, suddenly pointing at him imperially. "You heard that? **_**We.**_** Not, you fight and I'll be here in the kitchen. **_**We**_** fight to keep the good time's rolling. I'm not sitting around on my ass and being protected like some damsel. Got it?"**

"We got it." Minato mutters sarcastically, nudging Kushina and getting a giggle from the redhead.

**Naruto frowns. Well, she had certainly given him something to think about. Much as he wished she would just stay protected, he also knew that was the best way to kill her spirit. And he dearly valued that passionate spirit of hers. Sighing, he allows a reluctant smirk to quirk his lips. "Fine, if that's the way you want it. It's going to be tough from here on out, Katsu, I'm telling you now."**

**Katsu tosses her hair. "It would be boring otherwise."**

**She pauses, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "So . . . are you still mad at me?"**

"**Oh of course." Naruto confirms, nodding firmly. **

"**And you're still in trouble!" Kakashi yells from inside the house.**

**Two days pass after the incident, and Naruto was returning from a solo C-rank to An no Kuni, and he was about an hour from Konoha. **

"What kind of mission does Red Bean need?" Obito wonders, voice cracking for just a second over the country's name.

**He sang a song under his breath that recently came on the radio that he could not forget. "So stay away from me, this beast is ugly. . . I feel the rage and I jus can't hold it . . ." **

** To pass the time, he talks with Kyuubi.**

_**Ne, Kyuubi! What's the strangest thing you've ever seen?**_

_**Ah? **_**Kyuubi hems, thinking about it. **_**Well . . . this was a **_**long **_**time ago. Me and this dimension-hopping demon got really drunk. So, I was in another world. I don't remember the name. But it was a strange place filled with monsters. The humans there had invented a technology to tame these "monsters." I say it like that because it's not like these beasts were ravaging towns or eating people. At most they might go berserk but that was rare. Anyway, sometimes humans would capture them with these strange devices called pokeballs. Then these monsters would either fight in competitions for the humans or just be companions to them. It was alright, things were pretty peaceful there. Well, I wasn't as big as I am now. So I was mistaken for a large version of a similar-looking pocket monster. Long story short, one of them caught me in a pokeball and called me Ninetails. I'm still not sure what the hell happened there, but I got the hell outta there after he became a Champion and came back home. **_

"What the fuck?" Tsunade deadpanned, brow furrowing.

_**. . . What the fuck?**_

_**I know. **_**Kyuubi agreed.**

**Naruto was about to add something more when he suddenly got a thoughtful look on his face. He didn't stop walking, didn't pause or tense up. His arms were loose beside him, but his chakra was buzzing just under the surface of his skin, for the moment he would fill the storage seals on his wrist to bring out his axes. He tries to sense how many were around him.**

"An ambush? Perhaps ninja under Orochimaru's command?" Kakashi wonders.

**A sigh passes through barely parted lips. **_**They're very good. I can barely sense them. Jounins?**_

_**A single jounin you could defeat, but to take on multiple jounin-level enemies is ill advised. If you can get to your village your ANBU can handle them. **_**Kyuubi counsels. **

"Excellent idea." They all approve.

**Naruto isn't so sure. **_**What little I can sense feels deliberate. I might not get a chance to just run. **_

**He was quite right. A brace of shuriken flies at him and he flips backward, the maneuver allowing him to avoid the punch that would have hit his jaw from the opponent that shoots out from the other side of the forest. **

**Skidding back a couple feet, Naruto straightens and regards the enemies that now jump out from the trees around him. He is circled in, not that it means much. He can escape them, if it is really necessary (or, he hopes he can). **

**Five in total and they look tough, and more worrisome, they carry themselves with an assurance of experience and power to back it up. They aren't young, but their age will in no way impede them, he knows this just as fact and by looking at them. One straightens up and regards him with a dismissive look. Only the lines at the edges of his steel gray eyes and the gray that smears his beard lets his age be known.**

"**Uzumaki Naruto." He rumbles, still looking askance at the blonde boy. **

"Shit, this is deliberate. If they know his name, they've chosen him for a specific reason." Jiraiya grumbles.

"Helpers for Akatsuki?" Rin asks.

"Possibly."

"**You have me at a disadvantage." Naruto replies, smiling a little.**

"**Good." The other man says— Naruto realizes he's joking by the small grin. "It's nothing personal son, but you are a big piece of our plan against your Hokage."**

"**You plan to kidnap me?" Naruto asks curiously.**

"**Of course not. That will mean nothing if the woman can't see it." The man assures, but then he no longer speaks. Naruto detects a subtle stress on the word woman, as if that's not the word he'd use to describe Tsunade. For a time, as Naruto waits for more words, they are all still and silent, a slight breeze cooling them.**

"They want you to see him beaten . . . they know you?" Minato mutters in thought, looking over at a flinty-eyed Tsunade.

**Naruto sighs when he realizes talking time is over. "Don't expect me to just let you get away. If you have any plans against my Hokage it is my duty to bring at least one of you in."**

**They spring forward.**

**Eyes wide, Naruto creates a slew of clones as he jumps to avoid a slash from a kunai and snaps his head back allowing a fist to barely graze his chin. With twin glows the seals on his inner wrists light up and out his axes come. It is a surprise to the men, but it's only a split second of hesitation that they recover from admirably. Thus, Naruto is once again scrabbling back but he is no longer as much on defense as he was before. **

**They are **_**good**_**. The way all five leapt into action with fluidity and speed that spoke of years of team experience. Yes, they had Naruto at quite the disadvantage, especially as now his clones were starting to pop from the excessive hits. **

"They're doing it five against one? How cowardly!" Kushina hisses.

"You heard them before. They want Tsunade to see the damages they've wrought— and five men will make it much easier." Jiraiya reminds them all tersely.

**Now it's three against one. "This is a little unfair guys." Naruto grunts, jumping away but not fast enough to avoid a slash of a kunai that bites into his side. He retaliates by spinning with chakra and letting his axes lash out, catching at least one of the men on his collarbone, a spray of blood resulting. **

**Naruto jumps away from his fight, awkwardly palming his axes as he flies through hand seals. "Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" with a huge expulsion of air a huge, glowing orange ball of fire flies toward the group, his clones popping away. The group of men dart away, and Naruto sprints straight after the fireball, thanking Kyuubi for his high resistance to heat this close to the jutsu. **

"Great, now run!" Obito barks.

**He can hear the men behind him start to chase after him, and as the jutsu dissipates he runs faster. **

**A man with black hair in a waist-length ponytail throws a kunai with unerring accuracy, and grins when it nails the Uzumaki in the back, the boy tripping up. But then with a puff of smoke, the kunai is stuck in a log.**

"Oh thank goodness." Kushina sighs gratefully.

"**This brat is alright. Let's not cripple him boys, and that means you Idate." Kohaku, the leader with the greying beard and guarded eyes comments.**

**Idate, the man who threw the kunai, snorts and starts to speak but is blindsided with such force he chokes on his breath. Naruto has shot out from the side of the road and rammed into Idate with such force he flies through the air, hitting a tree. Though not knocking him out, he has to catch his breath, gritting his teeth as he holds a hand to the stab wound given to him by Naruto. **

**Naruto, now wielding the more versatile daggers, shoots through the group slashing as he goes. To his frustration, he only catches two more, before he augments his legs with chakra and sprints off.**

**Kohaku roars. "Enough running! Now's the time to get serious!"**

**Naruto sucks his teeth in frustration. **_**I thought they were pretty fucking serious in the beginning! **_**He is ruffled, and more than a little cut up thanks to the flawless teamwork of the three-man cell he fought earlier.**

"Run as fast as you can then musuko." Minato murmurs, eyes tight.

**Dashing to the side he avoids a thrown kunai, but has to contend with the knee that sinks into his stomach— then the right-handed haymaker that he spins away to avoid— and he cries out in pain when a kunai sinks into his left side, just under his ribs and is drug out. With a snarl, he grabs a hold of the hand that is holding onto the kunai and lands a mule-kick that has the man rolling away.**

**Calling up on the Kyuubi's chakra he roars, "ENOUGH!"**

**Kyuubi snorts, rankled by the wound the man had inflicted on **_**his**_** vessel. **_**About time, brat! **_

**He takes a deep breath and then his body bows forward as he roars. The powerful sound and the chakra that accompanies it nearly blows the men over, but besides two they hold their ground. **

**Kohaku growls, shouting over the blast of air. "He's badly injured now, even with some sort of strange power-up our plan will continue!"**

"_Some sort_ of power up?" Kushina snorts.

**Naruto stops roaring and shoots forward, seals on top of his hands glowing and from it comes his claw knives. Securing them around his hands, he lunges into the middle of the group and with incredible speed— the kid had been no slouch for his age, Kohaku could tell, but the speed he was showing now was nigh on **_**ridiculous**_**— and slashing three deep lines on the front of a man with a shaved head. With a scream of pain the man falls to the ground.**

"YEAH!" Obito and Rin cheer.

"**Tsuna!" Kohaku yells, but then jumps back when Naruto comes for him.**

**Naruto growls in anger at the missed hit, and calls up three clones to deal with the others, all snarling and **_**pissed off**_** like him. **

**He runs after Kohaku, growling and slashing with all his might. With the extra speed and strength, he is able to land a few more hits on Kohaku— just a **_**few**_** more. **

"**Tell me your name before I kill you?" Naruto growls out, wishing the man would stop dancing long enough to use the Crimson Blades.**

**Kohaku smirks, wiping a small trail of blood from his mouth. "I'm not planning on dying before I complete my mission kid. But I'll tell you, since you're such an interesting opponent. I am Ishibashi Kohaku." **

Tsunade bites her lip. That name sounded familiar, but . . .

**Naruto pounces, trying to catch the man but all he does is land on all fours, sliding around to face Kohaku once more. **

**Kohaku tenses up to try and get at the boy again before he pauses, eyes widening. "We've got company people, let's move out!"**

"Finally some reinforcements?!" Tsunade sneers.

**There is no hesitation, no trying to get a last hit in, as the men all disengage from their fights and leap into the trees. Idate picks up Tsuna and carries the man as he vanishes into the trees behind his comrades. The clones pop away in their exhaustion.**

"**Damn it!" Naruto snarls, hoping he'd have the clones follow the group. He steps forward, and then sinks down on one knee from the pain of his deep gash. A lightly trembling hand presses to the bleeding wound and a hiss escapes him— it had cut **_**deep**_**. "Gah . . . damn it to hell." He growls. **

**He can sense the "company" Kohaku had spoken of now, and they appear a second after he has sensed them.**

"**As expected of ANBU." Naruto murmurs under his breath.**

Minato snorts contemptuously. "ANBU are expected to deal with threats within moments of them appearing. They couldn't feel the high levels of chakra from the beginning of the fight? You were only a mile off!"

"Seems to me either ANBU were distracted or they are severely slacking." Jiraiya notes with an almost menacing tone.

_**Slow wastes of flesh. **_**Kyuubi snarls in reproach. **

"**No, Uzumaki-san, it is expected we get here before a lone chuunin can fend off his attackers." An ANBU replies. Naruto turns, expression bitter but it lightens as his eyes land upon a purple-haired, slim form he hasn't seen in what feels like ages.**

"**Neko! I'm glad to see you again." Naruto chirps, as best as he can in his pain. He slowly moves to crouch on his feet, and then makes a struggled ascent to stand. Neko steps forward and slings his arm around her shoulders.**

"Ah, the Neko-san from his Academy." Rin remembers, snapping her fingers.

"She took her time too." Kushina frowns, not forgiving the ANBU.

**Naruto raises an eyebrow, watching as the other ANBU leap into the trees with not even a sound, gone like the ghosts they train to emulate. **

"**You cannot make it on your own to the hospital." Neko explains, and with a nod Naruto allows her to help them. In a swirl of leaves they leave the scene of the fight and reappear in front of the village gates. **

**Naruto is picked up in Neko's arms, a clear squawk of protests coming from him before they are leaping over rooftops in haste to the hospital. Though the ride jostles his body, and makes the pain of his wounds flare, Naruto remains silent. Not only this deep wound, but more cuts were bleeding still and he'd like to get to the hospital before passing out.**

"At least she's taking no chances with him." Tsunade mumbles, as Kushina thaws slightly in her scorn.

**Neko jumps down to the front of the building, wasting no time as she barges through and calls sharply for a doctor. The staff jumps to at once, a doctor rushing to them as a group of nurses bring over a gurney and Naruto is settled down onto it.**

"**I'll send word to the Hokage." Neko promises as they wheel Naruto away, their quick voices and medical jargon flying over his head.**

"Of course, I'll trust no one else with his health." Tsunade snorts.

"**Don't bother, she's behind on her paperwork as is!" Naruto shouts back before they turn into another hallway, and Neko loses sight of him.**

Obito snorts in amusement, though he still grins as he mumbles an apology to a glaring Tsunade.

**Naruto underwent surgery, and was placed in a room with lots of air and light as per the terse and very specific instructions of the esteemed Hokage. The surgery went easily enough, and Naruto would make a full and naturally quick recovery.**

**Which was ridiculously difficult to explain to his worried friends and family.**

"Funny you should mention that . . ." Tsunade comments with a sly smile, looking at all of them.

**But that's a story for another time. Right now, Naruto awakens . . . he blinks rapidly, groggy and a little sore. Nothing a few stretches can't fix, he's sure— **

"**Ru! Oh, you're awake!" The relieved and joyful voice of Katsu reaches him a split second before her form bounds into his view. Tousled hair and a nervous tremble to her smile, Katsu smiles at him nonetheless and brightens the room.**

"Aw, she was worried." Rin and Kushina coo.

"**So it seems. Was there any doubt I would?" Naruto teases gently, but softens the words with a benign smile. He turns his head, now sensing another in the room— Sasuke.**

"**Yo, Sasuke." Naruto mumbles in greeting, as Katsu flutters about smoothing his sheets and asking him if he wanted water or ramen.**

**Sasuke glances at him from under inky lashes, head tilted toward his chest as he sprawls— ever so gracefully, one must notice— in the chair by his window, across from the bed. The Uchiha smirks and tilts his head up, adopting a scornful tone that melds inexplicably well with the mocking jibe. "So the Uzumaki is human like the rest of us."**

"**Yes, though why it took surgery to convince you is a discussion best left for later. When I'm able to aide my rebuttal with physical persuasion." Naruto jabs back. With a grateful murmur Naruto takes the water glass offered by Katsu, and waving away her attempts to help him up, he sits up and takes small sips. **

"**I was just so worried." Katsu sighs, looking rather bashful and frazzled. "You've been to the hospital **_**before**_**— but that was for chakra exhaustion. I know that's **_**nothing**_** to you. But **_**this**_**, oh **_**this**_** was something else, and—"**

"**To tell it from her reaction you should be decapitated Naruto." Sasuke snorts, cutting off Katsu's ramble. The orange-haired girl pouts, shooting a dirty look at Sasuke.**

"**We'll see who's getting Tomato Shiso Salad and grilled fish today Uchiha-kun." Katsu grumbles, and Sasuke shoots her a dark look, yet when they stare down he looks away with a scoff. Naruto grins.**

"It's always an important note to try to get along with your buddy's girlfriend. It makes things so much easier when she's genuinely nice." Minato mentions to his students, a grin playing across his face.

Obito turns to Kakashi. "Kakashi, as your best friend, I'll totally accept and be cordial to every girl in your harem."

Kakashi nods solemnly. "Same to you."

"**So, what are you two doing here together?" Naruto asks slyly.**

**Katsu rolls her eyes. "Don't get any strange ideas—"**

"**Someone had to make sure she didn't spend all her time fretting over a dobe like you." Sasuke snorts. **_**I was looking out for her, like you'd want.**_

"**Well I appreciate it." Naruto laughs. **_**Thank you for looking out for her in my stead. **_

**Sasuke smirks, and looks out the window to the skyline. **_**What are friends for?**_

"**So when am I getting out?" Naruto asks, turning puppy dog eyes to Katsu. She giggles, arms coming up as if to ward off the attack of the sparkling blues. **

"**I am not in charge of such decisions. Tsunade-sama should be coming here in another minute or so . . . you wouldn't know, but you had a lot of visitors while you were sleeping. Your team, obviously. Team Ten, Lee, Neji and Hinata— **_**together**_**, and when I saw them I could just die— of course Iruka and Anko and . . ." she trails off, looking out the window with a small smirk, as if searching for someone. "Of course that stupid brother of yours."**

**Naruto frowns. "Speaking of stupid . . . did Baa-chan call Ero-sennin in? He might be able to get some info on these guys."**

**Katsu shrugs. "I don't know." **

**They wait another three minutes, before the door opens— instead of Tsunade though it's Sakura with a fresh bouquet of flowers, which she clutches tightly in reflexive surprise when she sees Naruto awake and generally healthy-looking.**

"**Naruto!" she breathes, walking forward quickly. "I'm happy to see you awake, I was so surprised when I heard you were attacked."**

"**Trust me, I was surprised to be attacked." Naruto assures. He smiles, taking the flowers from Sakura's grip (not bringing them up to smell, he doubt he'd ever get over that particular quirk) and looks at her. "Thank you for the flowers. I'll ask for a vase."**

"**Don't worry," Katsu steps in with a grin. "I'll take them home with me after Tsunade-sama has come in."**

"**I won't keep you waiting then." Tsunade's dry response has them all turning as the blonde beauty strides in, plucking his chart and reading quickly. **

"**So what was the damage doc?" Naruto asks as Tsunade places the chart down and walks over to him, checking his vitals.**

"**Well that blade didn't hit any major organs thankfully, but it was a deep cut and so you lost quite a bit of blood. You needed a blood transfusion, but other than that whatever bruises and cuts you acquired are fading away if not gone already." Tsunade lists, cool hands almost ghostly as she checks him over.**

"**So I can go home now?" Naruto asks hopefully.**

**Tsunade sighs, leaning back once she has finished. "Well . . . your health is in no immediate danger . . . but I want you to stay for a little longer, so I can get a report of what happened. With me," The dragon-masked ANBU that appears behind her makes them all jump.**

"**Is the ANBU Commander, codename Ryuu." Tsunade finishes with a smirk, amused at Naruto's slight startle. **

"**A pleasure Commander-san." Naruto murmurs with an incline of his head, his side still a little too sore for a bow. Ryuu inclines his head. He doesn't speak immediately, merely tilts his head in one direction. Naruto is confused, until he realizes which direction Ryuu would be looking in . . . Katsu's direction.**

"So it must be something serious." Minato murmurs.

**Squashing the automatic urge to grab her hand so she wouldn't leave, Naruto lets her excuse herself. "Ah, I think I'll just go home and put these flowers in some water. I'll cook something delicious for lunch when you come home. Uchiha-kun, will you be joining us as well?" Katsu asks Sasuke.**

**Sasuke nods. "Yeah, in fact I think I'll walk you home."**

"Good boy," Kushina murmurs, pleased with her friend Mikoto's youngest.

**Naruto beams at Sasuke, and waves as the two walk out. Turning back to Tsunade and Ryuu, he waits with a patient and open expression for whatever they wanted.**

"**Uzumaki-san, we need to know everything that happened. Start from where you were at the time of the attack." Ryuu directs quietly.**

**Naruto nods. "I was about a mile off from Konoha, going down the main road after completing my mission in An no Kuni. I only sensed them at the mile— it is possible they had been there or following me for longer. I dodged a brace of shuriken and they surrounded me. Nade," he cuts his eyes to her with a serious look. "They knew my name, and they said they wanted you to see all the damage they would inflict—"**

"**Did they say Tsunade-sama specifically?" Ryuu interrupted.**

"**They said I was a big part of their plan against the Hokage. It would mean nothing if 'that woman' couldn't see it." Naruto replies.**

**Tsunade bites her lip, anger flaring in her sharp honey eyes. "So these enemies are someone who knows me, or I might know them. Naruto, describe them to me." She orders.**

"**Hai, Hokage-sama. The one who appeared to be the leader, his name is Ishidate Kohaku . . . though it might be a fake name since they weren't planning on killing me. He was an older man, around Jiraiya's age . . . brown hair and a beard with grey in it— brown like cinnamon, Nade, and . . . grey eyes. Sharp grey. There was a scar on his left bicep," he points to the top of his own, "Sort of star shaped. There were other names shouted— Idate and Tsuna. Tsuna I had cut down with my claws blades, he had a shaved head—"**

"**That falls in line with what my operatives could observe. But even with the trail of blood they disappeared." The evident darkness in his voice could either be with the craftiness of the opponents or more likely, with the perceived failure of the elite ANBU. **

"There is no perceiving it here, ANBU failed." Minato snorts, eyes stormy.

"Well as Hokage I'm sure you'll be more than up to the challenge of shaping them back into the lethal blades they were before." Jiraiya reassures with a gruff sound of amusement.

**Naruto continues. "Idate, is a man with long black hair in a ponytail, he looks like a samurai."**

"**Hokage-sama. Do these people sound familiar?" Ryuu asks.**

**Tsunade's eyes are narrowed in thought. "Yes, but . . . I'm not sure . . . I have to consult Jiraiya, he might know. They sound around our age, and in those days Team Sannin did everything together. Yes, Jiraiya might know." She turns to Naruto. "Shizune has discharged you, so you can go home now Naruto. Thank you."**

"Sensei, do they soud familiar?" Minato asks.

Thinking about it, Jiraiya tips his head back against the couch and searches through his memories. When he lands upon a similar face— _that Kohaku?!_— His head pops up.

Tsunade, I thought you knew better." He sighs in aggravation, shaking his head.

"Oh God, so they _are_ who I think they are." Tsunade groans. "Damn it all!"

"Well who?" Kushina demands, but when no answer is forthcoming Minato reads on.

**Naruto nods, hopping out the bed with no small amount of relief. "Thanks. Good afternoon then," with a bow, Naruto walks out of the room.**

**Ryuu turns to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, you have some idea don't you?" **

**Tsunade nods, sighing gustily as her hands fall to her hips. "Yeah . . . but I really thought I had killed them. Curse my younger self's arrogance. Hell, I thought if I hadn't killed them, someone else would, they were so badly injured . . ." she mutters darkly as she strides out the room. "It was the Second Shinobi World War after all."**

**Naruto walks out into the sunshine and fresh air, reveling as he leaves behind the disinfectant and bleach smell of the hospital. With a spring in his step, Naruto walks through the town, waving briefly to Ayame and Teuchi as he passes Ichiraku Ramen— and God, it hurts worse than he thought to just **_**walk right past it**_**.**

"You have good self-control." Kushina nods solemnly.

**He goes through, stopping every so often when he meets his friends.**

"**Naruto, you out of the hospital already?" Shikamaru asks, puzzled. **

"**Yeah, I got crazy good healing man." Naruto assures with a grin.**

"**Well nice to see you up and about, Naruto." Chouji congratulates, chewing on a mouthful of barbeque flavored chips. Naruto smiles at the two of them, and agrees to catch up some time later and tell them (what he could, anyway) about how he ended up in the hospital in the first place.**

**Arriving back home, Naruto opens the door and slips inside, carelessly kicking off his shoes as he saunters into the living room.**

**Naruto's face lights up when he sees his old friend. "Haku!"**

"Oh, how nice to hear about him again." Kushina murmurs pleasantly.

**The beautiful ice-wielding shinobi smiles as he gracefully rises from his seat. "Naruto-kun, I'm glad to see you are well. I'm sorry if I came at a bad time . . ."**

"**No, no!" Naruto denied, smiling. "I've missed you Haku! And I wanted to give you and Zaza something to keep in touch better. By the way, when did you get into Konoha?"**

"**Earlier today actually." Haku answered. "Zabuza and I heard some strange rumors and wanted to check them out, about Mizu . . . and then, since we were already on the road we decided to see how you were doing." **

"**Ah well, at least now I won't miss your visit." Naruto chuckles. Will you be staying for lunch?"**

"**I'd like that. I've met Katsu already, she's very nice." Haku smiles.**

"**Well of course! Well, let's get set up then." Naruto cheers, moving into the kitchen. Directing Haku to the living room table, he wanders into the kitchen when the smells coming from it are too great to resist. **

"**Ow!" Naruto whines, hand snapping back quickly to his side. Sasuke smirks, retracting his hand as well.**

"**No touching." Sasuke grumbles.**

"**The salad ain't got your name on it, teme." Naruto growls. **

"Well that's a little different from the normally cultured kid." Rin giggles.

"I'll say . . . Kushina said that exact same thing a couple weeks ago, only about ramen." Minato snorts.

**Sasuke opens his mouth to speak, when Katsu walks in from the living room and frowns at them. "Next one who insults the other gets no food."**

**They shut up very quickly. Smiling at their silence, Katsu directs them to make up the table and place the food on it. Lunch passed with a game between Sasuke and Naruto— trying to insult each other without Katsu finding out about it.**

**Which was **_**very**_** difficult.**

**Naruto and Sasuke both cursed women's intuition that day. Whatever it was.**

"**Ah, Haku." Naruto realizes something. "When you're making your way out of here, please be careful. I don't want you to be attacked because they think you're a native to Konoha."**

"**Don't worry," Haku chuckles. "I can slip by unnoticed if I want to."**

"**Ah, then . . . Haku, I'd really like to ask you a favor." Naruto begins, then pauses.**

**Haku looks at him knowingly, but prompts the boy to speak his thought. "Yes?"**

"**Would you be willing to . . . scout around Konoha? Just in case something happens and they move into the village . . . I'd like someone to follow them in. I'm not asking you to intercept." Naruto adds quickly.**

"Well, all we can base Haku's combat skills off of is the chapter before last." Tsunade mumbles uncertainly.

"If Naruto thinks he's strong, I'll take sochi's word for it." Kushina shrugs.

**Haku shakes his head. "Naruto, after how you helped Zabuza and I, this is just a mere trifle. What's a favor or two between friends? I'll help you, Naruto." Haku swears, smiling getly.**

**Haku had to leave soon after, so Naruto gave him the shorthand— he still hadn't come up with a good name for it— and stern instructions to be safe. **

**When Sasuke had left with a takeout box of leftovers pushed on him by an insistent Katsu— though Naruto wasn't fooled, he knew Sasuke really wanted it— and everything cleaned and put away, the two sat in the living room and waited for another idea of what to do.**

**Katsu swung her legs in the air idly off the back of the couch, sitting upon the thing upside down. Naruto sprawled in the big chair next to her, idly flipping through a page of the second Icha Icha book (not as funny as the first one, but quite a read in its own way— he wanted to know where exactly Jiraiya found women who could **_**bend**_** like that). **

Tsunade frowns at a chuckling, giggling Jiraiya, while Minato kept his gaze on the book and ignored his weird sensei.

**Naruto's gaze flickers up from the book to the quiet Katsu, watching small ankles make figure eights in the air. Suddenly, a thought hit him— that's right . . . he had something to discuss with her. **

"**Hey hime." He prompts. Katsu stops her legs and lets them drop to the side, squirming around until she was lying on her side blinking up at him with huge gold eyes.**

"**Yeah?" she answered.**

"**What else did Masahiro say to you?"**

"**Huh?" she blinked.**

"**I know he said something about me leaving you behind," Naruto scoffs. "But . . . did he say anything else?"**

**Katsu groaned, flopping over onto her back. "He told you?" she whined petulantly, folding her arms in a huffy manner.**

**Naruto clucked his tongue. "Don't huff at me; I'm the one who should be frustrated here. I don't know how many times I've told you already that I'll never fall for anyone but you—"**

"Ooh, he's told her?!" Rin squeals. Kushina giggles happily, her and Rin cooing.

"I guess their relationship would be classified as a slow burn." Obito murmurs to Kakashi, who nods in agreement.

"No surprise here he still hasn't gotten through to her . . . stubborn women tend to be romantically shy." Minato laughs.

"Preach it." Jiraiya grumbles.

"**You don't know that," Katsu interrupted quickly. "You have only just begun to see the world outside. How can you think I'm the only one for you? There's so much more outside of Konoha!" she spreads her arms wide, as if to indicate just how wide the world really was.**

"**And throughout all the travels I have done, and will do, I know for a certified fact that there will never be anyone quite. Like. **_**You**_**." Naruto finishes smugly.**

"Aw!" Kushina coos, a hand rising to rest above her heart.

"That is a very nice line," Jiraiya muses. Under his breath he mutters, "I'll have to remember that for a book."

"**You're just being stubborn." Katsu mutters. **

"**Hello pot, my name is kettle. I hear we have a lot in common!" **

"**You know, it's pointless to be this worldly ninja if you're just going to act like some small town hick." Katsu gripes.**

"Eh?!" Kushina glares at the book. "I expected Katsu to be a bit more sympathetic."

"I wouldn't throw stones Kushina," Minato reminds her. "You sucker punched me just for buying you flowers . . . and shall I remind you what you did to me when I asked you out on a date?"

Kushina blushes bright red, and looks away, shaking her head at his question. She glares at the snickering forms of her lover's students.

"**Whoa— was that an insult? Because if it was . . . the fuck did you just say to me?" Naruto glares.**

"**Hmph!" Katsu turns her nose up into the air. "Settling down with the girl you've known forever— how unoriginal! How normal . . . as I recall, you told me once that Uzumaki Naruto doesn't **_**do**_** normal." **

"**Trust me babe, you are **_**not**_** normal. Or completely sane. But that's okay, I like my girls a little crazy."**

"What a coincidence," all the males in the room cry, raising their arms. "So do we!"

"**Who are you calling **_**crazy?**_**" Katsu hisses, shooting up to her elbows and glaring darkly.**

"**Me, what are you going to do about it?"**

"**How about I break your legs?"**

"**I love a girl who can kick my ass." Naruto grins. **

"These coincidences just keep getting better!" the males laugh, Minato and Jiraiya edging away from their violent love interests even as they continue laughing.

**Katsu rolls her eyes and sighs in a put upon manner as if thinking, 'this guy is hopeless.' Swinging her legs over her feet touch the carpeted floor and she sits up.**

**Naruto watches her from the corner of his eyes, and wonders how to break this stalemate. "You know . . ." he starts slowly. "I remember, way back in the day— like, **_**way**_** back— when I was seven years old . . . we asked Nami-baba why adults kissed all the time."**

**Katsu sends him a look, but he continues on.**

"**And we wondered why they would kiss on the mouth, because that was so **_**icky**_**. Remember what she said? She said that you kissed people you really liked or loved on the mouths. So we asked her why we didn't kiss her on the mouth, remember that? She laughed and said it's different, not family love but a love between two people who really like each other and want to be with each other all the time."**

"**Hey, that was a long time ago . . ." Katsu frowned but Naruto talked over her.**

"**So, this little orange-haired girl just blinked big gold eyes up at Nami-baba and said, so then . . . can I kiss Naruto, if I love him and am with him all the time? We aren't related!" Naruto grinned monstrously at the slightly mortified groan of Katsu. "I think Nami-baba had never laughed harder."**

"Ah, the logic of children." Tsunade sighs blissfully.

"A pertinent question, which in the context explained, certainly makes sense." Kakashi muses.

"It seems legit." Obito agrees.

"**Yeah, well that was a long time ago." Katsu snapped, turning her face so he couldn't see her bright cheeks.**

**Naruto sniggered. "Aw, don't you love me anymore hime? Don't you wanna kiss me anymore? I'll let you, I **_**promise**_**."**

"Oh God, it's even more hilarious hearing it from sensei." Obito giggles, pressing his face into a couch cushion.

**Katsu glares at him, alarm slightly flaring in her eyes as Naruto drops his book and starts to get up slowly. "No I don't— stay where you are!"**

"**But," Naruto's lips wobble into a tremulous pout. "But I love you hime! Come on . . . give me a kiss!"**

"**No!" Katsu denies, jumping up and dancing around the couch to move from Naruto.**

"**Yeah you do! You did then, you certainly do now!" Naruto insists with a laugh, jumping over the couch. Katsu shrieks and tears off, running out of the house as Naruto follows after.**

"**Kiss me kiss me kiss me!" Naruto shouts, the two darting around the yard.**

"**Never!" Katsu declares with a scream of laughter, hopping over the fence of their yard and running down the road. **

"**I'll get that kiss from you Katsuhime if it's the last thing I do!" Naruto swears, laughing delightedly as he chases after her. **

* * *

**The Chuunin and Jounin forces are all in the same room together, a large auditorium, as they mill around and wait for an announcement from their Hokage.**

"But wait!" Obito cries. "Did he ever get the kiss?!"

"I can answer that for you." Jiraiya supplies. "No."

**Shikamaru clucks his tongue in irritation next to Naruto and Shino, the three friends leaning against a wall until Tsunade comes in. **

"**What a drag, why'd we have to get up so early?" Shikamaru complains.**

"**For the jounin sensei's sake. Why? Because they don't want the genin to suspect anything, hence the chuunin and jounin forces hearing this at the same time." Shino replies promptly. **

"Very good Shino." Minato murmurs.

"**Plus there's already been another attack on a trio of chuunin, and it was only three days after my fight with the same group." Naruto mutters, pocky stick bobbing in his mouth as he speaks. **

"**So the rumors were true?" Shikamaru mutters, losing that disinterested and tired look on his face for something a little more serious. "Jeez, the Leaf has no so small amount of enemies."**

"**It's the price you pay for excelling in a field like ours." Naruto shrugs. He thought about the messges he had gotten from Haku, stating the absolute proficiency of the group, and how it was difficult for him to get close or get a read on them. **

"**Yes, both individual and collectively, Konohagakure no Sato has always been a powerhouse, churning out more stars than any other village." Kakashi informs them cheerily, eyes trained on his Icha Icha.**

"**Onii-san, you missed the best chocolate shortcake last night." Naruto playfully reproached the older man.**

**Kakashi's eyes widened, then narrowed as he looked at him. "You couldn't save me a piece?"**

"**Between Katsu and me, Shikamaru, Chouji, Anko and Genma? Not a chance." Naruto scoffed, grinning as the last man in question sidled up to them. **

"**It was delicious and I thought of you with each bite that melted in my mouth Kakashi." Genma taunted silkily, his smirk not lessening even as Kakashi's chakra killing intent rose to a slow crescendo.**

"**None of that Kakashi, or else you might start something you can't finish." Anko warns flirtatiously, grinning at the group.**

"**But I always finish what I start." Kakashi deadpans, looking genuinely confused. **

**Shikamaru and Naruto scoff, looking away from the other man. "Stupid elite jounin." **

**All talking, all noise period stops when Tsunade walks onto the stage before them. Every ninja in the room straightens and forms perfect rows as they all bow as one.**

**Tsunade's impassive eyes flicker around the room. "At ease shinobi."**

**Her eyes narrow, her chakra swirling through the room with a definitive frostiness that sets them all on edge. "We are being prodded by a group of shinobi, whose motives for the moment are only this: to piss me off. Probably not the hardest thing to do," Tsunade smirks, and they all feel safe enough to let smirks of their own flit across their faces. "But the way they're going about it is particularly . . . stressful. You know of the two public attacks already, first a sole chuunin returning from a mission and more recently the trio of chuunin, one of which is still in critical condition from the damage he's taken.**

"**But what these fools don't seem to understand is that they are prodding a sleeping beast. A beast that has proven more than capable of crushing any threats and coming out victorious. These fool shinobi, don't seem to realize that they're messing with shinobi of Konoha, who each carry a burning Will of Fire." Tsunade pauses, eyes roving slowly over the assembly before here.**

"**That being said, we cannot be hasty or arrogant. From now on, there will be no solo missions until we can ascertain the whereabouts of our enemies and deal with them decisively. I will be depending heavily on ANBU and our jounin force to increase security watch around the perimeter of the village. Your enemies are a group of five men, men who have seen the coming and going of the Second Shinobi World War just as I have. They are fast, they are careful, and they rarely ever miss— a dangerous enemy. If you see or notice anything strange either around the village or on a return mission notify me immediately." Tsunade instructs almost harshly, but each shinobi in the room takes her words to heart and commits to them.**

**These men had hurt their comrades, and they threatened the safety of Konoha. They would be **_**dealt with**_**. **

"Good to know the Will of Fire burns even more strongly in the new generation." Minato murmurs approvingly.

**The changes are swift and immediate, and so for two days Naruto is abused by his fellow shinobi for his shadow clones and sharpened senses above the average shinobi— though he meets many an Inuzuka who commiserates with him, so he doesn't feel quite so bad about that. **

"My poor, hardworking son." Kushina giggles.

**Two days where the village is put under an air of caution and wariness, and it surprises Naruto how uncomfortable he feels watching the civilians tense and anxious for any sign of attack. He thinks to himself that— son of Namikaze or no, Jinchuuriki or no; he would have become a shinobi just so he could protect his home and his precious people. **

**On the third day— no . . . that very evening, the village is infiltrated.**

"What?! After all the changes . . . these guy cannot be that good." Obito growls.

**Naruto looks over maps and schedules with Shikamaru and a grizzled jounin by the name of Hayashida Kenji. **

"Ooh, I win the bet!" Kushina laughs.

"What bet?" Rin asks.

"No one thought Hayashida would live through the war— said he was so paranoid he'd end up doing himself in eventually. But _I_ voted _for_ Hayashida, ha!" Kushina gloats.

"**Hayashida-san, what about any attempts to get in through the Forest of Death?" Naruto murmurs in question.**

"**Though it might be viable to get in, they will never get out of that Forest. Between Anko and the animals in there, along with the occasional training ANBU they would certainly have a hard time." Shikamaru replies.**

"If the enemy is hungry enough, they'll make it happen." Jiraiya lectures calmly.

"**Speculative theories, and all with holes." Naruto responds calmly.**

**Hayashida nods in thought. "Both arguments are sound, but in the end . . . a good nin prepares for every outcome. In the rare event that an enemy can get in through the Forest of Death Konoha would be sorry for such a talented enemy to come into the village. There should be, ideally, two squads put into place . . . however . . ."**

"**We are short on shinobi at the moment, and the only recourse would be to either cut missions or assign genin to the job— neither favorable." Naruto fills in the open sentence. **

"Aww, he's so cute." Kushina murmurs.

"He's professional." Minato corrects with a laugh.

"Even cuter!" Kushina giggles.

"**Missions we can't afford to let pass by, and we need all our fresh blood to build up Konoha. Man, what a drag . . ." Shikamaru sighs. "What about if we assign one guard, with rotating volunteers from our departments?" **

"There's an idea Nara," Tsunade congratulates. "Put that genius brain to work!"

"**I'll consult your old man and the Hokage to see if it's feasible." Hayashida growls. He smirks at Shikamaru. "You're turning out to be a chip on the old block Nara . . . and you, Uzumaki. Not bad kid."**

**Naruto sighs. "I just want this to be over so I can sleep a full night."**

**Hayashida laughs in a rather hoarse manner. "Child, if you think this is bad you would have never survived in the War." **

**Naruto snorts, but doesn't comment. He just wanted to go home and eat Katsu's home cooking, and maybe play a round or two of poker with whatever sucker came over for dinner.**

**Katsu sneezes, sniffling. "Someone must be talking about me." She giggles, swinging her arms as she walks down the road. Head tilting back to look up at the sky, she sighs. **

"Oh crap." Obito groans.

"She wouldn't be part of this unless . . . she is part of the invasion." Rin grimaces, hating to hear it said out loud.

"**I hadn't expected to stay out so late," she murmurs. "But seeing as Naruto has been coming home late these days, no one will care if I don't have dinner up **_**just**_** yet."**

**Katsu had been training with her Bo staff in the forest, a ways away from the village center. There were no houses here, just trees and brush, the moon and the wind. Oddly, she couldn't help but think of this as a rather romantic scene.**

**Thinking of romance made her think of Naruto. Which made her both blush and scowl.**

Despite the tension, Kushina couldn't stop the smirk that lifts her lips. This girl was truly her perfect daughter-in-law. Like Kushina, she didn't fall so easily into love's allure.

**Really . . . why couldn't he see she was just looking out for him? She knew he loved her. But just how deep that loves go . . . well, she just thought it'd be better for him to really think about that. **_**Then again**_**— she sighs exasperatedly. She had been telling herself the same things ever since she was ten years old. If she couldn't even convince herself she wasn't in **_**love**_** love with Naruto, she couldn't dare hop to convince him. **

Obito snorts. "_Love_ love . . . how childishly adorable."

**Which, really, was just bothersome. He had so much to do— she had so much she wanted to do!**

"She could still work," Rin mutters in slight confusion. "He wouldn't stop her."

**She wanted to laugh at all the silly little girls that fell over themselves for her best friend once he grew up into an undoubtedly handsome man. Now she would be more focused on not **_**being like **_**those silly little fawning girls. Meaning she'd be missing out on some prime blackmail and harassment material, not to mention some hilarious laughs, and all because she was too busy keeping herself together in his presence.**

**That **_**sucks.**_

"Dear God, she's your reincarnation." Minato says to his girlfriend, who playfully socks him on the shoulder.

"**Aren't you Kuroshio Katsu?" a deep, almost grave voice breaks her from her thoughts. Her brow furrows— that voice was unfamiliar.**

"**You're searching for . . . ?" her voice dies, stuck in her throat as she turns around.**

**Five men look back at her with dangerous eyes, glittering with steely resolve. Five men who looked about Jiraiya's age.**

Minato's grip tightens on the book as hisses and growls fill the room. He had a feeling this chapter would be another difficult one to read. It seems the book was starting to take a graver tone, and he silently mourned for the coming storm his son would have to weather through.

**She swallows, her suddenly dry mouth bothering her a little. **_**Oh come on . . . **_

**Her sudden pale face must alert them. "It's nothing personal. You just made the wrong kinds of friends . . ." the one with brown hair and beard, the facial hair smeared with grey, speaks sympathetically. "For our cause, we cannot falter. If you comply, we will make this painless."**

Rin scoffs. "Beating someone half to death cannot be painless."

"They don't want to beat her, Rin." Minato corrects quietly.

**Katsu turns around fully. Well . . . . **_**fuck**_**. She shifts to the balls of her feet, rocking back and forth slightly as she shoves her hands in her pockets. "You gonna hurt a defenseless little girl?"**

"**Hurting you won't be painless. But we can assure your death will be." The man answers calmly. **

**Katsu nods. "Well I can appreciate that I guess. But, just so you know . . . I'm not going to make this easy at all." With quick movements her hands shoot out and throw smoke-flash tags, a la Uzumaki, at the ground before them. As they jump away and the tags go off, Katsu darts off, disengaging the gravity seals on her to sprint at her full speed. **

**Kohaku sighs, rubbing his eyes to try and get rid of the flash that seems to float behind his eyelids. "Find her." He orders softly. As his men flit away, he opens his eyes slowly, the steely grey orbs cold and unfeeling. He follows after his men.**

* * *

**Naruto yawns loudly, long canines a sharp impression against the cavern of his mouth.**

"**Where you heading to now Shikamaru?" Naruto asks.**

Kushina's heart trembles with feeling for her little boy. She could only imagine how scared and angry he'll be when he finds out about the men hunting Katsu down.

"**Man, if I go home now my okaa-san will just scream at me about not telling her where I've been going. Troublesome woman, I take up my chuunin duties like I'm supposed to, and she still screams." Shikamaru grumbles.**

"**Well . . . Katsu was doing something and I was planning on catching up with her to walk home. Want to come with?" Naruto offers.**

"Gah, a part of me wishes you wouldn't but mostly I'm just hoping you find her!" Tsunade whispers, tension coiling in her belly.

**Shikamaru ponders this. If he caught the orange-haired princess in a good mode he'd most certainly be able to weasel some brownies out of her. Sold. "Fine." He sighs.**

**Naruto grins at Shikamaru's play of being put-upon. "Well then, off we go!"**

* * *

**Katsu swallows a shriek at the kunai that fly past her nose, dropping to a roll, one leg kicked out to catch one assailant in the stomach and send him flying with her continued motion. Scrabbling back up she dodges and dances around kunai and shuriken as best as she can, still getting sliced by a few.**

**Gritting her teeth she throws an exploding tag and keeps moving. **_**What should she do?!**_** If she goes near the village, she had the distinct feeling these guys wouldn't shy away and try and hurt the other villagers. But trying to go at this alone was suicide! **

"Try and signal someone." Kakashi murmurs, it is almost a whisper.

**She can't stop the scream that tears from her lips as two kunai hit the mark on her shoulder blade. With a grunt she darts to the side and eases the kunai out. Slapping her right hand to her inner left wrist she grabs the Bo staff that pops out from her storage seal and turns on a dime, the hard end catching one man in the face and she whirls, catching another in his inner knee and pressing hard. She tilts her head back to avoid the slash of a sword and with a flick of her wrist the staff flies up and into the genitals of the black-haired man with the samurai style. He goes down with a whine, and she turns to flee.**

"Just dodge and run, don't fight!" Rin whimpers.

"Just running isn't going to help her." Kushina whispers, though she also wishes Katsu could just run so far and so fast she'd fly into the sky and stay safe.

**Panting harshly, she thinks desperately, **_**I could really use some help . . . but how can I get anyone here?!**_

"**Doton: Earth Dragon Bullet!" A voice shouts behind her. Katsu looks over her shoulder, paling as a **_**big-ass**_** dragon made of mud comes speeding at her like the bullet its name implied.**

"**Shit!" she curses, enhancing her jump with chakra to flee into the trees. The dragon splatters behind her, the earth it impacted shattering with the force. As she is followed into the treetops, she suddenly realizes how to get some help.**

_**Flare! I just need to flare my chakra! Gah, they better not be sleeping on the job! **_**Katsu thinks grimly, ignoring the bite of a kunai as it grazes her outer right thigh.**

**(line break)**

**Naruto and Shikamaru walk through town, joking and conversing about things other than the crazy ninja trying to get at their Hokage. Whoever wanted to take on Tsunade, good luck.**

"Shit I can't stand this." Obito groans. "God, isn't there some way Naruto can just know?" he whines.

"This isn't a fairytale," Minato chides his student. "Sometimes, you can't be there like you want to be there. Like you need to be there. And you have to live with that, and except it."

"He won't be able to live with this if she dies." Obito murmurs. No one answers.

"**Hey, isn't that Hinata?" Shikamaru interrupts Naruto's joke about Jiraiya and a never-filling tub, as he points over at the blushing Hyuuga heiress speaking with Sakura and Ino, a frazzled Sasuke being kept there by the strong-willed kunoichi. **

"**It is . . . let's go save her, she looks about ready to faint," Naruto murmurs, and then raises his voice. "Hey, Hinata!"**

**By the obvious relief on the pale-eyed girl was waiting for an opportunity to leave the gossiping duo to themselves. "Evening, Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-san." She greets quietly.**

"**Hey," Naruto grins. "We were about to go get your girl, want to come with us?"**

"**That depends," Hinata murmured mischievously, "are there brownies in store for my future?"**

"**I'm sure she'll oblige." Naruto rolls his eyes good naturedly. **

* * *

**Katsu falls from the tree with a guttural cry of pain, but she doesn't miss a beat as she flips up and starts running again. Funny, she was coming to the old field she and Naruto had played in, and later trained in together. **

Tsunade clutches at her shoulder, other arm wrapping around herself to quell the butterflies that want to rip her stomach apart. Feeling a larger hand on her own, she glances over at Jiraiya who still looks at Minato's reading form. She doesn't move his hand, and yet doesn't admit to feeling grateful.

**Her trip down memory lane was broken by a kunai to her leg. She falls down heavily, skidding. With trembling hands she brings her leg up and presses around the kunai, stifling a cry by biting her lip until it bled. She tries to scrabble back up, but her leg hurts too much— it's not the first hit it's taken.**

Rin can't help it. Tears come to her eyes and push over the edge. She tries to cry as quietly as possible, breathing through barely parted lips so no sniffling sound comes from her. Still, Kakashi and Obito grip her hands, and she squeezes back in reassurance.

"**We offered you a peaceful death, but you foolishly refused." The bearded man is back, and his apathy and cold tone both angers her and sends chills down her spine. She glares at the man, spitting in his general direction.**

"**Don't think I'm out of tricks just yet old man!" she snarls, and clutching the last of her explosive tags— she counts them and nods in satisfaction, five all at once ought to make for a rather attention grabbing spectacle— she hurls them at the ground in front of the men. They jump away again, this time farther once they see how many she has. **

**Katsu curls into a ball, hoping to avoid any debris from the blast. Concentrating, she searches deep inside for a large enough flare of chakra to be noticed. She blasts it from her body, and concentrates on just one thought.**

_**Naruto Naruto NARUTO!**_

* * *

**The explosion catches the attention of the villagers and the shinobi.**

**The bright flare of chakra catches Naruto's attention.**

_**Hime?**_** He thinks in surprise, focusing on the emotions he can feel. Fear, desperation, **_**pain **_**. . . **

**Naruto's eyes flare red, and it startles Shikamaru and Hinata who are looking at him. **

"**Naruto, what is it?" Shikamaru asks warily. This was his first viewing of the demon that Naruto carried.**

"**Katsu. She's where the explosion is. She's hurt . . . and scared . . ." Naruto strained voice startles them all. Ino, Sakura and Sasuke who had walked up to them upon hearing Shikamaru's question, stiffen in shock with the rest of them. **

**Naruto's scarlet eyes nearly glow with malice as he looks at Ino. "Go and alert the Hokage of the attack— the intruders are most likely in the village. Tell her Katsu is there . . . she'll understand." Without another word, he sprints off, taking to rooftops to cut through the village. Hinata, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Sakura follow after him without hesitation.**

"Oh God, please make it in time." Kushina whispers, voice almost nonexistent.

Obito still remain s optimistic. "Oh thank goodness, she'll be fine with him there." He sighs in relief. And, no one has the _heart_ to try and ground him in reality.

**Ino gulps, spinning to run to the Hokage Tower. She sends up a small prayer for the safety of all involved. **

* * *

**Katsu's world is spinning. Her head is ringing and pounding . . . she coughs, spitting out an impressive glob of blood. Wiping her mouth of the smeared life liquid, she struggles to all fours. The collar of her shirt is suddenly choking her as she is lifted into the air.**

**Steel grey eyes. She narrows her eyes. Kakashi had a much darker, much prettier eye than this pitiful bastard. More like a dangerous storm front, filled with the electricity that would make lightning and sweep away trees and drown the land. **

Kakashi's laugh trembles only faintly, but no one comments. "She's delirious. There's no other way she would admit to any good point about me." He breathes out.

**She would have to tell Kakashi that— that she liked his eye. **

**A blow to her cheek brings her back to a more lucid state, though still not quite at the mental faculties she wished she could be, if only to have better success trying to find a way to escape and live.**

"**You have spit upon our offer of an honorable death. Now you shall die like an animal." The man's clipped tones stir some sort of amusement in Katsu.**

"**Buddy, let me throw that right back at you. They are going to **_**slaughter**_** you." She giggles a little hysterically. **

"_He_ will." Jiraiya mutters in correction.

"**They won't find us." The man replies. "You're little fire show still hasn't brought any reinforcements. You gave us a good fight, for a civilian **_**and**_** a woman; all our information said you were **_**just**_** a civilian. You're not **_**just**_** a civilian." Steel darkens to iron as his eyes narrow, as if displeased with the hiccup in information.**

**Which was probably true. He and his group had been ever so careful so far . . . everything, every factor had to be accounted for. Katsu felt a little proud she could have been the one unpredictable factor.**

**Unpredictability made her think of Naruto. She was too disoriented to blush.**

"**You are going to die now." The man declares quietly, yet very firmly as if she would argue about this.**

**Which she **_**would**_** . . . if she **_**could**_**. She was pretty sure her concussion had a concussion. **

**A large beefy arms raises up, and she follows the corded appendage, follows the veins and the bulging muscle up, up, up . . . to the thick wrist and then to the calloused palm that held aloft a katana. A very pretty katana, she couldn't help but notice, with pretty lavender silk and a nice little charm at the end . . . it **_**had**_** to belong to the man with the long black hair. She couldn't see the grizzly bearded bear wielding something so pretty.**

**Bearded bear. A little giggle escapes her lips. What alliteration.**

**Something almost like pity sparks in the man's eyes that are now lightened to a soft grey. He must think this is a mercy killing. **

A chime from the T.V. makes them all turn their heads. Words, glowing soft and white against the swirl of pixels are taken immediate notice of.

_This part would perhaps be a little difficult to read. At least with Naruto's near brush with darkness, it would have been cruel to make you watch that. This should be watched . . . if that is your wish. _

The general mood in the room plummets, growing perturbed and fearful.

"If they think we should watch this . . . then I think we should." Kushina speaks quietly.

". . . Okay. Are we all ready?" Minato asks, setting the book down. When he sees them all nod, he picks up the remote and puts on the TV.

_(TV mode) _

_The katana flashes._

_Blood sprays._

_And Katsu is dropped unceremoniously to the ground as the bearded bear shouts in alarm and pain. He clutches the wrist where blood pitches. Katsu looks down at the katana he has dropped, and sees a bloody axe next to it. _

* * *

"_Kohaku!" the snarl of righteous fury makes the man grit his teeth against the pain and glare at the attacker. Naruto glares right back, twice as frightening with his jagged thick scars and bloody scarlet irises. Katsu blinks in mild surprise— behind him are Hinata, Shikamaru, Sakura and Sasuke._

"Oh thank goodness, they made it in time." Rin sighs in relief.

_Katsu scoots away from the group, reaching for Naruto's axe as she does. A sandaled foot stomps down on her hand, and she cries out in pain._

_Naruto snarls, taking a step forward. "Why are you attacking a civilian Kohaku? Much less a woman! Have you no honor?!"_

"_Honor does not ensure the job gets done." Kohaku dismisses him. "Fine, now there will be an audience to her death."_

"_The only ones dying tonight are you and your cronies!" Sakura snaps, cracking her fists as she prepares to step up. She is stopped by Sasuke's hand._

"_Sasuke—"_

"_You're the only one with medical training. We'll need you back here to support us." Sasuke reminds her stoically. Grimacing, she nods and steps back._

"That and, you might be picking up on training but you'll be easy pickings for these guys." Obito mutters.

"_Give it up Kohaku, you've been caught. You will be arrested, and then the Hokage will decide what to do with you." Shikamaru commands._

"_Don't presume anything child!" Kohaku snarls, spittle flying from his lips in a sudden fury. "I'll kill that bitch too!"_

_A sound through the air. _

_Before Kohaku can move, one of his men dive into the way. "Kohaku—ugh!" the man falls to the ground. Stuck in his neck, are two senbon. Kohaku snarls, looking back at the direction they came from._

"Yes! Haku!" Obito and Rin hiss, high-fiving.

_Naruto uses his distraction to perform a Kawarimi with his axe, grabbing Katsu and sprinting away. Sasuke and Shikamaru lob exploding tags at the exact same time, and the whole scene dissolves into chaos. _

_Hinata, Shikamaru and Sasuke dive into the fray, keeping the enemies at bay whilst Naruto places Katsu by Sakura. "Sakura, heal her and keep her safe." Naruto orders._

"_Right!" Sakura mutters, kneeling down and starting her duty of healing Katsu._

_Katsu smiles at Naruto. "Hey, you were right on time." _

_Naruto smiles, giving her thumbs up. "How about a kiss as a reward? Later, later, yeesh. . . Now—"he stands, twirling both axes as a bloodthirsty grin spreads across his face._

_Naruto leaps in, slashing and hacking away at whatever piece of the enemy he could find. With more people on his side, it was easier, but not by much. _

_Kohaku bellows wordlessly, blocking and parrying not only for himself, but for his friends. Jutsu and weapons fly, and the men had the advantage on both. They knew more jutsu, they used jutsu better, and they had better experience with weapons. But the Konoha group was holding their own._

_It helped that every so often, senbon would fly from the sides of the forest to knock weapons off course, and slash at their enemies. Only Sasuke had an idea of who this was, and he smirked at Naruto in passing as a senbon deflected a kunai meant for his neck._

_Idate swings around as he skids away, hands flying through seals. "Katon—" At the very last second he leaps away, dodging the pale fist that slams a deep crater into the ground where he had once stood._

"You took your sweet time Tsunade-hime." Jiraiya jokes, grinning at the not so hard hit she gives him.

_Tsunade straightens up, glaring at the invaders of her home. "So, you bastards are still alive!"_

_The words call for a cease fire._

_The two groups are split once again— Konoha versus the intruders. Tsunade takes stock of everything, honey eyes roaming as her two ANBU guards are tensed and ready for anything. The panting, but stony-faced ninja on her side, to the determined form of Sakura healing a coiled up, wounded and hissing Katsu, and then to the intruders who are looking _a lot_ worse for the wear themselves._

_Tsunade's eyes narrow. "Why are you attacking Konoha? What is your business with me Kohaku?"_

_Kohaku smirks. "It has been my life goal for these many years since that War . . . to make you suffer Tsunade."_

_Tsunade growls. "And so you take the cowards way and attack innocent people not involved? A child, for Kami's sake?"_

_Kohaku growls, anger filling his features. "I don't care to hear your preaching on honor or killing children Tsunade!" He raises two fingers to his mouth and whistles. It is sharp and loud, long and high._

_The Konoha ninjas dodge just in time to avoid a volley of explosive tags. Five ninja jump from the shadows of the forest to join Kohaku's group. _

"Shit!" Kushina hisses.

"There was no mention of additional forces?" Jiraiya growls.

"_Reinforcements?!" Tsunade spits, spitting mad. __**There was no intel about this! **__Her mind hisses. _

"_I want at least one alive, preferably the leader Kohaku!" Is Tsunade's only command as they all begin to fight their opponents. She goes for Kohaku, honey brown eyes glinting with a steely ferocity. _

_It is a chaotic scene, jutsus shouted over one another, others forced to dodge and leap over it as they continue their own battles. _

They are completely absorbed in the fight, as if they are there. Every twitch restrained from full motion, what they would do, how they would dodge. Every near miss their loved ones in the future experience makes them flinch, tempers rising.

_Haku has left his shadowy perch and has engaged the extra nin on Kohaku's side, his ice jutsu grabbing attention for a split second before it its them that he's a Konoha ally. His use of his rare ice kekkei genkai is indeed novel, and they feel relief he is with them. _

"_Naruto, I expect an explanation about him!" Tsunade shouts as she fight Kohaku._

"_Yes ma'am!" he shouts, dipping and weaving frantically. His opponent fought with an unbridled enthusiasm, face contorted in a crazed desire to fight and see blood._

"_I'm gonna cut you to pieces you little shit!" the man hisses, dirt brown hair flying around his face as he fights. What makes it all the worse is his very sharp, very deadly Kusarigama. Naruto bends nearly ninety degrees to avoid the sickle end decapitating him as the weapon flies. The last time he tried to tangle it with his own weapons he ended up nearly being electrocuted by a raton jutsu from his opponent, and now made sure to only go for direct hits to the man's person._

"What a freak!" Kushina hisses. "How dare he!" She growls unintelligible words, furious that she cannot do anything. Even if this hasn't happened yet, her heart still pounds.

_Which was not often._

_Naruto and the opponent whirl around each other, Naruto spamming Kage bushins which are nearly always destroyed by one of the opponents of his friends, using the senbon they pick up after Haku has thrown them. Soon Haku just switches to ice or water senbon after seeing this, grinning wickedly under his mask when they just melt away. _

_Slash, hit, punch, kick— the man takes it all in stride and comes back for more! His axes had long ago been thrown by the man's stupid chain, and his daggers were soon useless. He was back to his claw knives. His Crimson Blades at least, when they hit, were effective. But the man still gets back up!_

"He has a lot of experience musuko," Minato murmurs. "But if you can just wear him down . . . you can win this!"

"_Hinata!" he hears Katsu scream. He looks over and sees Hinata sprawled on the ground and scrabbling to get back up, but her opponent is bearing down on her. He dodges the Kusarigama and sprints to Hinata, a high kick sending the attacker flying away and he grabs Hinata to pull her up._

"_Thanks Naruto-kun!" Hinata coughs, Byakugan flaring as she races back to capitalize on her wheezing opponent. Naruto's instincts allow him to dodge a katon jutsu and then roll under the slash of his opponent's Kusarigama. _

"_Hey kid, you're not bad!" the man laughs. "It's too bad you're still such a green thumb though." _

_Naruto doesn't respond, thinking it to be a taunt to distract him. The man's Kusarigama slashes, flies, and Naruto leaps back further and further._

_**Just how long is this chain?! **__He snarls. He is about ten feet from the man now._

"_Here's a bit of advice kid," the man calls. "You aren't the only one who can do clone jutsu!"_

_**What?! **__Naruto balks, then turns as he hears a rumbling behind him. A clone of the man is rising from the ground, and the Kusarigama is a silver flash heading towards him. He jumps— he isn't fast enough._

"_Aah!" it's half growl half scream as he falls to the ground in a rolling heap; leg bloody from the deep cut. Snarling, he shoots to his feet, though he favors the injured leg. Both clone and original come for him with matching grins. _

Kushina whimpers, hands curled up so tightly her blunt nails bite into her palm, and she grits her teeth. Minato smoothed out her fists with his own larger hands, and squeezes carefully.

_It's slowly turning in the favor of the other man. With his leg so badly hurt, Naruto cannot move as quickly or as agile as before. He slowly starts to get cut deeper and deeper. He falls to the ground in pain when the Kusarigama slashes his arm from the inside of his elbow to his wrist. _

"Oh God, get up!" Kushina whimpers. She wants to turn away, but her pride as a warrior won't let her. Besides, she knows Naruto won't die. The book is still too long. Still . . . why? Why her son?!

"Shit, shit!" Kakashi hisses. Rin whimpers and presses her fists to her mouth so hard her teeth bite into the inner lip flesh.

_The man raises the Kusarigama, and Naruto can only faintly hear the cries of his friends as they realize his plight, but cannot aide him. _

_The Kusarigama falls._

_Naruto feels a tug on his chakra and tumbles to the floor, eyes widening as he realizes someone performed Kawarimi to switch with him._

_Blood sprays. _

"No!" Kushina cries.

_Katsu coughs up blood, hand falling away from the opponent's chest as she sways. Naruto chokes, as he watches Katsu fall to the ground. The man backs up, clutching his chest. He grips the kunai that pierces him, but can no longer get it out. He falls to the ground, dead._

"It's too deep . . . she has to get to the hospital now, but . . ." Tsunade's faltering whisper brings the mood down even lower.

_Naruto doesn't care about that. There is no fight. There is no pain from his injuries._

_There is his best friend, dying._

"_O-Oh God," he chokes out, crawling over to a trembling, coughing Katsu whose eyes are glazed from pain. "It . . . oh God— it's okay. It's okay!" he soothes. "We'll heal you up, we . . . we have to get to the hospital . . ."_

_Katsu coughs, eyes that were clenched shut in pain now opening halfway. A small, sad smile crosses her lips. "We won't make it in time, Naru . . ."_

"_Yes we will." Naruto insists forcefully, shaking hands smoothing away blood-soaked strands of hair from her pale face, the streaks of blood on it smearing her complexion that grows paler. He makes to move her— fighting, treason be damned! — When Katsu grabs his wrist. _

_Katsu shakes her head, tears starting to well. "I'm so sorry . . ."_

"_No," Naruto groans, looking pained. "No don't say that. God, please, just . . . shit! No, no, no . . . Tsunade can—"_

"Oh God, his face . . ." Kushina sobs, head dropping into her hands. Minato wraps his arms around her, but he doesn't turn away from the screen. This was their world; he wouldn't back down from this. He would watch all of this; take this all in so he would never take the changed future for granted.

"This can't be . . . isn't this too cruel?" Rin whimpers.

_Katsu shakes her head, a hand trembling as it reaches for Naruto. Naruto takes hold of it tenderly, brings it to his face as tears start to course down his cheeks. "You think she can get over here? Naruto, please . . . I don't have much time. So listen ok?"_

_She takes a deep, shuddering breath. "Don't die here, ok? You deserve so much happiness, all the happiness the world has to offer! You . . . you bring so much joy to people. You've brought so much joy to me. Don't let that all go to waste— don't close yourself off from happiness. I'll . . . never, _ever_ forgive you . . . if you do." She coughs, blood oozing from her mouth, and Naruto sobs, clutching to her tightly._

_**No, no, no, no, no, oh please God please no . . . **_

"_Don't go . . . don't, please . . ." he sobs. "Don't leave me alone!"_

_Katsu smiles at him. "You won't be alone. You have so many people who love you and care for you."_

_Naruto shakes his head frantically, but can't think of what to say. "I love you, I__** love**__ you, I love you __**so much**__, I love you—"_

Tsunade heaves a shuddering sigh, tears making her eyes bright and glassy. Two kids who should have had all the time in the world, who should have had so much more together . . . torn apart _so_ early. Too early. God, this reminded her so much of Dan and her, but this was somehow even worse.

"He won't make it, if she's gone." Obito whispers.

_A half laugh, half sob tears from Katsu's throat. "I know. God, Ru, I love you too. I am so in love with you. More than you'll ever know . . . so that's why I want you to be happy. It'll hurt, I know. It'll hurt a long time, but . . . maybe one day; you can have happiness come easy to you again. Maybe someday you can accept love again. That's my greatest wish for you, Naruto. I love you— I want only for you to be happy."_

Minato loved her optimism for his son's future, but he suspected he wouldn't ever really fall in love quite like this again. Especially as their love was still so young.

"_I'll keep going." He whispers brokenly. "But I can't live without you."_

_Katsu's smile is heartbroken; it wobbles on her lips and is drenched with salty tears. "Maybe one day, you'll surprise yourself. I can't tell you anymore after this . . . I wish I could cram in a lifetime right now, but I'll have to take what I can get— I love you, Uzumaki Naruto. I love you, I love you I love you . . ."_

_Naruto shudders, sobbing, whispering brokenly, desperately, his love to her. _

"_NARUTO!" Tsunade screams, but he doesn't care what she's screaming about. His love, his life . . . her breaths are getting shorter, the blood just won't stop . . . _

_Katsu pushes him away with surprising strength, the last of her strength. "Katsu—!" He gasps. The next words are stolen from him as an ANBU grans him around the middle and rockets away, just as a wave of ice cold wind whips past. Naruto feels the bite, the absolute cold even as he moves away._

"_Katsu!" he screams brokenly. He hadn't been holding onto her— she'd pushed him away . . . he waits for the blizzard to pass, a large-scale jutsu that Haku uses— it freezes the legs and arms of the enemies. Cuts them down, wears them down . . . where is she? _

_She lies there, on the ground in the same position. Her skin is pale and tinged blue. _

Jiraiya closes his eyes.

"She's . . . she's gone." Rin whispers , as if she can't believe it.

_She is dead._

_And so is Naruto._

_**What is this . . . ? **__He wonders, only watching the fallen girl. Sakura runs to Katsu, trying to do something, anything. But her expression is clear— the girl is Dead. His vision swivels around when the ANBU— a lizard mask— grabs him, and Naruto thinks he is speaking but the words are . . . __**I thought, perhaps, I would be in pain . . . but I can't . . . **_

_**I can't feel . . . anything. **_

"_Uzumaki!" The ANBU calls sharply, slapping the boy. When he sees the eyes start to focus, he speaks. "Uzumaki-san, the enemy must be stopped, mourning can come later—"_

"_Why?" Naruto's voice isn't a whisper, it isn't a yell. It's normal, so no one hears him._

_The ANBU growls in anger. "Uzumaki—" he stops when the boy walks past him. Naruto walks out back into the field, eyes only for Kohaku._

"_Kohaku." He calls louder, voice clear . . . dead. "KOHAKU!" he shouts, but it is such a dead sound that they all stop in surprise. _

Obito shivers. "God . . . that voice, he . . ."

_Hinata turns, looking in shock at Naruto, then her eyes flicker down to the body by his side. Her eyes widen in horror, and a shocked sound escapes her lips. _

"_Why?" Naruto repeats. "Why are you doing this? Why am I dead? You didn't just kill her . . . you beat her, hunted her down like an animal. She died scared, and in pain . . . why?" he asks._

_Kohaku smirks, standing up straight, casual. He shrugs and says, "I chose her because of you."_

_Tsunade snarls, and the sound sends shockwaves down spines. "You . . . ! You son of a bitch! Why her?!" she screams. She cannot even look at Naruto._

_Kohaku figures why not. "Tsunade . . . you remember us right? We were on opposite sides . . . and yet, what you did was abominable. You killed our loved ones—"_

"_It was war!" she roars._

"_She was my wife!" he roars back. "Idate's sister, Tsuna's father, Kenshin, Toboe, Haru— you killed them! You killed our friends and family! You're a medic; your job was to heal! Then you decided to get some glory and kill them all! It's all! Your! Fault!" he screams, pointing at her._

"Tsunade-sama? What does he mean?" Rin asks frantically. "We're all shinobi . . .we have to fight."

"Textbook wartime codes, Rin." Tsunade answers wearily. "Medics are, technically, neutral no matter what your village. In theory, a medic can heal any person, no matter what side you and the patient are on. All that should matter to a medic is healing, doing their job. I, was a rarity at the time. I was the first combat-oriented medic-nin . . . it wasn't all that appreciated by the enemy. Even though the chances of medics healing the enemy is slim, it still was . . . quite the scene."

"Not that it excuses Kohaku." Kushina spits. "It's war— we know what happens in war. We knew getting into the whole shinobi business what would happen."

"_We wanted to hurt you! To make you feel like we do every single fucking day! To know the pain we feel at not being with the people we love. So we waited . . . and lo and behold, here you were, becoming Hokage of Konoha! All thanks to some blonde kid. He must have been someone important to bring you in to a place you washed your hands of. So we did some investigating," Kohaku speaks faster now, a glint of madness and inescapable agony in his eyes._

"_We thought it'd be perfect— kill the child you are so fond of. But then we thought about it, did a little more investigating . . . and we came up with that ginger-haired chit. If we hurt him, we hurt you . . . and it'll be even worse. The guilt that will eat you up, knowing she died because of you . . . the fact that he'll hate you for being the cause of her death! It was perfect! And you'd be forced to see that hatred nearly every day, because you cannot give up your seat as Hokage!" Kohaku laughs madly, head flying back and arms wrapping around his middle, because wasn't it just _so damn funny?

"An interesting plan . . ." Minato chuckles, eyes cold and smile sardonic. "But what makes them think Naruto will just fall in line with their plan?"

"That would be the expected reaction," Jiraiya agrees darkly. "And an Uzumaki is never anything expected."

_Tsunade opens her mouth— to screech, to scream, who knows— but is cut off by a quiet voice._

"_I see . . . you did this . . . all for revenge." Naruto whispers. He looks down at his beloved Katsu . . . his beautiful girl . . . Dead Dead Dead._

"_You were hurting. So you decided to hurt her. And to hurt her, you got an innocent involved. Someone who didn't know you, or anything about your involvement in the War. Someone connected to me, who is connected to Tsunade." Naruto recounts it all in a murmur, a hushed tone that captures everyone's attention. _

_Naruto nods slowly, and says something that shocks everyone. "The pain of losing loved ones. Of being alone . . . yes, I understand loneliness. I understand a loved one dying now. I too, would probably want to kill the one involved._

"Naruto?" Kushina murmurs.

"_But you went a step further and kill the person connected. While I find this . . . deplorable. I understand." He whispers._

_Katsu is cold. Katsu is dead. He was cold. He was as good as dead._

_They were cold. They had been walking dead for years. So many years. He understood. Really, he did. _

"_I . . ." he pauses, shutting his mouth. Did he forgive them?_

"If only to spare yourself the pain they went through. Just focus on getting a proper burial." Minato whispers.

_**Do I forgive them . . . ?**_

_**No.**_

"_No," he whispers. "I can't forgive you."_

_The world becomes black._

"Fuck." Kushina says. Perfect description, really.

"What is that . . . ?" Jiraiya trails off, eyes wide as he looks at what Naruto is becoming.

"That . . . is four tails transformation. The bad kind." Kushina mutters.

_To the outside world, Naruto is suddenly engulfed in a large shroud of Kyuubi's bubbling, potent, and deadly chakra. Tails grow from the shroud, waving around. Naruto falls into a crouch, eyes now entirely taken up by red, the pupil is gone. Thick marks surround his eyes, like the Kyuubi— his fangs grow— the chakra grows thicker._

_His skin peels._

"Oh God." Rin croaks weakly, watching the skin peel away with disgust. Big pieces, floating away like paper.

_It floats away, disintegrating and underneath is a roiling mass of black and red chakra, the look is distinctly disgusting. With a large burst, the Kyuubi's chakra creates a shockwave that buffets them all, nearly makes them lose balance._

_Naruto isn't there anymore. He is enshrouded in chakra— he has gone into four-tails mode._

_**This is bad! **__The ANBU Kuma thinks, and prepares himself. __**I have to seal him quickly . . . !**_

_He isn't even able to think fast enough to catch up to Naruto. The boy/fox roars, and it seems as if he disappears._

"_Where did he go?!" one of the invaders screams. A clawed hand through his chest is answer. Naruto rips him in half, and continues on from there._

"_Oh . . . oh my God . . ." Sakura whispers, shaking so terribly. That chakra was horrible . . . she couldn't stand it! _

"Oh baby, no." Kushina moans in horror, tears coming faster now. They can only watch in horror, to shocked to speak, as the sweet and gentle child Naruto had been turned into a bloodthirsty creature, killing so horrifically. It was something straight out of a horror movie.

"_Naruto . . ." Tsunade whispers, eyes wide and haunted as she watches the child tear apart the men. He pays no heed to screams, does not care for pleas of mercy . . . he kills. She shakes her head sharply, and rushes to a trembling Sakura who was closer than any of them to Naruto when he transformed. She is frozen stiff, terrified._

_Tsunade turns back to Katsu, eyes dimming. The girl had no pulse._

"_Sakura," she speaks softly. "Take Katsu to the hospital . . . get Shizune. Tell her to put her in a room and . . . just . . . try to clean her up as best as she can. Naruto has to say goodbye."_

_Sakura blinks— two times, three times— and swallows. She gives a jerky nod in answer, and her limbs are sluggish and rather awkward as she fights past mind-numbing shock to take her task. Katsu is nearly frozen stiff; she has to handle her carefully. Sakura turns and doesn't look back as she runs back into town. Tsunade sighs, and stands to walk back to the genin and the ANBU._

_Inside the mindscape, Naruto is floating in the lake, blank eyes observing the stalagmites._

"_Naruto . . ." he turns. Kyuubi walks onto the lake, tails gently swaying as he looks at the boy with a neutral gaze._

"_You are not in control." Kyuubi says, not unkindly._

_Naruto makes a noise of recognition. "Will I hurt my friends?" he asks._

_Kyuubi thinks about it. "No . . . your instincts are to kill those men. You're not unconscious right now because I'm helping you . . . you can, if you try hard enough, break through the shroud."_

"_I didn't know that would happen." Naruto mentions._

_Kyuubi shakes his head. "I am not surprised. You are down to the last man . . . the mad man."_

_Naruto sits up then, abruptly. Kyuubi eyes him curiously. "I can't kill him." Naruto murmurs._

_Kyuubi nods, not needing an explanation. "Then go, I will make sure you can last long enough to see your affairs through. There should be something I can do . . ." _

_Naruto nods. He closes his eyes and concentrates._

_Out there, as the others watch him kill and beat, and kill some more, they ponder on their inability to do anything but watch._

_Only the ANBU attempted to try and take Naruto down, but he has dodged all their attempts, and them. _

_He has not hurt them._

"_I wonder if that means he's in control . . ." Tsunade murmurs._

_Shikamaru's eyes widen, looking at the woman with disbelief. __**She calls that in control?! **__He scoffs mentally. But . . . he has to wonder too._

Kakashi sighs. "I hope he hasn't just destroyed everything he's worked for. No doubt everyone in the village can feel this."

Minato shakes his head. "I don't even want to think about that now."

_Sasuke does not judge— he is impartial. He knows what Naruto is feeling, multiplied. His entire family is dead— his world ended. It may have been only Katsu that died— but Naruto's world has ended. He will not judge his friend. _

_Naruto falls upon Kohaku now, ripping at flesh and reveling in the man's screams. They watch as he raises a paw for the killing blow, raises it and . . . and . . . _

_He stops._

_Tsunade's eyes widen. Could it be . . . "Naruto?!" she calls._

_The shroud-covered boy turns his head to her. He picks up Kohaku by the shirt— the man won't do anything, both arms are broken anyway. He looks back at Tsunade, and shakes the man, still looking at her._

_Tsunade blinks._

_Naruto . . . blinks back?_

_Warily, she walks forward. The ANBU leap next to her, practically radiating disapproval of her actions. Idiots. She knows Naruto won't hurt her. _

_She walks up until she is five feet away from Naruto. She looks down at the form whose head is cocked to the side. He once again shakes Kohaku._

Kushina sighs in relief. So he was in control.

_Tsunade nods, her voice coming out in her most gentle and soothing tone. "Thank you Naruto. I wanted him alive. Give him to the ANBU please?" _

_Naruto extends his hand, waiting for the ANBU to take Kohaku. After several seconds they take the man, and the ANBU with the lizard mask departs. Kuma stays, hands moving through seals to—_

"_Wait." Tsunade puts her hand over the ANBU' s stopping his jutsu._

"Is he trying to hurt Naruto?" Kushina hisses, angry. "He's in control! He should be thankful Naruto destroyed their enemies!"

"_Hokage-sama—" he tries to argue._

"_Can't you see he's in control? He has been this entire time. Look, he's coming out of this himself."_

_Truly, the chakra starts to fade, little by little. Skin is revealed . . . burned skin, horribly burnt skin . . . and sky blue eyes come back to them, looking at them with that same detached, blank gaze. _

They all wince as more if his body comes into view. Everything, every piece of skin is burnt so terribly . . . yet his clothes, most curiously, remain.

_The chakra is slow to go away, but it does eventually. Naruto's legs buckle, and he falls to his knees, Tsunade with him. Palms glow green as she begins to heal him, totally concentrated on the task._

"_ANBU," She calls sharply, and Kuma straightens quickly. "Go and inform the other forces that the intruders have been take care of."_

"_Yes, Hokage-sama." Kuma disappears in a swirl of leaves._

_Pounding footsteps approach them, but Tsunade does not look away. Hinata drops to their side, tears being pushed back in her eyes, but the tear tracks on her face showing her previous failures. _

"_Naruto . . ." she breathes shakily. "You . . . you're hurt."_

Rin shakes her head. "Hinata at least, will stay with Naruto."

"They're both mourning. Why wouldn't she?" Obito questions.

"_No," he denies. Hinata flinches at his . . . blank voice. A voice with nothing in it. "I'm not . . . this will heal quickly. Kyuubi will make sure."_

"_K-Kyuubi . . ." she stutters. So what Shikamaru was muttering under his breath before was true. "That's good then." She decides firmly._

_Naruto doesn't react, looking past them all at some unknown wraith in the forest. He wonders idly where Haku has gone._

_Where . . . "Where is she?" he whispers, and it's the first emotion they hear in his voice. It's just a hitch, but it's there. The raw agony is there. _

"Oh, you poor thing . . ." Rin murmurs, voice throaty and low from her tears.

"_I'm giving you and Hinata a room," Tsunade speaks quietly. "And time to say goodbye. Don't . . . worry. Everything will be done quickly, you won't have to do anything. She will be with her family."_

_Naruto doesn't react, merely watches as the green glow of Tsunade's palm heals his skin with excellent speed, but the healing factor being pumped up by Kyuubi is still faster. _

"_How much longer?" he asks._

"_Give me twenty minutes." She whispers._

_Twenty minutes later, he walks through the hospital halls, Hinata at his side clutching onto his hand like it was a lifeline in a typhoon. Tsunade walked behind them, patient and silent. He doesn't see anyone that passes them, doesn't notice the whispers and the fearful looks he gets. _

_At the room, people fill the chairs on either side. Sakura is curled up, and doesn't look up at him. Sasuke leans against a wall, and gives him a nod before looking away. Naruto's axes are by his side . . . he'd picked them up, then. Kakashi, Genma, Izumo and Kotetsu . . . Anko and Iruka, everyone they know . . . _

_Jiraiya stands up, gives him this look that he can't describe but, it hurts . . . _

"I guess I got there too late." Jiraiya sighs bitterly, a smirk playing across his lips.

"No, sensei . . ." Minato whispers.

"_Naruto . . ." Jiraiya pauses. Naruto doesn't respond, just turns to Hinata._

"_Go in first— I have to . . ." he gestures to Jiraiya._

_Hinata doesn't speak, just squeezes his hand and walks into the room. His enhanced hearing picks up the soft cry of despair she gives. He turns his attention to Jiraiya, who has now put his hand on his shoulder._

"_Naruto . . . you did good kid." Jiraiya says gruffly. _

_Naruto blinks, head tilting. "You always speak for peace; to forgive your fellow man . . . I killed them."_

"_You killed all but the most important one. You left Kohaku to be questioned— you did your duty. The rest . . ." Jiraiya shrugs, sighing heavily. "There will be a council meeting, you'll have to attend . . . about the Kyuubi's chakra you used."_

"_Oh." Naruto says, as if he doesn't care. He really doesn't, they can see that. Naruto is just grateful no one is coming up to give condolences . . . he'd kill them if they did._

_He walks into the hospital room, sees Katsu still curled up, but not like she'd been on the grounds before. She must be . . . no that was too morbid a thought. He goes on the other side of the bed, pulling up a chair. Hinata cries over Katsu's left hand, biting her lip. He takes the right hand gently in his, brushing a thumb across the pulse point of her wrist. Of course, there is nothing there. Inwardly he feels a tiny spark of relief that her hand isn't as icy as he'd feared. Just cold, from the body heat that left her, that she can no longer make herself. _

_He inhales deeply then lets it out with a sigh, placing his head down next to her shoulder. He closes his eyes, shuts them tight. For a time, he tenderly, softly, holds her hand._

_He opens his eyes slowly, watching her face. How could it looks so peaceful, when she was in so much pain . . . "She looks like she's just sleeping." He whispers brokenly._

"_But she isn't." The voice comes from behind him, but Naruto has known he was there already. He closes his eyes in pained acceptance of the words._

"Dude, such an inappropriate time to pop up." Obito growls.

"_I know." He answers. "Why are you here." He is accusatory._

"_Just to check on you. You lost yourself there for a little while, it seemed." The stranger speaks as if they are only talking about the weather. It disillusions Naruto, and he can appreciate the break from the emptiness he feels._

"_I didn't lose myself. I saw what I was doing. I knew what I was doing." He whispers back._

"_But you can't deny you let go of your self-control. The fact that it was deliberate is a little more incriminating." The man replies._

"Can you blame him? He's only human!" Kakashi growls.

"_I watched the one I love die. Excuse me if I was in pain." Naruto scoffs, eyes going up and down, drinking in every detail of the peaceful face of his beloved._

"_Pain is a constant in life— something you are very familiar with." The man answers back._

_Naruto sighs, dropping his head down onto the bed again. "If you're here to lecture me, I'll kill you, God or not."_

"_I'm no God. And I'm not here to lecture you," the man denies. "I am here to make sure you grow stronger on the path to becoming the hero this world needs—"_

_He got a response out of Naruto then. Standing abruptly, Naruto turns and snarls at the man like a wild animal. "Hero! I never agreed to be a hero, or save the fucking world!" though the words were heated, they were hushed, so no one would come in and see the man._

Minato's mouth twists into a grimace. He himself had put the Kyuubi into the boy, he was sure, to become the hero he was now denouncing. Naruto had no choice, and Minato wonders just how badly he had screwed his son over.

"_What did you agree to then? Did you think I gave you that taijutsu scroll, those claw knives for no reason?" The man asked, and the faintly mocking edge to his voice fuels an anger Naruto is desperate not to let loose._

"Low blow asshole." Tsunade snarls.

"_If I remember correctly, stranger," Naruto speaks softly. "You were just interested in seeing the story unfold."_

"_I also said I would aide you to the path of greatness."_

"_And that greatness is being a hero?" Naruto chuckles with such derision it shocks the stranger. "That's not a full agreement. I never agreed to be a Hero . . . to anyone but Katsu, and look at her. She is dead."_

"_Just because you lost confidence in yourself doesn't mean you're can't still be a hero. These things . . . they are trials all heroes must go through." The man speaks quietly._

_Naruto smirks, looking the stranger right in the eye. "Trials? Trials picked out by the Gods themselves then? Tell me stranger, did the Gods design this? Do they even have anything to do with us pathetic mortals at all?"_

"_The Gods cannot meddle with free will, if that's what you're asking." The man answers carefully._

"So my prayers last week in Iwa were just my fanciful words. Good to know." Kushina chuckles.

"That's not free will. That's a plea for help, and it did help right? If only to give you some courage." Jiraiya points out.

"Theological debates are now banned, I so declare it. I know where these things go, and I will not have it." Minato declares firmly.

_Naruto nods, sighing. "As I thought. They have no say in what I do; I care little for what they say. Any God that would create this just to test me . . . yeah, I'm glad they have no way to meddle with humans."_

"_That's not—"_

"_Oh it isn't? You said they can't mess with free will. That's all our life is, us humans I mean. Our choices made from free will. Fate . . . destiny . . . I spent a good amount of time beating such notions out of Hyuuga Neji, it would be remiss of me to suddenly pick them up now. Do you see where I'm going with this stranger?" he pauses, cerulean blue eyes piercing and pinning the stranger to place._

"_I'm not fated to be some grand hero. My path isn't laid out, and if I stray that's it for the world! I'm not a hero . . . damn it, I'm a shinobi! I'm the jinchuuriki of the King of Bijuu! That's what I am . . . this hero bullshit you're trying to pitch isn't working stranger. Oh, if there's something I can do to save my precious people I'll do it, but that doesn't make me a hero. There's no such thing as heroes. Guys who just follow the path of good and justice, who can destroy the bad guys? Because sometimes the good guys can just really be justified bad guys, or the bad guys are the weak— the ones you had wanted to protect. Sometimes you can't be the hero all the time, the good guy, and you have to become the bad guy. Sometimes the path of good and justice that you decide to take isn't the path for everyone else. You're just an egotistical megalomaniac with a God-complex and a desire to shape the world into your perfect utopia. Fuck heroes . . ._

"_We don't need heroes, just people. Just regular people, with the will and the power to change something. I have the will and power to change something . . . or at least, I thought I did. Maybe, just like any other regular guy, I'm no more in control of my life than an animal." Naruto seems to deflate, turning back to Katsu and sitting down again._

"Wow . . ." Obito mouthed.

"I would like to make a lesson, but I'm damn tired of this chapter." Minato sighs. "Point is, Naruto is right. Maybe not about there being no heroes, but about how everyone can make a difference. Shinobi, artist, merchant or farmer . . . if you try, you can do anything."

"_That's an interesting notion, in its own way. Does that mean you'll give up this path?" The stranger asks, curious._

"_No." the answer is quick, but firm. "This path is one I had started down long before you came stranger. I won't give this up, she asked me not to. She asked me to be happy. So I'll continue down this road, to search for happiness, and to keep all that I love safe. I won't feel this way again . . . I'll keep my loved ones safe. I'll grow stronger; protect them where I couldn't protect her. I swear it!"_

"_Don't promise something you can have no control over." The man cautions mildly._

"_I'll keep them safe . . . I have to." Naruto whispers. _

_The stranger is gone._

_The door opens, and Tsunade pokes her head in, expression gentle. "You've had an hour Naruto. It's time to go now."_

_Naruto looks at her, pained. "I . . ." he swallows, then nods. "Okay."_

_He looks down at Katsu— one last time. Tanned fingers gently trace her cool cheek, brush against closed eyelids. He looks at her lips. He smirks bitterly and thinks, __**I was right. This would be the last thing I'll ever do . . . with her. **_

_He leans down, and gives her their first and last kiss. Small, gentle as butterfly wings he brushes his lips against hers, and then he walks away and does not look back._

_Tsunade loops an arm around his shoulders, and as one everyone in the room gets up. Hinata and Jiraiya follows them home as the others say one last goodbye to Katsu. By the time they get to the door leading out the hospital, his friends have caught up with him. Sasuke is by his shoulder, Hinata clutching his hand, Shikamaru behind him. Sakura walks a little ways away, but the fact that she is there is a nice enough gesture for Naruto to ignore the distance. Iruka, Anko, and Jiraiya are like their escorts. The walk home is a procession followed by many curious eyes, not as frightened as Naruto would expect._

_It feels slow to him, that walk, and yet, they are home before he knows it. They open the door, and he only hesitates a beat before walking in. He takes off his shoes and walks into the living room. He pauses there, unsure of what to do. Where to go. Does he even want to be here? This house isn't his . . . this was theirs. Why is he here now?_

_A gentle hand takes hold of his, and he looks down at the manicured fingernails. Tsunade leads him to the couch, and sits in front of it on the ground. There is some trouble getting Naruto's unresponsive limbs to fall with Tsunade, but he tumbles down eventually. She leans back against the couch and pulls Naruto back gently to lean on her, his head resting on her shoulder as his body slumps. Raising her knees, she loops her arms around them, sort of caging Naruto with her body. She rests her head on his spiky one, and breathes deeply, hoping he would eventually just do something._

_For a time, Naruto is just still, eyes looking far away from everyone as they settle themselves on the furniture, taking care not to look at him. Eventually, his legs rise, knees coming up. Tsunade adjusts her arms, and Naruto's knees come to press against his chest, as he tucks himself in tightly and his head drops to his knees. Tsunade shifts with him, head still resting against his and her legs now looping around both of their knees._

"_Nade . . ." he whispers shakily._

"_Naruto." She murmurs back._

"_Nade." His voice breaks._

_She sighs, nuzzles his head. "Naruto . . ."_

"_Oh God. Nade . . ." he breathes out, as if he can't even believe it._

"_Naru . . ." she whispers back._

"_I . . ."_

"_I know." She hums._

"_Nade." He whispers, his voice is back to the dead blankness of before. They don't speak anymore. When Jiraiya feels Tsunade's head come to rest against his leg, he knows they are both asleep._

_(End TV mode)_

There is silence. What is there to say? Minato and Kushina just saw their child essentially die right in front of their eyes. What was there to say?

"The book . . . there's still more." Rin whispers, a shaking finger pointed towards it.

Minato blinks slowly, and then looks at the book. Why was there more? What more? That council meeting?

"I guess I better finish it then." He clears his throat, voice just a little hoarse from tears he couldn't help but let escape. He picks up the book, reads from the page it had opened up to.

**Shizune sighs, rubbing at aching shoulders as she goes through her last duties of the night. The whole thing was just exhausting . . . who knew that shinobi group had more members? In addition to the eight the ANBU had told her about Naruto and his friends fighting, there were ten others that had tried to attack the village proper. They were hard opponents, but they were dealt with. To think so many would be swayed by the words of a man mad with grief . . . it was truly scary to think of. There would be answers to all the hard questions, now that Kohaku was captured.**

**She pauses as she completes the last file. Before she went home . . . she bit her lip. She had to see that poor little girl one last time. She didn't know why, but she just felt compelled to do it. She walks through the corridors, greeting the nurses and doctors that pass by her. She arrives at the room, and opens the door.**

**Shizune frowns. Was it a little warm in here? Ignoring that thought, she moves to Katsu's side. The girl is . . . not as pale as she looked before. Well, she had been frozen before, so maybe . . . **

**Shizune frowns. Something is **_**wrong**_** with this picture. She looks up and down the body, searching for something. Pale skin, no breathing, almost no pulse— **

"**What?!" she gasps, going over that again. Wait . . . wait . . . there! Something so faint and small!**

Tsunade shakes her head. "What?!"

"Maybe Shizune is losing it," Kushina snorts bitterly. "I don't appreciate having to read her delusions."

**Shizune cuts her eyes to the blanket hiding the girl's wound. Pushing it back, she gasps when she sees a stain of blood that seems to be growing, where there had been no stain before. The wound had frozen, it couldn't . . . **

**But it was. There was a chance Katsu was still alive.**

"YES!" Rin screams, jumping up and down. "Thank you medical advancements!"

"What— but how?" Minato balks.

"Heh . . . I don't know, but we'll find out!" Rin sings, spinning around the couch. Obito tugs her back down to her seat.

"We won't know if you make sensei dizzy with all your spinning!" he snaps, waving to Minato to continue reading.

"**Doctor! I need a doctor in here! Someone get Tsunade-sama!" Shizune screams, and it seems to be an immediate action because then there are doctors and nurses flying into the room.**

**One nurse gasps. "But this patient was . . . !"**

"**In a state of death, now if we don't close this up she really will be dead!" Shizune snaps, and at once they are going to work. "GET TSUNADE-SAMA!" She bellows as they being to move Katsu to the Operating Room.**

**A nurse runs down the hall, looking for anyone who can find Tsunade-sama, but screams when her path is blocked by an ANBU that comes out of nowhere. **

"**I will deliver the message. Thank you." The ANBU's clipped answer is short, and in even shorter time he is gone. **

**Tsunade is awoken abruptly by a hand shaking her awake. "Wha –"**

"**Tsunade. Go to the hospital. Now." Jiraiya cuts her off, strangely insistent.**

"**Why—" again she is cut off!**

"**Katsu might live if you hurry." Jiraiya answers.**

"Yes!" Obito hisses. "It wasn't a fluke!"

Cheers and whistles pierce the air. "Go, Tsunade, Go!" they chant.

**Tsunade's eyes widen. But that girl was . . . ! **_**Oh.**_** Oh God, it was really possible? Tsunade quickly, gently as possible, moves from Naruto's side and props the boy up against the couch. "Move him to his bed." She orders Jiraiya, and then she is sprinting out the house. Jiraiya watches her go with an exasperated sigh. Picking Naruto up, he looks at the sleeping boy, and then at the others who are sleeping. A chuckle escapes him.**

"**Now wouldn't it really be something?" he murmurs to himself, walking up the stairs.**

**Morning sunshine pierces the shadows of slumber that still cling to Naruto. He groans, rolling away from the bright light. Grumbling, he wakes up. Sighing, he looks around. Why is he in bed alone? It's too early for Katsu to . . . **

**Naruto winces when a pain tears into his heart. He had forgotten. Katsu was . . . Naruto shakes his head. Somehow he could accept it last night, but now? **

_With any luck, you won't be grieving for long sochi-kun! _Kushina thinks to herself, wiggling with anticipation.

**Sighing, he rises from his bed, and grimaces. He takes a shower, but doesn't linger long. He can't feel clean no matter how hard he scrubs, and he doesn't want a repeat of that god-awful feeling of your skin peeling away. He dresses in sweats and a white t-shirt and jogs down the stairs. The others are waking up, and they freeze upon seeing him.**

**Naruto smirks, though it is wan. "I won't fall apart . . . just yet. Come on, I'm not in the mood to cook but you guys are fine with cereal right?"**

"**You got some cocoa puffs?" Sasuke asks.**

"**Yeah?" Naruto asks, a little confused.**

"**I fucking love cocoa puffs." Sasuke declares. Sauntering past Naruto, he goes into the kitchen without another word, leaving a speechless group behind.**

"And that joke was brought to you by _Uchiha_ Sasuke." Obito boasts smugly.

"**Uchiha Sasuke . . ." Naruto trails off.**

"**Likes . . . cocoa puffs?" Sakura finishes, looking a little disturbed.**

**Shikamaru shrugs. "Meh. I prefer Choc-O's." **

**The breakfast is stilted, awkward. Despite all the talking that goes on, the others trying to fill a silence— despite Naruto's best efforts to try and participate . . . it is sad and awkward. **

**Naruto is trying to laugh at a terrible joke Shikamaru tells— the kind of terrible, corny puns he would usually relish— when Tsunade bursts into the house, kicking down the door.**

"Tsunade," they sigh.

Tsunade giggles nervously. "Ehehe . . . after surgery nerves?"

"**Are you fucking serious?" Naruto grumbles, spoon held in mid-air as he looks over his shoulder to the doorway of the kitchen as Tsunade comes storming in.**

"**You— agh!" he chokes, Tsunade's hold on his collar tight and unyielding as she drags him out of his seat. She drags him out the kitchen, out the door of his house, and he squawks in manly outrage.**

"Tsunade!" they complain.

"Oh shut up!" She snaps, rolling her eyes. "Bunch of pansies."

"**Wait!" he wheezes, turning in her grasp and scrambling to keep up with her but still unable to breathe. Tsunade looks down at him from the corner of her eye, releases his collar and then transfers the death grip to his shoulder. **

"**What have I done . . . recently?" he gasps out, massaging his neck.**

"**Hold on, we just need to get to the hospital." Tsunade murmurs absentmindedly, still strutting along and forcing her to keep up with him. She was still taller than him; her long strides ate up more distance than his frantic scrabbling could after her death grip. **

**They walk up to the white building, and Naruto's stomach flip-flops. And yet, the feeling of dread isn't quite as bad as he'd thought it would be . . . **

**They walk into the hospital, go up the floors to the second . . . down the hallway . . . right, left, left, straight, right . . . **

**His heart sinks. Why were they going **_**there?**_** "Tsunade . . ."**

"**Hold on!" she insists, but she sounds more earnest than harsh, so he closes his mouth and just walks reluctantly after her.**

**They stop right outside of the door. Before he can look into the window on the door—**

"**Suspended animation." Tsunade declares.**

"**Come again?" Naruto asks.**

"**A very recent find, some scientists are still sure it's all a fluke, but tests are being done. Of course, there were other things helping here. The Kyuubi's chakra, which for some reason didn't eat up her insides . . . anyway, suspended animation is the process of slowing of life process by external means without actually killing someone. Some processes might be halted, or still occur like breathing, pulse . . . yada yada."**

"Like with senbon?' Obito asks.

"Senbon don't make your heart stop beating." Rin corrects. "This is, essentially, a death you can return from."

"**Don't joke around Nade," Naruto warns lowly. "What is all this about?"**

**Tsunade continues as if she hadn't heard him. "But what's really surprising was the Kyuubi's chakra in her system! Just enough to ensure she didn't bleed out on the table, which was really a big help. It's all gone now, dissipated but . . . well, I guess he can answer that for you. Now, go on inside. I'll make sure I'm the only doctor that bothers you two." She looks down now, and smiles at him with such warmth his heart skips a beat in hope.**

"**You . . ." he whispers. Tsunade nudges him to the door. Naruto stares at the doorknob, terrified. **

"**It's okay." Tsunade assures him quietly. Nodding, Naruto opens the door, steps inside, then closes it.**

**Katsu is huffing as she picks irritably at the sheets, propped up by pillows. Her arm is slung over her eyes, so she doesn't know who's inside. Her tan skin is still a little pale from her recent ordeal, but the heart monitor beats steadily, strongly. **

"I rock!" Tsunade sings amidst the more boisterous cheers and whistles, the joyful cries.

"**Tsunade-sama, I'm bored," She whines. "When is Ru coming to visit me?"**

**When there is no answer, she moves her arm, blinking to get used to the change in pressure. "Tsunade-sama?" she asks again, looking to the door.**

**She blinks in rapid succession, and pauses. A smile blooms on her face, and she lights up like a Christmas tree. "Oh! Ru! You're—" she breaks off, because the sudden expression that twists his face concerns her.**

"**Ru, are you . . ." she squeaks when tears pour from his eyes. "W-why are you crying? Don't cry! Ara, Ru, don't cry!"**

**Naruto laughs. He laughs and sobs. "You idiot! I'm crying because I'm **_**happy!**_**" he tells her, bounding over to her side and scooting up onto the bed. Stretching out besides her, sharing her propped up pillows, Naruto gathers her in his arms— anything more and he'll upset her wound surely— to make sure she is really there.**

**He grabs her hand carefully, thumb brushing over the pulse point of her inner wrist. The blood that rushes through throbs steadily, cheerfully in his mind. It's more beautiful to him than he can describe. He smiles through salty tears, a huff of laughter escaping him. **

"**So . . . you came back huh?" Naruto murmurs, still playing with her hand**

"**Well . . . I couldn't just leave." Katsu exclaims as if it was obvious. "I was pretty sure I had left the pies out on the windowsill and someone had taken them—"**

"There they go, back to joking friends . . ."Rin huffs.

"You'd think after that awesomely sad love confession they'd be a bit more . . . lovey dovey." Obito jokes.

"I think the fact that they can slip into easy jokes and just be content with each other's presence shows just how _lovey dovey_ they are with each other." Minato corrects them patiently. "Not all relationships are as fluffy as the ones in stories."

"**Oh what**_**ever**_**." Naruto scoffs, lightly pushing her shoulder.**

"**And I hadn't finished the laundry . . ." Katsu teases, laughing as Naruto rolls her eyes.**

"**And well," her tone softens slightly, a rueful expression on her face. "I did promise after all . . . not to leave."**

"**Yeah." Naruto whispers, tears starting to dry up. He wipes his cheek roughly, and raises Katsu's hand to press a kiss to her pulse point. He lets it linger to feel the steady throbbing of her pulse, because it truly is **_**wonderful.**_

"**Ru?" Katsu calls him quietly.**

"**Mhmm." Naruto hums, because he still hasn't let go of her wrist.**

"**I'm hungry. You think Kakashi can bring something from the house? And I want clothes . . . I hate this stupid hospital gown."**

**Naruto chuckles. "Yeah . . . well, let's hold off on the clothes for now. But the food . . . he can bring it. It'll be quite interesting to see his face."**

**It really was. Naruto had never seen Kakashi so flabbergasted, and Katsu took delight in laughing at his face, though it had to stop quickly when she upset her wound again. **

"**I should have known I wouldn't be rid of you so easily." Kakashi scowls, but there is unmistakable fondness in his eye even as he ruffles her hair. **

"Unmistakable fondness?" Rin giggles.

"**Kakashi . . . did I ever tell you, you have a very pretty eye?" Katsu mentions nonchalantly. "Hee!" she giggles at his surprised look.**

"So she was serious?" Kakashi laughs.

"Well, she said she was going to do it." Kushina chuckles.

"**Er . . . thank you?" Kakashi answers. He turns to Naruto. "I suppose I'll alert the others when you're ready."**

**Naruto sighs. "Hinata is absolutely heartbroken. Go and get them, but make sure she gets here first."**

Kushina snorts. "How kind! If it'd been me, there would be no visitors for a couple days."

"Oh? How sweet, you care so much Kushina." Minato murmurs teasingly.

Kushina gruffly tells him to shut up, turning her face from the snickers of the other group.

**Kakashi gives them a two-finger salute, and then is gone in a swirl of leaves.**

**Katsu giggles excitedly, grabbing the basket of goodies Kakashi brought them with a greedy glint in her eyes. "Ooh . . . I'm starving!"**

**Naruto watches her fondly, heart beating steadily, in time with her heart monitor.**

_**So . . . a freak occurrence called suspended animation, and your chakra . . . huh? **_**Naruto muses, nudging his demon into a conversation.**

_**Well really it was you. **_**Kyuubi answers gruffly. **_**You were panicking so badly, you didn't realize your chakra was chaotic, and spilling into everything. It swirled in the air, soaked into the ground . . . soaked into her. However, there was one difference.**_

_**Which was? **_**Naruto asks. **

_**My cooperation. Usually, my chakra would be corrosive. But in that moment, when I realized your chakra was flaring wildly, I allowed you full control of my chakra. So the chakra that poured into her . . . was not my poisonous chakra. It was our, pure chakra. It's hard to explain . . . **_**Kyuubi sighs gruffly, not at all comfortable with speaking so . . . emotionally. **

"That's okay. You did more than enough." Kushina murmurs, in this moment, for the first time, slightly fond of the fox.

_**It's hard to understand. But I don't care, because you helped save her. Thank you Kyuubi. I . . . don't know how to thank you for this. **_**Naruto answers sincerely, sending a rush of gratitude and happiness to the demon fox. **

**Privately though, his thoughts are a little darker. **_**She died. Even if she came back, she was gone. I couldn't bring her back . . . pure circumstance did. A . . . freak occurrence. I wasn't strong enough. I failed her this time. **_

"But you promised to get stronger. You promised to not let this happen again." Obito murmurs.

**He glances at Katsu again, who laughs and smiles **_**and lives**_**. **

_**But . . . I won't be this weak again. I'll get stronger! I won't go back on the promise I made to that stranger. I will protect my loved ones . . . I won't ever feel that way again!**_

"**Ru?" He is broken out of his thoughts as a slim hand waves a strawberry-flavored juice box in front of him. Smiling, he takes it.**

Minato practically throws the book down, grabbing Kushina by the hand and dragging her to their room. "I'm fucking exhausted. See you guys in the morning!" he calls back. Kushina smiles a little awkwardly at them all and waves at them, and the door closes behind the couple.

"Well, he's right. I am exhusted too." Tsunade sighs. "Well, I'll skip dinner how about you guys?"

General murmurs of agreement as they all drag their weary bodies up.

"Goodness, I don't even want to hear about the next chapter. Can we take a days' break or something?" Obito whines.

* * *

**And so, how was that? Hey, i told you the Suspended Animation thing is sketchy at best. You see in Naruto's True nindo, Hinata died in the Sasuke Retrieval Mission and was brought back to life by the Magc of Dragons (so serious, i'm not joking). Which, in he context of the story, worked out well. But i don't have magic dragons. What i have, is a scientific explanation, that works here on very shaky grounds. Hinata's death in that story struck me as being very important, and so was the conversation following with the mysterious stranger. So, i just wanted to add that in to my story, a little nod to the originals before me. **

**Read and Review, it's what i'd like you to do!**

**OK. You guys ready? I'm so fucking excited . . . THE BATTLE AT THE VALLEY OF THE END! OH SHIT! **

**Love,**

**Bloody Mad~3**


	30. Chapter 30

**There's not much i really want to say . . . happy Summer vacation everyone, and for any readers who have graduated high school . . .congratulations! Feel free to ask me any questions if you're nervous about college. My best advice is to prepare yourself, because Winter IS coming. Ah, Game of Thrones . . . what else will you do?**

**Now, if you'll excuse me . . . aghem! VALLEY OF THE END! VALLEY OF THE END! VALLEY OF THE EEENNNND! FUCK! YES!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.**

* * *

_Chapter Thirty_

_The Stage is Set, Uzumaki Naruto!_

* * *

Morning. Oh, dreadful, exhausting morning.

"Sweet Kami, do we have to?" Obito groans, looking at the book.

Tsunade sighs, a little reluctant herself. "Yes. Come on, don't be so lazy . . . I'll read today, everyone alright with that?"

**Within the honored Hokage's office, Naruto stands patiently and takes a look at the scene in front of him. Tsunade sits in her seat, hands interlocked and up in front of her mouth. Jiraiya stands on her right, and the elders— **_**plus**_** Danzo, that's rather interesting— on her left.**

Kushina's face twists in disgruntlement. "What is that old bastard still doing alive? Aren't all three supposed to be withered away after Sandaime's death?"

Jiraiya snorts. "Evil never dies."

"Not fair, Koharu and Homura aren't . . . totally evil. Just a drag." Minato corrects. "And Danzo is just . . . fanatical. To an almost malicious degree."

"**Uzumaki Naruto," Tsunade starts gravely. "We are here to discuss your actions during the invasion by Ishidate Kohaku and his accomplices. Specifically, your use of the Kyuubi's chakra."**

**Homura speaks up now. "The amount of the bijuu's chakra that you used caused quite a stir on that night Naruto-kun. We would like to hear from you what happened."**

**Naruto nodded his head curtly. "I was accompanied by Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata, Shikamaru Nara and Haruno Sakura. We engaged the enemy for a time, until Hokage-sama and two ANBU arrived at the scene, where the odds were now a little more even. Of course, that turned out to be wrong when five more accomplices of Kohaku's arrived to aide his group. At that time, I was having trouble with a particularly skilled user of a Kusarigama, and suffered some heavy blows. It was around this time that I deemed it prudent to utilize the Kyuubi's chakra to defeat the assailants. At no time did I lose control—" **_**technically, it's true— **_**"and I did not harm any comrades."**

"**Yes, that falls in line with other reports," Koharu agrees with a nod. "However Naruto-kun, we find it a little hard to believe that you were fully yourself whilst under so much of the Kyuubi's chakra. There had been a similar incident with our previous Jinchuuriki losing control. Thankfully it was during the Third War, and only Iwa ninja were hurt, but the rampage was still concerning as the jinchuuriki seemed unable to discern between friend and foe."**

Kushina winces slightly, remembering that incident only a month ago. Minato silently snarls, wrapping his arms around Kushina and murmuring into her ear, "You never hurt anyone, and you fought to get back into control. Besides, now we know that Kyuubi isn't all that bad, right? We all were just under one big misunderstanding."

"They talk as if Kushina-san is an animal!" Rin huffed, cheeks red with her anger. "And they wonder why Jinichuuriki turn down a dark path like Gaara did, after all this!"

"No one said it was fair, Rin." Kushina chuckles. "It's just how things are, for now. I guess this can all go away when there are no more jinchuuriki."

**Ignoring the anger that sparked inside him— **_**how dare they talk about **_**my mother **_**like some beast that went wild**_**— Naruto shakes his head carefully. "Then, keeping that in mind, you should know that my usage of the chakra was different. Even when the ANBU kept trying to corral me, as they too believed I was not in control, I made no attempt to harm them and merely dodged around them as I continued my task of eliminating the threats."**

**Danzo stirs now, his single dark eye trained on Naruto. Naruto viciously stomps down on the urge to shiver, and instead focuses on the elderly man. He didn't know what to expect from this man, but the question he asked did surprise him a little. **

"**You seem to be well acquainted with the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto-kun. Do you use it often?"**

"And you'd just love that sort of power under your thumb wouldn't you Danzo?" Jiraiya mutters darkly. "It would make your ROOT look so powerful."

**Jiraiya steps in this time, a frown on his face as he sends a pointed look to the Elders. "And if he has, you should be grateful. The seal the Yondaime placed on Naruto was given the specific task to not only integrate the bijuu's chakra into Naruto's chakra, but also for the boy to use when he sees fit. As I've been involved in his training for some time, I can tell you all that Naruto has used the Kyuubi's chakra mostly in training exercises to learn to control it, as the Yondaime **_**wanted**_** him to do."**

**Naruto and Kyuubi share sniggers in their minds as the Elders look a little less severe after Jiraiya's words. However, Danzo's face hasn't changed one iota, but Naruto knows the man to be **_**extremely**_** good at hiding his emotions, and that his reasoning and ways of doing things are convoluted at best. There is nothing he can do about the man, so he focuses back on Nade.**

"**Is this true Naruto-kun?" Koharu asks. "Have you been training with the nine-tails' chakra?"**

"**Hai, Koharu-sama. So far I can easily grasp three tails . . . I'm working on the fourth now." Naruto replies.**

**Tsunade nods, as if coming to a decision. "Given my own experience watching you train with the Kyuubi's chakra, and Jiraiya's testimony along with the reports done, then I can safely say you had things well under control. Thank you, Naruto."**

"You could have said that ages ago!" Kushina cries, exasperated.

**Naruto bows, calm breaking down into a grin. "Sure, Tsunade-hime." Once the three elders have left, Naruto bounces over to Jiraiya, tugging on the man's sleeve.**

"**Hey, hey, are you going to teach me a new seal today?" Naruto asks/pleads, smiling hopefully.**

**Jiraiya puts his hand atop the boy's head smashing the spikes flat and preventing him from bouncing in place anymore. "Calm down brat . . . I'm still not quite satisfied with the detection seals you made yesterday so let's work a bit more on that. And I saw you were angry when Koharu was talking about Kushina. You know your mom wasn't rampage prone right? As far as Kyuubi is concerned, at least."**

**Naruto shrugs, nodding. "I know mom was an efficient Jinchuuriki. But that's just how jinchuuriki are seen— weapons, right? And for that matter, shinobi themselves are sometimes synonymous with tools and weapons for people to use, so I can't really complain. They're just . . . old-fashioned in their views." **

"That's still no excuse." Kushina sniffs, still a little ruffled over the memory of her loss of control.

"Well when we make . . ." Minato trails off then, because it has occurred to him at this moment that if they do live, if they prevent the Kyuubi's attack, Kushina will still be jinchuuriki. Naruto won't be.

Kushina frowns, catching the trailed off voice. She understands the reason why, and though she should be happy her son won't become a jinchuuriki . . . there's an off feeling about it. Or maybe that's Kyuubi, and that's even worse if he feels unsettled by the thought . . . She lets the sentence trail off, and motions Tsunade to continue reading.

**Tsunade and Jiraiya exchange exasperated looks. "Well as long as you're fine with it." Jiraiya sighs, ruffling Naruto's hair to much protest from said blonde boy. **

"**So," Jiraiya claps his hands for attention, grinning when Tsunade and Naruto follow through. "I say we all head out for that little party at your house!"**

"**I have . . . work." Tsunade spits out the word with distaste as she waves to the piles of paperwork. **

**Naruto shakes his head, mouth set stubbornly. "Just a lunch break Nade, it won't hurt."**

"**Well since you twisted my arm." Tsunade sighs popping up from her seat, grabbing Naruto's arm, and striding out the room in one smooth motion. "Hurry up Jiraiya!" she calls behind her.**

"**Pushy woman," Jiraiya grumbles, following after them. The villagers watch in unabashed curiosity as their Hokage leaps from rooftop to rooftop, with the Toad Sage trailing behind and the . . . Uzumaki right next to her.**

"That's more like it." Kushina harrumphs.

**They disappear into the tree tops, heading for Naruto's home. Along the way, Anko pops up next to them.**

"**Yo!" she calls with a wide grin. "Can I assume gaki got off with no trouble? Or is there some old bats in need of a serpentine house call?"**

"**Don't talk so freely in front of your Hokage!" Tsunade scolds, though there is a smirk on her lips. "Well I'm on lunch break anyway . . . and Naruto was not troubled by them."**

"**Excellent!" Anko hisses. She darts close and ruffles Naruto's hair. "Lucky for you brat, eh?"**

**Naruto snorts but answers with a smart, "Yes Anko-nee." They alight from the trees and drop down, walking the last bit to the house. **

"**Yo! So you got out alive blondie?" A voice makes them turn, Naruto grinning savagely as he turns to glare hotly at the loudmouthed Inuzuka, Akamaru yapping excitedly on top the feral boy's head. Greeting the silent Shino that walks behind the boy quietly, Naruto turns his attention to his disobedient puppy friend. **

"**I know you were just jumping at the chance to be top dog, but I'm alpha and here to stay puppy." Naruto taunts, laughing at the sudden sneer that crosses Kiba's face. **

"**Enough." Tsunade cuts across sharply. "I've only got a little while for lunch before Shizune tracks me down, and I'm not spending it listening to you two. Now move it!" **

**Their spines snap to attention, a complete 180, and without a sound they march the rest of the way into the house. The door is open, allowing the people to mill around and either step out onto the porch or walk back into the house. There, leaning on the porch railing, are Kotetsu and Izumo as well as Asuma and Shikamaru.**

"**Hey Asumo oji-san!" Naruto chirps, walking up the steps and enduring the customary hair ruffle with a long suffering sigh. **

"**Naruto get in there before all the chocolate cake is gone." Asuma warns him.**

"**Oh **_**hell**_** no!" Naruto cries, and immediately sprints into the house. "DON'T TOUCH THAT CAKE!"**

"**What the fuck are you going to do if I **_**don't**_**?" Kakashi's surprisingly brazen and loud voice startles Jiraiya and Tsunade.**

Minato laughs loudly while Kushina turns to the silver-haired boy. "Don't fight my child for cake Kakashi." Kushina scolds playfully, enjoying hearing about the older Kakashi's antics.

"It's chocolate cake. He knows what's up." Kakashi pointed out.

**The resulting crash and string of curses doesn't. They step inside to see the two wrestling on the floor, Naruto using his smaller size to advantage. Around them, Ino, Kiba, and Sakura cheer on their chosen champions. **

"**These two idiots." Tsunade sighs, stepping around them to get to the kitchen. "Ah! Shizune?!"**

"Looks like you can stay for the party." Rin giggles at the rueful looking blonde woman.

**Jiraiya doesn't comment, merely chuckles and looks for some food himself. **

"**Naruto! Kakashi!" Katsu yells angrily, rising up from her seat.**

**Naruto and Kakashi pause, eyes wide with trepidation as they stare at her looming form. "Get up." She snaps.**

**Up they scramble in two seconds. **

"Whipped." Obito sings.

"**You almost broke my driftwood and crystal lamp." Katsu notifies them coldly.**

"**We are so sorry." Naruto squeaks.**

"**It was incredibly rude of us to fight inside." Kakashi agrees.**

**Katsu snorts. "I'll let it slide. Now one of you fetch me some tea—"**

**They were gone.**

"Wimps." Tsunade snorts.

**Sakura makes a surprised noise and nods, impressed. "Think I can do that when they all act stupid during missions?"**

"**It takes practice, but I'm sure you can pull through Sakura-san." Katsu assures her, and then sighs. **

"**I never even got to ask for some food." Katsu mutters. A pale hand holds out a plate of food for her, and Katsu smiles. "Thank you Hinata-chan."**

**Hinata giggles, standing next to her. "Come on Katsu-chan, let's go outside to the back porch— apparently Kotetsu and Izumo are having a ping-pong battle."**

"Oh shit!" Obito yells excitedly, almost dropping his tea.

"What's so special about that?" Jiraiya asks.

Obito shakes his head like a wet dog. "Man it is so much more than just a ping pong battle . . . it's like, the battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara in ping pong form— and— and— it's just _so freaking epic!_" he explodes.

"I think you're over exaggerating." Minato chuckles.

"Well calm down and we can read about it maybe!" Tsunade scolds, though she hides the fond smile on her face with the book.

"**Ooh, delightful." Katsu giggles, and they rush away. Naruto returns at that moment, a look of confusion on his face replaced swiftly with disgruntlement. **

"**I told her not to move around too much." Naruto grumbles. Kakashi comes up next to him, snickering and then patting his back.**

"**Well . . . let's just find her and we'll see." Kakashi sighs. A movement from his peripheral makes him turn his head. "Ah, Sasuke."**

**Naruto perks up. "Sasuke is here? Dude I didn't see you." He turns and smiles at the smirking Uchiha. **

"It's nice to see my baby cousin and Naruto getting along like this." Obito interrupts softly.

"**Come on, Katsu and Hinata went outside. Those two . . . Kotetsu and Izumo are playing ping-pong." Sasuke shrugs as if it isn't a big deal.**

"**Ping pong?!" Naruto yells, his expression clearly conveying just how much of a big fucking deal it really is. "Come on!" he pulls Sasuke along, face excited.**

"**Dobe!" Sasuke snaps, but doesn't fight the younger boy's hold. "What is so special about them playing a stupid game?"**

"**It's not what they're playing, it's how they play it!" Naruto explains excitedly, plopping them both down next to Katsu and handing the girl her tea. "Kotetsu and Izumo are notorious for taking any game played with each other to another level, but ping pong is simultaneously the best and the worst. Their ping pong games are **_**legendary**_**," his voice drops to a whisper as everyone crowds the back porch and the two chuunin in question look like they're ready to go. "Which is why they only play very rarely."**

Obito nods. "In the . . . five years I've known them, they have only played ping pong twice."

**Sasuke rolls his eyes, and is about to mention his opinion of ping pong, the two chuunins, and everyone stupid enough to come watch them play when the game starts. His already slightly opened mouth drops in surprise, and his eyebrows both raise and furrow in an amusing look of both befuddlement and amazement. What he was watching was no mere ping pong game— no, it was a test of courage— a battle of the Gods— a Supreme Showcasing of **_**Manliness**_**. The ball was never seen except for that first serve, moving as only a white blur from paddles that struck faster than Anko's snakes. The clack of the ping pong as it would occasionally bounce from the table sounded more like lightning, and Sasuke would swear up and down that Kotetsu and Izumo were infusing the paddles with chakra. **

"You're doing it right." Kakashi and Obito intone seriously.

**At one point, Izumo actually had to sprint to catch a twenty-foot long shot of the ball by Kotetsu, and the resulting return serve was so fast you could hear the whistle it made as it headed for Kotetsu's face.**

**It was pure magic. **

**The battle of the ping pong masters ended in Kotetsu's favor, after 25 rounds and Kotetsu's increasing whines to get Katsu's white chocolate cake, and brought up the long standing score between the two 30-30. As murmurs and bets circled around as to what the next game, the tie breaker, would be Naruto turned to Sasuke with a smug expression. **

"**Not bad huh?" he mocked.**

**Sasuke didn't even have it in him to glare. "Whatever. So, show me how well you've done on the Phoenix Immortal Fire jutsu." He points to the yard, and Naruto smirks.**

"Oh, little Sasuke's teaching him some Uchiha Clan jutsu?" Obito awes, eyes sparkling. "That's so great!"

"And a very important gesture." Minato murmurs, pleased.

"**Okay! I think I've got it pretty much down." Naruto assures, jumping up and moving a good distance away from the house and anything flammable. Speedily, yet with assured movements, Naruto speeds through the hand signs and calls out the jutsu's name quietly: "Katon: Phoenix Immortal Flame." With a deep inhale, Naruto blows out concentrated, medium sized bullets of flame that fly a good distance, and then fade when no obstacle hits them.**

**Turning, Naruto gives Sasuke a look that reminds him of a hopeful puppy, waiting for a treat.**

Minato smirks, careful so that Kushina wouldn't see it. _Just like your mother, _he thinks to himself with amusement. Kushina may be tough and independent, but her need for approval from her loved ones always showed itself in the weirdest ways, particularly when learning jutsu and showing it off to them.

**Suppressing a smirk, Sasuke focuses on the way Naruto performed the jutsu. "The flame projectiles might have been a little small but I felt the heat even from here. I suppose you economized, sacrificing size for intensity."**

"**I was hoping that wouldn't affect anything . . . or is the size what makes the jutsu affective?" Naruto asked with a sheepish chuckle.**

**Sasuke considered this. "Well, they fly at your target . . . it would depend on the level of their skill, if the flames can hit them. What do you think Kakashi?"**

"**Well . . . I think it doesn't hurt to keep them smaller than the average for this particular jutsu." Kakashi commented, and Sasuke had to visibly calm his temper that ignited upon the lazy, vague words.**

**Sighing, he redirected his attention back to the puppy-dog eyed blonde. "It's good Naruto."**

"**Alright!" Naruto cheers, bounding towards Sasuke and giving him a friendly shove. "Okay, now you go and show me the Katon: Running Flames we showed you." Naruto prodded the boy eagerly, eyes sparkling and bright.**

"Aw!" Rin coos. "Swapping jutsu with friends, it's so cute."

**Sasuke nods, rising silently. The jutsu was one given and explained to him by the Kyuubi via Naruto.**

"Oh?" Kushina pouts, as the others balk at the information. "So he'll give strangers jutsu but not me!"

**He had been shocked when the demon had given out such information freely to him— and he was gob smacked when Katsu informed him amusedly that Naruto had pestered the great beast for a jutsu for him. **

"See that explains it." Jiraiya says to assuage the pouting Uzumaki princess. "I'm sure Naruto is both very stubborn and very persuasive in his pestering. Just like you."

"HEY."

**He fought hard to keep the look of aloofness on his face, but judging by the minx-like smile on the small girl's face, he hadn't faired too well in that endeavor. Her womanly smug aura grated on his nerves a little, but her food more than made up for that.**

**Running through the signs with an improved grace and dexterity brought on by some rather strange and unconventional training sessions with Naruto, Sasuke called out, "Katon: Running Fire!" Immediately, from his harsh exhale of breath, a stream of fire forms into a circle that spirals up into the air for at least eight feet from ground to sky. It circles there, occasionally moving from side to side as he controls the jutsu tightly. When the jutsu is cut off, he relaxes into his usual aloof stance, hands in pockets as Naruto and Katsu whoop triumphantly. **

"**Awesome!" They exclaim.**

"**Hn." Sasuke smirks.**

**Afterwards the party continues, with occasional silly skirmishes between them all over either the last slices of cake/pie, or plain out stupid bets. Things kick up when Naruto and Kakashi challenge each other to poker. Naruto wins. Every. Single. Time.**

"Yeah!" Tsunade cheers.

"No way!" Kushina shouts, shooting down any dreams of Tsunade taking her son to casinos.

"Aw man." Kakashi grumbles.

**And Kakashi laments. Every. Single. Time. But he is grateful it wasn't strip poker. **

**It is another three hours before Sasuke and Naruto have enough room to themselves to talk without others butting in, and the two take comfort in that. Sasuke relaxes minimally as the crowds move from them, and he is grateful for the continued silence from his blonde seat partner. Naruto, like him, had never seen fit to bother the truly serene silences between the two with meaningless chatter . . . unless Naruto figured he needed to be brought out of his comfort zone. Which was far more than he cared to admit. **

"**Naruto." Sasuke mutters after swallowing a bite of teriyaki chicken and the special shuriken-shaped tomatoes Katsu and Naruto made for him. The uncomfortable feeling of . . . positivity was viciously squashed. **

Kushina snorted, chuckles escaping her. "Positivity?" she squeaked.

**The stupid dobe and his smug princess were both his balm and his curse. When he was around them, Sasuke could find it all too easy to believe the words Kakashi told him during their training for the Chuunin Exams.**

_**Let your revenge go, Sasuke. It won't help you. **_

"It really won't kid." Kakashi murmurs.

**He had thought Kakashi was only saying that out of some screwed up sense of obligation to his student. He had no idea Kakashi had lost people. Kakashi hadn't lost a clan, he argued many times to himself afterwards. No . . . but Kakashi did lose the only family he'd known. One by one. And Naruto . . . he looked over to the peaceful boy with the glowing blue eyes. Naruto had no one from the start. He built his own family piece by piece, had sweat and bled to keep them. **

"**Yeah?" Naruto hums lowly, feeling far too peaceful and content in the balmy night air, full and surrounded by people. **

"**I want to ask you . . . about Katsu's death." Sasuke spoke slowly, watching out the corner of his eye to gauge the younger boy's reaction. **

Kushina hisses. "Why? It's over. She came back. Don't make him think about it!"

"He can't repress it and let it be his weakness either, love." Minato corrects softly.

**Naruto's shoulders tense for a few seconds, and the electrifying blue eyes dull at the mention of his darkest memory. "What about it?" he answered lowly.**

"**When you were killing those men . . . how did you feel? Did it feel right; killing them . . . did you feel right avenging her?" Sasuke asked. **

Obito opens his mouth to make a comment, but Kakashi stops him.

"Now wait, that's actually a fair question. Naruto only transformed, from a combined rage, but there was no mentioning of afterwards. He just stopped and then he was healed and went to the hospital. We didn't read about any of his thought mentioning getting revenge being rewarding." Kakashi explained.

"A fair point." Jiraiya murmurs, before looking at Tsunade to read.

**Naruto blows out a long breath through his mouth. What a question . . . and one he found all too easy to answer.**

"**Not at all." The blunt reply actually shocked Sasuke.**

"I'm a little surprised too." Kushina muttered sheepishly.

"An understandable reaction." Jiraiya nods, seeing the confusion on the kids' faces too. "So let's hear his explanation."

"**What?" he gaped. "But you said you couldn't forgive them!"**

"**I did." Naruto agreed. **

"**So wasn't vengeance the next best thing?" Sasuke presses, brows furrowed, and an almost angry scowl on his face. Naruto understood— Sasuke thought he'd found a comrade, someone to understand his desire for revenge. **

**Sighing, Naruto turns and looks Sasuke dead in the eye— bright blue to darkest black. "Sasuke . . . there is no **_**next best thing**_**. There's no good thing period. The one I love with all my heart— the central figure in my family— lay dead at my feet. I didn't think she was coming back. That was it man— game over. No replay. Nothing else after that. There wasn't even rage . . . when she died so did I. I felt so **_**empty and hollow**_**. It **_**hurt**_**."**

Tsunade pauses, the emotions hitting a little too close to home. But it hadn't felt empty and hollow to her . . . she just felt inconsolable rage and sorrow. The grieving process was different for everyone, perhaps that's why . . . she glances around at the faces tight with discomfort and pain at the memory of last chapter. Taking a deep breath, she continues.

**Naruto takes a deep breath, looking away to the lake briefly before turning back to Sasuke. "Sasuke what I did . . . it wasn't a mistake. I intended to kill them. I thought maybe I could feel better, bringing her killers to justice. But you know what? I didn't. Not at **_**all**_**. I felt empty and hollow **_**before**_** I killed them, I felt empty and hollow **_**after**_** I killed them. Except afterwards, the almost crippling disappointment I felt at **_**not**_** feeling better getting revenge only made the empty and hollow feeling **_**worse**_**."**

"Somehow his words make sense and yet sound completely illogical at the same time." Kakashi murmurs.

"Yeah? Makes perfect sense to me." Minato murmurs, eyes cloudy and gaze distant as he nuzzles the top of Kushina's head.

"**So what are you saying then . . ." Sasuke blurts out angrily. "You regret doing it?"**

"**That's not so easy to explain." Naruto huffs. "On one hand I was doing my duty as a shinobi of Konoha. I don't regret killing them to keep my village safe. But if we're talking about regret pertaining to my feelings on Katsu's death . . . ? Part of me says no still but part of me says yes. No because whoever could kill someone as wonderful and beautiful as her doesn't deserve to live in this world. And yes . . . because she was still dead after I got through with them. Nothing changed— I just felt worse."**

"Makes sense now?" Tsunade asks so quietly, it's almost a whisper.

Obito just nods.

**The crickets interrupt what might have been an awkward silence, bringing them back to the world around them, with laughing friends and shouts and squeals. **

"**I was hoping for a clear answer . . ." Sasuke spoke again, quietly.**

"**I know." Naruto replied.**

"**But I guess . . . there is no clear answer for this right?" Sasuke asked, though he already knew the answer.**

"The poor thing . . . he just wants to know if it'll be worth it to kill Itachi. If he should even bother." Kushina sighs.

"I don't think it's just that . . . to get that level of power, he'd need something serious. And, his life is finally filled with a sort of peace he'd thought he lost . . ." Minato trails off, things still to unclear to get a good read of the mood in the book.

"**Not that I know of." Naruto admitted.**

"**And Kyuubi?"**

"**He, um . . . it's better not to ask him."**

**Sasuke didn't question it. "Right." **

* * *

**The night is darker, and a little warmer. They are in the throes of spring after all, but the season was becoming unseasonably warm. People were now milling out of the house, or running away with maniacal cackles upon acquiring the last pieces of whatever was on the table to take home. Sasuke looked at all this and just snorted, but didn't comment. He himself was carrying some food. In a sealing scroll of course, he had an image to uphold. **

"**What's the matter Sasuke?" Sasuke couldn't resist rolling his eyes as a blonde head plunked itself on his shoulders and wickedly glinting blue eyes rolled up to look at him in mock innocence. "Is it too dark out? Perhaps you'd like me to escort you home."**

"**I'd like to escort you off a cliff." Sasuke replies indifferently. **

**Naruto clucks his tongue. "You can do better than that."**

"**Naruto, let Uchiha-kun go home. Unless Uchiha-kun would like to sleep over, then I can make up the bed for both of you." Katsu interrupted slyly.**

"Ooh, not cool." Obito and Kakashi hiss.

**Naruto and Sasuke took a big step back from each other, glaring with equal amounts of disgust at the smirking girl. "So not cool." They informed her, even their tones of disapproval matching up.**

**Katsu giggles. "Right, right . . . you two are twins, honestly."**

**Sasuke snorts. "Well . . ." he looks uncomfortable— even after all this time, he still finds expressing gratitude a little difficult. "Thanks for a good time. And you, stop calling me Uchiha-kun. You can call Sakura by her name, but not the guy who helped weed out your garden and it wasn't even a mission?"**

"An Uchiha did menial, manual labor out of the kindness of his heart?" Obito gasps. "Le gasp!"

"**Oh . . ." Katsu drawls. "Is Uchiha-kun feeling kind of lonely with the formality?"**

**Sasuke snorts. "You forced me to choose between pink and white peonies based on pure aesthetics. That's the sort of thing you go to first-name basis on Katsu."**

"**Ok, then . . . Sasuke." Katsu tests the name on her tongue, rolls it around. Smiling brightly at the boy, Katsu gives him her approval.**

**Shaking his head, Sasuke wishes them both a good night, then makes his way home. No one else is walking this path as the night has grown late enough most people are in bed. **

**Without missing a beat, Sasuke jumps into a tree, stepping lightly upon the large branch he can comfortably walk on. In front of him is a group of four. Three males and one female, all wearing similar battle dresses with slits on the side of each thigh revealing tight black shorts or in the case of the largest one regular shinobi pants. On the front was a ying-yang symbol on the edge of the skirt, and thick purple rope tied behind them in a bow. But what was most concerning, and sort of gross, to him was the pale grey-haired boy with dark blue lipstick and a **_**second head**_** behind him and the darkly tan boy with the **_**three sets**_** of arms. **

Tsunade cries out in frustration. "More invaders?! Oh come the fuck on!"

"You're really dropping the ball here Tsunade." Jiraiya clucks.

_**So . . . Orochimaru's people huh? Bad taste is contagious it seems . . . in every way. **_**Sasuke concludes shortly after observing them.**

"Bad fashion sense, bad choice in life . . ." Kushina mutters, sticking out her tongue.

"**Who are you guys?" he asks curtly. The tan boy just smirks and comes at him, but Sasuke jumps over, hands on the boy's back as leverage. The two-headed kid appears behind him to try and punch Sasuke off his teammates, but Sasuke kicks back sharply sending the boy crashing against the trunk of the tree. Getting behind his first opponent, Sasuke has to stop himself momentarily to deal with the big-boned guy who comes looking to land a solid punch— he just flips him and the tan boy, the two bodies flying towards the two-headed boy and his female teammate who had presumably come to check on him. The crash into each other, and there is a cloud of smoke that rises up.**

"**Seriously? And just how would smoke **_**naturally**_** come up from crashing into a tree?" Sasuke scoffs, looking scornfully over his shoulder to see the four looking unruffled as they stand upon the ledge of a building, level with his branch. "Is this the best you can do?"**

"Oh my god thank you, finally some common sense!" Rin exclaims.

"**Quit your babbling, weakling." The two-headed boy sneers. "Hey, come over here . . . I'm going to play do-remi-fa-so-la-ti on you while I snap your ribs!"**

Obito snorts. "Who the hell taught him how to threaten people?!" he cackles.

**Sasuke rocks back on his heels, adopting a blown away look. "Hey now . . . I recognize that pedophile talk anywhere! Did Orochimaru send you guys? White as paper, may or may not be lubed up with snake intestines, likes to go ku ku ku?" **

"**You!" The boy snarls, rocketing forward. The red-haired girl stops him, looking at him sharply. "We didn't come here to test him, Orochimaru-sama has done that already. Or do you think you can judge him better?"**

**The boy just snorts derisively. "What does Orochimaru-sama want this kind of weak guy for? Kimimaro would have been much better. Regardless . . . if you stay in a seedy place like this, you'll only be mediocre at best. You'll never be strong."**

Minato's eyes widen. "They're coming to take him to Orochimaru?"

**Sasuke says nothing, just watches the boy warily. **_**They build them tough over there in Sound that's for sure . . . but the uniforms are just terrible. **_

"**If you stick around here to keep playing Ninja with your friends, you're just going to continue to rot."**

**The red-haired girl jumps down, rising slowly and gazing at him with assessing spice brown eyes. "Come with us. If you do, Orochimaru-sama will empower you."**

"Empower," Kakashi snorts. "Is that what they call it these days? Come here little boy, I want to _empower_ you!"

**Somehow, her gaze sharpened and with it, his curse seal blazed and a sharp shot of pain coursed through him, making him wince. "There is no meaning if we take you by force, he said. You decide."**

**The two-headed boy speaks up now, sounding very bored with all this. "Give me a break. Orochimaru-sama sure sent me on a bothersome mission this time." He turns back to Sasuke. "Anyway, that Curse mark right? It's been bothering you, even though it was sealed up." He smirks at Sasuke's look of surprise. "We all have it. If you continue to let them, it will progressively eat your body. You will lose yourself . . . if you come with us, Orochimaru-sama will teach you to control it, harness that power."**

**The girl speaks up again. "In exchange for having been empowered by Orochimaru-sama, you are tethered to him. There will no longer be anything like freedom. In an exchange, one must lose something to gain something. So what will it be? Will you and your friends continue to play games in this weak little village . . . will you forget about your objective . . . Uchiha Itachi?"**

"**Itachi? My, my, your intel is good . . . then again, maybe I spouted off about killing him too much. Who knows at this point?" Sasuke murmured, but internally he was shaken. He still hadn't really come to a decision about that man . . . so much had happened to make him wonder— but now; it was time to make a choice about his future. Sasuke's eyes sharpened. He had his obligations . . . **

**He had his mission. **

"I don't like the sound of that." Obito says slowly.

"**Don't forget your objective!" And with that, they were gone . . . dissolving into leaves as they leapt into the air. Distantly, it struck him as funny that the Sound ninja would know a Konoha jutsu . . . even use the leaves for it. **

* * *

**Haruno Sakura, as many would tell you, was a rather sensible girl in all things not concerning Sasuke. **

"What the hell is this?!" Rin cries. "We don't care about her, get to the action!"

**She was, apart from the occasional pique of temper, rather quiet and she was intelligent. She was slowly but surely improving as a kunoichi thanks to her teammates, particularly the sunny blonde Uzumaki Naruto. Looking back on it, it amazed her she had become such close friends with the boy she hadn't given much thought back in the Academy.**

**But there you go. Academy. School. There she had been in her element, had been sure and confident . . . she had been aces in all things academic, while her physical education had . . . lacked, and it was a fault on her part she understood that. It had been readily apparent when she first started out her ninja career as the green, weak little genin who just couldn't understand why the books had never explained to her the exhaustion of training hard, the uselessness of diets in her career, the overall **_**uselessness**_** of books in the ninja field! **

"Unless you made it a point to really hang around ninjas, then your mistakes are understandable. Except the dieting. Then again, even your clan heiress friend was doing it too, I bet . . ." Kushina sighs.

**Sure her hair wasn't as glossy or smooth as she had liked it before. Her nails broken and chipped from countless hours of training with kunai and shuriken, with digging her nails into the earth to train her affinity. Her skin no longer glowing and baby soft, but the callouses she had developed were her medals of honor, her pride in physical form. She wasn't as soft and willowy as she had believed was attractive to males . . . but the sleek muscle and fluid movements of training added a confident beauty that she honestly could say she preferred to the kitten acts of her civilian counterparts.**

The women in the room all chuckle. "Right?" the agree.

"Right." The men agree, and they laugh.

**Well as they say, experience is the best teacher . . . and she had learned. She was just grateful she had a wonderful team to help her learn, to make it easier. Thanks to them, she had grown . . . become stronger and more easily accustomed to the wild and rough shinobi world— she had honed her skills, had worked until her instincts were on par with the average chuunin. And she had taken to heart the lessons about trusting your instincts that Kakashi-sensei had taught her.**

**Which was why , despite the nonsensical reasoning behind it, she had trusted her gut instinct that something was afoot, and had ventured outside her home late at night to walk the roads of Konoha . . . why? She couldn't be sure. She just had a gut feeling. **

**She shook her head, a snort passing her lips. Just why, she wondered, was she waiting here? This was the only road to get out of Konoha . . . why would she be here? **

"**What are you doing hanging around here in the middle of the night?" Sasuke's voice honestly shocked her.**

"Fuck!" Obito spat, banging his head back against the couch. "Stupid Itachi should have killed all the damn Uchiha, now we got a rogue one running around!"

"Obito!" Tsunade gasps.

"How can you say that? You'd rather Sasuke dead?" Kakashi asks.

"I'd rather him dead then a traitor who becomes as twisted as Orochimaru— even if he hasn't yet defected, he's still a pretty messed up freak!" Obito spits, glaring darkly at the book. "He was happy . . . why is he doing this? If Itachi really screwed him up that badly, beyond repair, then death would have been far kinder."

"**I could ask . . ." she trailed off, noticing the backpack and the absence of his hitai-ate. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" her voice had turned low, deadly. **

"**Go home." Sasuke told her, walking past her. Her hand shot out to grip his bicep with almost bruising force, her teeth gritted.**

"**Answer my question." She insisted. "You wouldn't happen to be leaving the village? Genin don't usually go on solo missions . . . and Kakashi isn't around. Tell me Sasuke. Where are you going?" **

"That a girl!" Rin cries. "Fan girl no more, kick his ass!"

"I thought you didn't care?" Minato points out in amusement.

"**Don't go sticking your nose into my business!" Sasuke called sharply, and Sakura had to bite back a gasp. His voice . . . she hadn't heard it this cold, this . . . uncaring since their beginning days as genin. When he and Naruto had started becoming friendly, it was easier each time to hear emotions in his voice, to see them in his eyes. He had softened, but now it seemed his walls of hate and loneliness were back up as solid as before.**

"**When a comrade is about to turn missing-nin, then it's my business too." Sakura snarled, shaking off her momentary shock. She spins him around with all her strength, and glares at him with all her anger, **_**not**_** all her desperation.**

"Good girl!" Kushina praises.

"**Don't do this— whatever you're about to do. You've come so far from that lonely boy sitting coldly in the school room Sasuke! Whatever you're looking for isn't worth giving up the bonds you've worked so hard to achieve! The bonds we've all worked so hard to forge with you!"**

**Sasuke just looked at her stoically, uncaringly. "There was a time, working with you all . . . with Naruto and Kakashi . . . I thought that was my road. But I remembered recently, my goal. That road is the path I need to be on, not this. Walking down this road will get me nowhere close to my goal of Itachi—"**

"**Revenge won't make anyone happy!" Sakura burst out, and she hated the feeling of desperation crawling up her throat. If it came down to it, she doubted she'd be able to force Sasuke to stay. He was still the better ninja . . .**

"**It is what I have chosen." Sasuke replied simply.**

"**So you're going back to solitude?! You taught me a very good lesson, Sasuke, about how rough solitude is. Even with family and friends, being ignored by someone you love is terrible. Remember when we made Naruto so mad he gave us the silent treatment every time he saw us for a two weeks straight? It was terrible wasn't it? Being alone, apart from someone you care about. I know this isn't the same, but it's close to how I feel! If you go . . . Sasuke if you go, it will be lonely!" she sobbed.**

**Gritting her teeth she pulls a kunai out her weapons pouch and dashes for Sasuke, intent on fighting for him. "What about us, Naruto and I?! I know you care about us . . . care deeply about Naruto, the boy who shook you out of your little emo corner and brought you to us!"**

**She slashes— thin air— he's too fast! She spins to avoid a hit from Sasuke. "See?!" she crows triumphantly, catching his sleeve with her kunai. "I've grown, you've grown . . . hell, Naruto is growing even faster than we are! Together, team seven can make your dream of revenge come true. We can help you find happiness!"**

"Preferable to making a decision you can't go back from Sasuke." Obito murmurs, fists clenched.

**She steps back, a pause between them as fresh tears spill from her jade eyes. "Because . . . because I want to be that happiness. I want to help you find peace, find love . . . with me. I love you so much . . . Sasuke. And maybe, it's just my leftover fan girl who insists it's romantic and that you're the only one for me, but even if that's not the case I can still say that I love you as my teammate and friend. And I don't want the person I love to go out into that cold world, and become even colder." **

"Hmph . . . all this time we've poked fun at her for being a fan girl. And she was serious all along about her feelings?" Kakashi mused.

"She said herself it may or may not be romantic," Rin points out. "The fact that she never even got to try and sort out her feelings, since Sasuke is so aloof they couldn't run their course, makes this all confusing. She might be stuck on this what-if for a long time . . . and that's the really sad thing."

"**You really are annoying." Sasuke smirks, and Sakura shoves the sting of fresh hurt back where she can wail about it in her room later, after she makes sure Sasuke stays in Konoha. She leaps forward again, this time shuriken flying forward. They hit the ground with sharp clangs as Sasuke avoids them, using his superior speed to get behind her.**

"**Sakura . . . thank you." It is the last thing she hears.**

"Oh, he didn't kill her did he?" Kushina frets.

* * *

**Dawn breaks through; streaking the sky soft pinks and blues as the night slowly recedes. **

**Naruto grunts, fighting whatever it is that interrupts his sleep. Sighing, he nuzzles into the soft orange locks that spill across his pillow, inhaling the sweet scent in hopes he can fall back asleep. No such luck, as something tugs persistently at the back of his mind. Growling something unintelligible even to himself under his breath, Naruto rises up to a sitting position, brushing back his sleep mussed hair. **

**He blinks once, twice— then his eyes widen, before narrowing to a sharp stare that he levels at the bedside drawer. His personal shorthand had a seal attached so that whenever he received a message, it would be able to let him know. Quickly he retrieves the little scroll and applies chakra, reading the message.**

_**T: Something has come up of the upmost importance. Come ready for a difficult mission.**_

**Sighing, Naruto drops his head. "So early? I didn't even think she could get up this early . . ." Reluctantly he leaves the warm bed and warmer body next to him to prepare. It takes him only ten minutes before he's out the door and running to the Hokage Tower. Halfway there, he stops in surprise when he nearly runs into Shikamaru.**

**They look at each other critically. "The Hokage Tower?" they ask in unison. Both boys smirk, and walk from there. **

"**Can you guess what this is about?" Shikamaru asks. Naruto shakes his head. **

**Shrugging, the Nara smirks as he adds, "It was the first time I got to use the shorthand . . . very clever of you, Naruto."**

**Naruto looked over at the boy in interest. "They never gave out a name when it was first introduced. What makes you think I did it?"**

"**You're the only guy I know who is crazy enough to go that far with such a troublesome art. That and . . . it sort of reminded me of the Yondaime's fuuinjutsu skills. Troublesome blondes, troublesome skills." Shikamaru responds quietly. Naruto gave the boy a sharp glance, but they continued their walk in peaceful silence. **

"Oh, Shikamaru might know about our relation?" Minato muses with a small smile. "Well, trust a Nara to figure it out."

**Well that peace was shortly broken after Tsunade gave them the news. "Uchiha Sasuke has left the village."**

"**What?!" Naruto and Shikamaru gasp. The latter went a step further by asking, "What the hell happened? He left of his own will?!"**

"**Yes . . . Sakura was found knocked out on a bench by the main road. She tried to stop Sasuke but he defeated her. She told the nearest ninja upon waking. We believe he was enticed to by Orochimaru." Tsunade nods, face grave and eyes blazing. **

"**How could a guy like Orochimaru ent—" **

"**Shikamaru!" Naruto cut in sharply, making the other boy flinch and look at him. "That doesn't matter. Our mission as I understand it is to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke. Now, as our squadron leader, shouldn't you start thinking about who to bring?"**

"Why did he automatically elect Shikamaru leader?" Obito asks.

"If you've got a Nara on your team, and you're not the class rookie, nor a rank higher, generally it's better to let them lead." Minato chuckles.

"**If you thought about all that already, why don't you be captain?" Shikamaru points out suspiciously.**

**Naruto smirks. "No one is better at tactics than you are Shika . . . and as vice-captain it's up to me to remind you . . . play moral support if you will."**

**Shikamaru snorted. "You just don't want the hassle." Growling at the carefree chirp of assent, he just turns back to Tsunade. "Fine, since I know the guy it can't be helped. I'd like a team of chuunin and jounin."**

"**Unfortunately, I can't grant you that." Tsunade admits quietly, regretfully.**

"**What? Why not?" Naruto asks.**

"**We only have the bare minimum jounin here to protect the village, all the rest being out on missions. You'll have to do with genin." Tsunade explains.**

"Between the Kyuubi attack only thirteen years prior and the Sand Invasion . . . Konoha's generations just didn't have time to recover. Kids need time." Jiraiya sighs.

"**Are you serious?" Shikamaru groans, and Naruto sighs irritated. "Fine then . . . I think I know who to bring. Naruto, let's go." **

"**Shikamaru, you go on ahead. There are things I must discuss with Hokage-sama first. I'll catch up, okay?" Naruto replies, not looking at the boy.**

"**Naruto?" Shikamaru prompts.**

**Naruto ignores the boy, and turns to Tsunade. "The wind whispers many secrets, and the leaves will hear them." He whispers so only she will hear it.**

"Shit." Minato mutters, Jiraiya and Tsunade choking on gasps.

"What? What is it?" Kakashi asks.

"Every Hokage has one personal code line used for only the strictest of emergencies or secrets. And only the Hokage-in-training, or someone the Hokage trusts to use it, can know it. Then it is changed with the coming of the new Hokage, who creates a new code. Only the Hokage, and the ANBU Commander should know the line, and to give it to Naruto to use . . . means something serious indeed." Minato explains.

**Tsunade nearly chokes on a gasp, but quickly regains herself and gives Shikamaru a sharp glare. "Go! Naruto said he would catch up." Shikamaru, noticing the killer intent that spirals from her, quickly leaves the room.**

**Once the door is closed Tsunade flies through hand seals fluidly, checking for each privacy jutsu to come up. With that done, she turns to Naruto. "The ANBU are gone, the wards have been set up. Speak now, and tell me what you've been keeping so secret." **

"**Hokage-sama, if I may ask you to please retrieve a scroll from the safe behind you," he points to the wall, where seemingly nothing is. "Tied with a silk orange and blue ribbon."**

"And he even knows that!" Minato mutters. "Er, we're going to need to erase these particular details from our memory . . ."

"**Just what the hell . . . ?" Tsunade mutters as she turns placing a hand on the wall. With a flare of chakra, symbols spread from her flat palm to circle her hand— another legacy of the Yondaime's genius, a hole in the wall, where the most precious of secrets are kept. The vault is where lesser things are stored, and to some degree even a decoy. But here . . . dangerous things lie in here. She searches for the scroll he speaks of, notices it right away. The bright orange is nearly a lantern in the black cavern. Plucking it up, she seals back the safe and turns to Naruto.**

"**Read it." He prompts quietly.**

**Gazing at the blonde in front of her with suspicion, Tsunade unravels the scroll and looks down to read it. With each line, her eyes grow wider and her skin pale. She jerks up, glaring at Naruto. "What is this?" she barks. "What foolishness has my sensei done this time, and why are you so intertwined with it?!" **

**Suddenly the calm and serene boy in front of her morphs. It's a subtle shift of body language, a minute change in the way the corners of his lips tilt up and in what his eyes convey. Coldness seeps in them, freezing the placid blues to icy lakes, an almost malicious smirk just barely on his cold features. "That . . . is our key to victory." Naruto murmurs with a fanged smirk.**

Minato pouts. "Wish I had fangs. That'd make me ten times more badass."

The very thought is terrifying.

* * *

**Shikamaru bites his lip, looking annoyed but on the inside he's really starting to scrabble around the bottom of his mind for an answer. **

"**Damn it! The longer we stay in here, the more chakra that bastard is taking from us!" Kiba yells in frustration, claws digging into the dirt prison around them. He nearly howls in anger when even those are soon faded.**

**They had caught up to the Sound Four . . . and Shikamaru's plan had worked up to a point. They had trapped one of them with the Shadow Possession. Unfortunately, they had planned for even that, and it stunned him that they had been so proactive in planning— these definitely weren't the regular opponents. And now, they were all stuck inside an earth dome prison, the fat guy outside holding it and sucking up their chakra through the walls.**

"Such rookie mistakes on an important mission?" Jiraiya sighs. "Well you really had no information about them . . . what little you could do is satisfactory."

**This **_**sucks**_**.**

"**There must be some sort of weakness. We must find it quickly." Neji mutters quietly, but Shikamaru can here the same frustration he's feeling in his voice. Just what weakness?**

**Shikamaru takes a moment to think— though they had only been in here for at most fifteen minutes, they couldn't afford to let any chakra go to waste. **

**Shikamaru takes a deep breath, "Let's . . ."**

**He is interrupted by rumblings, almost as if their earthen prison is crumbling. They all tense, Shikamaru and Chouji back to back, as Kiba and Neji tense up for whatever fight was coming their way. The walls crumble and fall around them, but they aren't in danger of being buried. It falls away from them like peeling paper, to reveal . . .**

"**Naruto?!" Shikamaru cries.**

"Just in the nick of time!" Obito and Rin cheer happily.

**Sharp blue eyes rove over him and the rest of their group silently as he faces off against their opponent, who looks battered and angry. "Yo . . . caught already guys?"**

"**We might have had an easier time if you had gotten here earlier!" Kiba argues, pointing at the boy accusingly.**

"**Or we would all have been stuck here." Naruto throws back. "Anyway, the Sound Four is retreating fast, you guys had better—"**

"**No, Naruto." Chouji interrupts forcefully as he walks up to the boys side. "I'll handle this one. With yours and Kiba's senses, you guys can catch up to them quickly. This is my fight."**

Tsunade looks skeptical. "We don't hear about the progress of the other teams, but just by him being beaten in the Chuunin pre-lims before by a Sound grunt is rather troubling."

"Chouji can do it! I bet he's a chip off the old black!" Kushina rallies, being on good terms with Chouza.

**Naruto looks closely at Chouji, and then back at Shikamaru. "Your call Shika. Which one of us stays behind?"**

**Their opponent frowns and speaks up. "Such shoddy teamwork . . . you'll never get past me with such an attitude. I'll destroy you all—"**

"**Sit the fuck back down Jiroubo, and don't speak unless spoken too." Naruto cuts him off loudly, only sparing a cold glare for the Sound nin.**

"Spoken like a true _BOSS_." Obito nearly swoons.

"**Damn," Shikamaru growls. "Chouji, I'm counting on you!"**

"**Right." Chouji nods. With a quick pat on the shoulder from Naruto, the other boy leaps into the trees to follow his team. **

**Naruto doesn't spare a glance back, but hopes that Chouji will be able to safely handle the opponent. The older, larger boy was very strong. "So what have we found out?" he asks, pushing forward to move next to Shikamaru.**

"**They have Sasuke in a sort of coffin . . . we believe him to be alive, it would make no sense for them to kill him. There are three others we will probably have to face, and the number of opponents might include Sasuke if the guy really did go willingly." Shikamaru reports, grumbling the last bit.**

**Naruto chuckles, but it is without humor. "You think our generation is cursed or something?"**

"Yes." Team Minato replies forcefully.

"**If I was a spiritual man, I'd say so." Shikamaru agrees, a smirk curling his lips.**

"**This is strange. They've laid no more traps. Shikamaru, what do you think?" Neji asks.**

"**They probably expect us to be defeated by, er . . . Jiroubo." Shikamaru muses.**

"**We have an advantage, a small one at least. They won't be expecting us!" Naruto grins.**

"**Hm . . ." Shikamaru murmurs, letting the second nature of leaping through the trees lull him as he thought about it. "We could henge into Jiroubo, try and get to the coffin that way."**

"Shoddy, you don't think they'll notice discrepancies in their teammate's behavior? Think more rationally, or did Jiroubo suck out more chakra than you thought?!" Tsunade barks.

"**And you don't think they'll notice right away their comrade is acting rather strange?" Naruto asks.**

"**Hmph, the one playing the henge will be decoy so that someone can sneak up behind him. Naruto . . . your kage bushin are pretty good. I'll henge, and you come up behind. Neji, Kiba, back him up." Shikamaru orders.**

"**Hai." They confirm quietly. **

**Shikamaru performs the henge, and quickly leaping from the smoke is a perfect Jiroubo look-alike. **

"**You guys better catch up . . . this is so troublesome." It was rather amusing to hear the Nara's catch phrase coming from the Sound nin's deeper voice. Shikamaru leapt ahead, catching up to the Sound Four. Though he could not feel them, he knew the rest wasn't far behind.**

**Which was perfect, as he blew his cover as Jiroubo not even two minutes after catching up to them. Apparently his guy wasn't all too fond of is female teammate's swarthy mouth . . . well, at least he had planned for that. He didn't exactly plan for the six-armed guy to be some sort of human spider and stick him to a tree with spider's web, but his plan would fit that all in . . . hopefully.**

"Spider dude? Come on, and you sent two chuunin and two genin out for this?" Obito scoffs, looking at Tsunade.

"Things are looking kind of desperate now for Konoha, huh?" Tsunade sighs.

**Man this mission **_**sucks**_**.**

**With wordless yells six Naruto's descended upon the nin. Said nin slipped off his tree branch and quickly chewed and spit out a gigantic wad of spider web, calling out his attack. "Ninja Art: Spiral Spider Web."**

**Naruto wasn't quite as fast at aerial maneuvers as he was at land maneuvers, so he was caught in the web. Luckily, he wasn't all too concerned with getting out, or getting his opponent.**

_**Since he's in midair, he won't be able to dodge this hit! **_**Naruto thinks certainly.**

"**Gatsuga!" Kiba shouted, two twin twisters heading towards the enemy. To Naruto's dismay, there were wires wrapped around the spider nin's fingers so small they didn't notice it until he pulled upon them and swung overhead, dodging the fangs. The jutsu dissipated as Kiba and Akamaru henged into Kiba both alighted upon branches. Kiba and Akamaru share twin growls of frustration, glaring at their opponent. **

"**You won't escape!" Kiba promised.**

"**That's my line! Or did you not get a good look at your feet?" the man taunted. Looking down, Kiba growled even more viciously upon seeing the webbing on the branch, the clear evidences of the man's trap. **

"Their opponent is very good . . ." Minato sighs in frustration. "They just don't have the experience for this!"

**From behind, Neji springs at him silently. His Byakugan can pick up the chakra, can see the man's weaknesses. He prepares to strike a heavy blow with his Gentle Fist. It is not to be, as the man catches sight of him at the last second, and drops below to another branch, Neji passing him overhead. Quickly conjuring up a spider web he traps Neji in it, laughing at the boy's struggles.**

"**My threads are too strong! You cannot break out of it . . . even if two elephants pulled, it wouldn't break. I'm going to cocoon you now." And with that simple explanation, the opponent weaves more of the web around Neji, until the boy is truly encased in a cocoon so strong it doesn't seem possible to get out.**

**Smirking, the man swings himself up, to the spider web Naruto is caught in. "Well since you're the first . . . you can provide me some entertainment!" The spider web he spits out is thicker, and a darker color than the others. And as it splits into six stakes, it hardens quickly. "Which one of you is real?" he wonders, laughing.**

**He throws the first one, and the clone cries out in pain before bursting into smoke. He throws another, and it's another clone.**

Kushina stiffens just a little. Her son would find a way out of this . . . after all he'd been through his death wouldn't be quite so easy to achieve. It probably wasn't even him there!

"**You've got great luck!" the man laughs. "I'm going to throw two now, so it's a two in one chance!" Two are thrown, each hitting a clone. There are two left. **

"**It's either one or the other now!" To slow the process, he throws one. It hits a clone. "Well, you made it to the last one . . . fun's over now. Die!" he throws the last one.**

**It sticks, and a guttural shout of pain is heard as fabric rips and the body jerks one last time before . . . it too pops.**

"I knew it, dattebane!" Kushina laughs, clapping gleefully.

"**All clones?!" the man gasps.**

"**You're going to have to try harder than that, dattebayo!" Naruto shouts, flying towards the man from behind with a dagger fisted. The man avoids him at the last second, and prepares another web. This time, he swears, he would kill the blonde brat!**

**Neji quite nicely puts a stopper in that plan as he leaps forward and propels Naruto to another branch. "Naruto, your stall worked nicely!"**

"**Neji!" Naruto cried joyfully. Shikamaru and Kiba join him, having been broken out by Neji. **

"Excellent work Neji!" Tsunade nods in approval.

"**How?! You couldn't have broken through my webs!" The man cries.**

"**Hmph . . . the Hyuuga clan practically specialize in chakra-based attacks, and your threads are full of chakra. Meaning . . ." he turns to his teammates. "This fight is suited best for me. Go— now— and catch up to Sasuke!"**

Kushina bites her lip. "I don't like this . . . no back up after them, leaving genin to fight with such strong opponents . . . what kind of world did we leave behind?"

**Naruto takes one look into Neji's eyes, searching, before relenting with a nod. "I say we let him have this one captain, what say you?"**

**Shikamaru also gives Neji a searching glance, before nodding. "Both you and Chouji, make sure to catch up!"**

**Neji nods, turning his back on them as they leap away. He stares down at his opponent with light disdain.**

**The chase is back on, tensions high as they once again leave a comrade behind to fight. "When I get my hands on Sasuke I'm wringing his pale little neck for making us go through all this shit." Naruto growls.**

"**Agreed." Shikamaru and Kiba snap.**

**The canopy above them had thinned now, allowing the mellowed, reddish sunlight of the ending day to soak the surroundings in hues of red and orange. "Why I thought we could get home by tonight, I had no idea, but . . ." Shikamaru groans.**

Jiraiya clucks his tongue. "This will probably be their first time staying awake through an attack, and still have focus to fight. At least an ANBU or two, if only they could be spared . . . !"

"**I am going to break his legs," Naruto murmurs, continuing his list of punishments for the Uchiha, Kiba echoing the sentiments with enthusiasm. **

"**We have to catch up before the sun sets at all costs." Shikamaru states quietly.**

"**Then, full throttle we go!" Kiba whoops, and they all pick up the pace.**

**Even so, with their increased speed . . . they haven't caught sight of the remaining Sound nin, and the darkness presses upon them. The light of the full moon aides Shikamaru and Kiba in the night.**

"I hope they have a spare chakra pill." Rin murmurs in concern.

"**We haven't caught up to them yet . . ." Kiba growls in anger.**

"**It's fine, we'll just maintain this distance and wait to attack." Shikamaru cuts him off.**

"**Until dawn you mean? Wouldn't it be better to just attack now, while the darkness gives us an advantage?" Naruto asks.**

"**Right! A sneak attack, even using decoys whilst one of us grabs the coffin." Kiba agrees. **

"**The darkness is only good for an instantaneous advantage," Shikamaru corrects. "If we can't time it right, and both detain the two ninjas and get Sasuke back then the plan would fall apart. And I know you have night vision, Naruto, but Kiba and I are a little less fortunate, and we'd probably die. You don't want us to die right?"**

"Do you really want that answer?" Kakashi jokes in a low voice.

"**Certainly my grocery bill would be cheaper . . ." Naruto mutters, laughing at Kiba's playful growl in protest.**

**They work steadily, not letting the darkness deter them, even as clouds pass through. Naruto takes point, guiding them during these blackouts with his vision, chakra beckoning them even if they don't understand it themselves. **

**The dawn approaches, and seems to rush by quickly in its gold and light. The sun shines brightly for a new day, and somehow they seem to be energized just by the coming of morning alone. And so they are particularly invigorated when they finally catch up to the last of the Sound Ninja.**

"**Sakon!" The girl calls sharply, and the grey haired boy with the dark blue lipstick just smirks savagely as he flies toward them. **

"**Good morning to you too!" Naruto calls out laughingly as he readies a rasengan. His eyes widen as the boy's hands shoot out lightning quick and catch his wrists, the jutsu dissipating. **

"Naruto," Minato scolds. "Are you just that tired, or not paying attention? He should never have been caught like that."

"His enemy is no slouch!" Kushina defends with an icy glare. "Orochimaru doesn't abide by weaklings, so Naruto isn't fighting some run of the mill nin!"

"**No use if I can catch you before it hits me!" Sakon tells him with a grin. Naruto just grins back and shouts, "Get it Kiba!"**

"**Gatsuga!" Kiba shouts, the twister speeding towards them, ripping right through Naruto— the clone fades away instantly at the touch— and Sakon is hit by it, sending him flying back towards the tree branch with his teammate stuck in it. **

**The girl curses, and prepares to move both herself and the coffin— her eyes widen, and it is far too hard a struggle to turn her head to look at Shikamaru. She can't move! Her shadow has been caught by the boy.**

"Now there's a plan on par with your caliber Shikamaru!" Tsunade encourages, the others cheering and whooping delightedly.

"**Damn it . . ." she grunts out.**

"**Oi Tayuya, what the hell are you idling for?!" Sakon yells, angered and confused as she doesn't move out of the way. If anything, she walks forward!**

"**What are you moving forward for?" he yells, but it is too late. By the time Shikamaru releases the jutsu, they crash into each other and the coffin goes flying straight into the arms of Kiba, who throws it to Naruto.**

"**Clear it!" Naruto yells, and with grins of triumph Shikamaru and Kiba follow after the speeding chuunin, not even very bothered at how far ahead he is.**

"**That worked out perfectly Shikamaru! I knew you'd come through." Naruto praises the boy, holding the coffin carefully in a firm grip as they leap through the trees. **

"**Every calculation worked out like I planned it to," Shikamaru grins. "Now we can get home with our objective!"**

"Don't get cocky boy, and think this would be so easy." Jiraiya warns.

"**It won't be as easy as that!" Kiba barks, face tense as he speeds up to be just behind them. "They're following, and the one with the lipstick is catching up!"**

"Well spoilsport, do you feel good about yourself?" Obito asks critically of Jiraiya, who just shrugs with an unsurprised look on his face.

**Naruto and Shikamaru turn to look behind them as well, and their eyes widen upon seeing Sakon covered in dark blob-like marks as he speeds toward them. **

"**Naruto . . . you're the fastest of us here." Shikamaru mutters. "Only you can get Sasuke to Konoha, so just remember that."**

"Your friends are all sacrificing themselves, your options are dwindling . . . damn. We really screwed you guy over." Kakashi mutters darkly.

**Naruto grits his teeth, but nods resolutely. "Of course." He answers. **

**They keep a wary eye on their backs, seeing Sakon seemingly coming closer and closer. **

"**Damn they're fast!" Kiba mutters. With a look to Akamaru, the little white dog quietly slips out of his jacket and falls to the trees below.**

**They keep going, Akamaru following behind, stopping every so often to complete the task given to him by his master. **

"Alright Kiba, give them some time." Rin murmurs, a rush of pride for her little relative suffusing her.

"**Akamaru! Hurry up and come back once you've set the traps!" Kiba howls, frowning at Akamaru down below him. Akamaru yaps an affirmative, and looks at the last explosive tag, and then at the other many trees he's marked with the seal papers, before jumping away to the next tree.**

**Sakon growls, stepping upon a branch to gather more speed. The only reason he pauses, is the sizzling sound that reaches his ears very close to him. He looks to his side, and nearly chokes on a gasp as he sees the sizzling, nearly gone exploding tag.**

"**Damn . . . !" he chokes out, before the tags are set off. One by one, trees fall in fiery columns and a plume of smoke rises. **

**Naruto and Shikamaru hiss in satisfaction, hoping the explosions would slow down the curse-marked ninja. The figure that leaps up from the plume of smoke destroys their hope.**

**Sakon descends, angrier than ever. "That isn't enough to stop me damn it!"**

"Damn, Orochimaru really put time into these guys. And I bet those Curse Seals are remarkably, annoyingly, complicated." Minato murmurs, eyes hooded and dark.

**Akamaru, surprised by the boy's appearance, trips as he lands on a fallen tree that hasn't yet gone off, and falls heavily on the trunk, barking.**

"**Akamaru!" Kiba yells, leaping towards his fallen familiar.**

"Tch!" Rin grits her teeth. Kiba had no choice but to go after Akamaru— the Inuzuka and their canine familiars were bonded at just about the soul level, and to leave one behind or lose one was a fate similar to a small death.

"**Don't you 'arf' at me you little mutt!" Sakon snarls, and from under his sleeve comes a length of ninja wire that wraps around Akamaru and the trunk, the pup yelping from the sudden stinging pressure of the sharp and thin wire pressing into him. He growls fearfully when the tag on his tree activates— it's like a timer to his demise!**

"**Hold on buddy!" Kiba yells, and jumps down on the trunk.**

**Too late.**

**Just as Sakon is descending, the tag goes off. For a moment they are all eclipsed in the bright white light of the explosion, and then the smoke covers them.**

"No," Rin wails softly, barely recognizing the feeling of a warm and slipping into her own and squeezing. "There are fatalities in this mission? Just genin who were over their heads . . ."

"**Kiba! Akamaru!" Naruto yells, trying desperately to see through the smoke. **_**Please let them be alive . . . **_

**They are, and so is Sakon. Shikamaru and Naruto manage to catch them falling from the smoke . . . into a ravine! Kiba's yells echo to their ears until he, Akamaru, and Sakon disappear in the darkness of the ravine.**

Tsunade's body slumps forward tiredly as her sigh wavers, head dropping to her knees and pressing. "I sent these kids . . . I sent them because I knew they wouldn't back down and now look—"

"You made a choice as Hokage. For better or worse, it was your decision and no one can fault your thought process." Minato cuts her off. "Now aren't we being too hasty? I for one am _very_ skeptical that any son of _Inuzuka Tsume_ would just fall so easily. Let's keep reading."

"**No!" Naruto yells, making to move forward, only Shikamaru's grip on his jacket stopping him. **

"**What the hell is going on?" Naruto growls, glaring at Shikamaru.**

"**I . . . shit! Look!" Following Shikamaru's pointed finger, Naruto can only curse as he sees the approaching form of the red-headed girl Sakon had called Tayuya coming for them.**

"**You punks!" She shouted, rushing toward them. Tayuya's eyes are trained solely on them, until a cold feeling tingles along her nerves . . . someone else had come, and their vibe was totally off . . . and unnervingly familiar.**

"**That . . . what are you doing here?" She asked in shock, eyes now trained somewhere behind Shikamaru and Naruto.**

**Shikamaru's brow furrows. "Huh—" his sudden question is cut off with a cry of surprise when Naruto suddenly grabs the back of his chuunin vest and the coffin, and then flips them away to the branch behind him.**

**Just in time to avoid the newcomer.**

"Excellent reflexes brat." Jiraiya murmurs in approval.

**He was deathly pale, and looked sickly. His white hair was short, with two sections in a sort of large red bead over his shoulders. He wore a strange lavender kimono-like body suit, with splits in the front to show shinobi sweats. The ying-yang symbol and the purple rope bow, common to the rest of the Sound Four, let Shikamaru know for certain that the shit had hit the fan.**

"Shit, now who's going to go ahead to bring back Sasuke? Shikamaru will not be able to handle two on one." Kushina groans, a hand running through her red hair in stress.

"**Dude who let you out of your hospital room?" Naruto asked incredulously.**

"**Kimimaro . . . how? Your body . . . your body is no longer . . ." Tayuya mutters in shock, but Naruto can hear her clearly.**

"**True. This is all I am good for now . . . making sure Orochimaru-sama's dream can come to fruition." Kimimaro spoke plainly, without much inflection. Bright turquoise eyes roved over to the coffin by Naruto's side. "Tayuya you have your mission and I have mine. Making sure the new vessel gets to Orochimaru-sama."**

"These guys . . . all the Sound ninjas. They have such unfaltering loyalty to Orochimaru. As if he's a saving angel, or a messiah that they've flocked too." Obito observes quietly.

"Yet, all I can see is him taking children away from their homes and branding them with horrid marks. Do all these children want power, so much that they'd give up anything?" Kushina wonders.

"If they're anything like Sasuke," Kakashi speaks even quieter still. "Then that power is the only home they've ever had. Orochimaru, to them, was the only one who cared enough to aide their dreams by giving them power."

**Naruto snarls, a low sound so full of vitriol it sends shockwaves down their spines. "Shikamaru . . ."**

"**Naruto. Please go according to the plan." Shikamaru cuts in calmly, eyes never leaving Tayuya. **

**Naruto nods, and lowers his voice so only Shikamaru can hear. "If you die, Katsu will cry . . . and then I'll have to Edo Tensei your ass and kill you over and over again. Got it?" Not waiting for an answer, Naruto leaps away, speed increasing with each leap.**

"As inspiring as your mother, kid." Minato snickers, batting away Kushina's fists.

"**Damn it!" Tayuya yells. "Punks, I'll—" before she can finish what would surely be an interesting threat, Kimimaro gives chase to the yellow blur, expression never changing. **

"Naruto can handle himself, and at least Shikamaru has a chance now." Obito mutters.

**Naruto leaps through the trees at an impressive speed, hatred for Orochimaru filling him. "Damn him! Damn him! If only he . . . then we all wouldn't be . . ." Naruto cuts himself off, gnashing his teeth.**

"Trust me, I know the feeling and he didn't do anything _half_ as bad as all this to me." Jiraiya snorts. Tsunade bites her lip to hold back laughter, and continues reading.

**His frustration mounts as he feels Kimimaro behind him steadily. The boy was gaining at a steady pace, and there was some sort of strange energy coming from the coffin . . . it was making him sick. It seemed to pulse through him, all the while being rejected and repelled by his own chakra . . . but there was nothing really **_**happening**_** to him.**

**Naruto sighs, face relaxing into one of grim acceptance. "I have to defeat Kimimaro." He murmurs. He leaps from the trees into a large clearing, the grass swaying gently in the breeze. Setting down the coffin, Naruto stretches and winces at the several pops he hears coming from his bones.**

"You couldn't just try to keep running?" Obito whines.

"That's what it means to rise in the ranks of the shinobi world. As chuunin, it is down to you to ensure precision and a complete mission. No mistakes, no loose ends." Minato tells them sternly, the steel in his voice creating a tension in the room.

**Kimimaro leaps from the trees soon after. "How to defeat you?" the pale boy wonders as he walks into the clearing. They square off, Naruto producing a clone to take the coffin to the edge of the clearing and guard it.**

"**Before we get wild . . . tell me Kimimaro-san, what does Orochimaru want with Sasuke?" Naruto asks, his voice pleasant.**

**Kimimaro doesn't answer for a while, merely stares at Naruto who stares back with equal calm. "Orochimaru-sama has already obtained the Immortality Jutsu . . . a long time is needed to acquire different jutsu and different things."**

Tsunade snorts. "Immortality! How absolutely ridiculous, how pathetic!"

"**And what does Immortality have to do with Sasuke?" Naruto snorts.**

"**Immortality doesn't mean the body will remain . . . just the soul. So, every so often a new flesh construct is needed to house the immortal soul and continue the pursuit of perfection.**

"Well isn't that just perfectly sick." Tsunade snarls.

"How on earth did Orochimaru fall so low?" Jiraiya wonders with a disgusted look upon his face.

"That is just nasty." Kushina mutters.

_**That . . . is just nasty. **_**Naruto inwardly shudders. "And Sasuke would be that new vessel? Well I must say, Orochimaru had me fooled with that terrible makeup and battle man-dress but he has surprisingly good taste huh?" he jokes, grinning wickedly. **

**Kimimaro either doesn't get the joke, or has no sense of humor. Probably both, Naruto decides. Cracking his knuckles, he slides into his beginning stance for the KFH, and beckons to Kimimaro. "Well? You want Sasuke so bad, you'll have to defeat me." **

**Though he blusters to Kimimaro, Naruto is taking careful watch of his enemy. He notices the strange white protrusion which looked very sharp coming straight from Kimimaro's palms. **_**Some sort of seal . . . ? None that I can detect, but then where is it coming from? And just what the hell is it? **_

"A white protrusion coming from his hands?" Minato mutters. "That sounds vaguely familiar."

"A bloodline limit, you think?" Kakashi muses.

**Kimimaro doesn't take a stance, merely looks at Naruto. "Attack me at any time." **

**Naruto pouts— so Kimimaro wouldn't start anything until he did? Well, it happened that way sometimes. Back leg tensing, Naruto pushes forward, arm coming back. It shoots forward as he fakes a punch, and as Kimimaro moves to dodge his opposite knee comes up to bury in the boy's stomach.**

**Kimimaro leaps back, but Naruto takes his distance and unleashes a barrage of hits that Kimimaro has a hard time dodging. Right leg, two palms, a knock from the wrist, a low kick— right, left, jump, mule kick, backhand— just where was the pattern to these hits? It shouldn't take so long to defeat this nuisance. Kimimaro doesn't let his annoyance show as he ducks under a roundhouse kick and then flips back to avoid the other leg that sweeps up as Naruto twists into a handstand. Naruto flips back as well, seals on his wrist glowing for a second before he plucks his axes out of the air. **

The mood rises a little in the room, bolstered at the good run Naruto is having. But they are also reasonable. This success now doesn't mean anything if Naruto falters.

**Naruto grins to hide the annoyance at Kimimaro. As he thought, those sharp protrusions from his palms were sharp and annoying. Even more frustrating was Kimimaro's ability to make said sharp protrusions pop up from **_**anywhere**_** on his body. He sported a few cuts of his own from the sudden sprouting of those blades, whilst Kimimaro had nothing but a bruise from the lucky landing of a kick.**

Like a puppet with its strings cut, the mood drops. Was this Kimimaro just that good?

"As I thought, a powerful bloodline indeed. One I recall belonging to the Kaguya Clan, making this a powerful opponent." Minato concludes.

"And their bloodline limit is?" Kushina prompted.

"Their bones . . . they can use their bones as both weapons and shields." Minato sighs. "The specifics aren't known to me, but it's . . . just keep reading."

"**Dude, the very thought freaks me out, but . . . those blades in your hand and the ones that come up from your body are bones? Your bones?"**

"Good catching that, Naru-chan." Kushina sighs.

"**Very astute." Kimimaro comments. "Yes, this is the powerful bloodline of the Kaguya Clan, though I am the last member. The bone tissue is so compressed that it becomes hard as steel."**

"**A walking armory? You don't say . . ." Naruto murmurs. "Well I've had enough of this! Kage bushin no jutsu!"**

**Around him twenty clones come into existence. "Get him boys!" Naruto commands.**

"**You got it boss!" they yell, and rush forward with their axes. Naruto stows his own away and leaps back to observe the fight, hoping to gain some knowledge of Kimimaro's weaknesses.**

Kakashi nods. "A good move, since it's hard for an enemy to tell if it's a clone or not, they'll reveal something that you can monopolize."

"He should have done that from the start, then." Kushina grumbles, thinking of how it would have saved Naruto a few injuries.

**Kimimaro tosses his sleeves back and leaps above the clones. "Dance of the Willows." He calls, and then descends upon the clones with quick, lethal grace.**

**Naruto winces as the memories come back to him of the absolute slaughter of his poor clones. He was light and quick on his feet, sure, but Kimimaro was freaking **_**dancing**_**. God, he was going to kill Sasuke for this. His clones can't even restrain the bastard because his freaking bones come up as an ultimate defense, the shadow clones popping as soon as they are pierced by the steel-like bones. **

"Damn a sword style? If he trained with it . . ." Jiraiya explains more as the kids look confused. "Someone who studies in the art of kenjutsu, as opposed to Naruto who only trained with simple tips and strategies to aide his taijutsu will fare better in the battles. Generally, swordsmen are tricky opponents if they're well-versed in sword play."

**Sighing, he produces forty clones, hoping for some more information on this Dance of Willows to find a suitable counter against it. The clones rush forward, now more cautious than the last bunch and with their axes enhancing their guards. **

**A cracking sound comes from Kimimaro, and he tosses his shirt aside to reveal a large bone coming from out of his shoulder. Pulling it out, he wields it like a bokken, and his skin stiches back together seamlessly.**

"**Dance of the Camelia." Kimimaro announces.**

"**You got to be fucking kidding me." Naruto deadpans. There were more dances?!**

"Ooh, so close." Obito hisses in sympathy.

**So he is forced to relive and simultaneously watch as his clones are mercilessly slaughtered. The only upside he muses, as he fights against the headache from both watching and remembering, is that his clones managed to land a few blows on the bone-boy. As the last of them are dealt with by Kimimaro, the smoke from their dispelling fades away to reveal shallow yet bloody gashes on both shoulders, and a few more bruises that stick out phenomenally against the pale skin.**

"Fuck yeah!" Kushina cries victoriously.

"**Dance of the Willows . . . and Dance of the Camelia." Naruto recounts out loud, for now halting the battle. "You make it look so easy . . . my sensei never taught me such dances. She just stuck to the waltz, the Odori, and the Noh Mai."**

"On one hand I envy how easy he makes it seem to quip at his enemies," Obito confesses, hands coming out to waver like scales. "On the other hand . . . his devil-may-care attitude grates on my nerves as someone who has come to care deeply for his well-being."

"You see?" Minato and Kushina agree gratefully, welcoming Obito into the 'Overprotective Corner.'

"**With these dances, my taijutsu is superior to all but masters. I have mastered all five dances, which means you will not live past today." Kimimaro informs him.**

"**Well we'll just see about—"**

_**Rip.**_

**Confused, Naruto and Kimimaro turn to look at the coffin, Naruto's kage bushin also sporting a hilariously owlish expression. It is quiet for all of two seconds, then—**

_**Boom! **_**The coffin explodes, and the shrapnel dispels the clone forcefully. From the wreckage and smoke, Sasuke emerges and Naruto's eyes widen at the sight of his friend. Sasuke . . . his colors inverted? White hair and dark skin, but Naruto cannot see his face as the Uchiha is turned the other way.**

"**Sasuke!" he calls out. "Come on, let's get away from these Sound bastards.**

**As the inverted color scheme fades to reveal the normal Sasuke, he laughs, and it is derisive and almost . . . maniacal. He walks forward into the forest, as if he had never heard Naruto speak.**

"Shit, what did that coffin do?" Obito mutters.

"**Hey!" Naruto shouts. "Did you hear what I said damn it?!"**

**Sasuke starts to run, disappearing into the trees, in the direction of the border of Fire Country.**

"**Sasuke!" Naruto yells, turning around completely now. **

"Oh my god, how many times did we say no turning your back on the enemy!" Tsunade bellows, shaking the book violently.

**A wind at his back— eyes wide he looks over his shoulder— Kimimaro's bone blade descends seconds away from lodging into his back.**

"**Konoha Senpuu!" the cry is the spilt second precursor to the leg— clad in an orange leg warmer— that kicks the blade away, and pushes back Kimimaro.**

"Ooh please tell me it's Gai and the jounin reinforcements have come!" Kushina pleads.

"**Lee!" Naruto cries in alarm, spinning around to gape at Lee.**

"Fuck, why?" Kushina whines, flopping onto Minato's shoulder.

"Hey, it's close enough." Rin defends Lee.

"**Yes, it is I Naruto!" Lee yells excitedly. "I am here to help!"**

"**It is what I need to do." Lee answers affirmatively. "You have to go and get Sasuke, but I can stay behind and at least handle this one. Go, Naruto!"**

"**Lee, don't ruin yourself over this." Naruto warns.**

"**Have faith, Naruto!" Lee assures his friend. "This most unyouthful opponent shall be a challenge, but I will defeat him regardless. Now go!"**

**Ignoring the guilt that builds in him, Naruto nods and says quickly, "Thank you Lee!" before he rushes after Sasuke.**

"Oh man . . . you think those two are going to fight?" Rin wonders worriedly.

"If they do," Kakashi pauses, thinking about the combo.

Obito finishes for Kakashi. "Then it is going to be so freaking epic."

**Naruto calls out to Sasuke many times, but the boy does not turn back or respond. He just keeps moving forward at an incredible speed, and Naruto matches it, yet he still cannot get in front of Sasuke. Was the curse seal somehow activated, Naruto wondered? Then again, Kakashi had worked to bring Sasuke's speed to incredible levels . . . **

**They keep going, until they reach an iconic place in Fire Country, the last monument that made up the border. The Valley of the End— the place carved out by the battle between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. **

"I've never been . . . is it truly as big as they say it is?" Rin asks.

"They probably underestimated it; it's just that . . . grandiose." Kakashi said, for lack of a better word.

**Sasuke was on the statue of Madara, while Naruto had stopped on Hashirama.**

"Isn't that iconic?" Tsunade murmurs in bitter amusement.

**He panted lightly, a little winded from the fights before. He takes a deep breath, and releases it all in a shout.**

"**SASUKE!"**

**The boy stops then, but doesn't turn. Naruto sees his foot start to lift, in preparation for another step and he continues to stall.**

"**Running off to play footsie with everybody's favorite pedophile, and you won't even say goodbye?" Naruto shouts, taunting.**

Tsunade's voice breaks over footsie, and everyone else chuckles as well.

**Sasuke turns around, no expression on his face, but it's what's on his face that makes Naruto pause. The right half is covered in the wavy, thick black strokes of his curse mark yet somehow a little different— his right eye with a black sclera and dull gold iris.**

"**Well here we are . . . hopeless little knucklehead." Sasuke speaks softly, but Naruto can hear him as if the boy was right in front of him.**

**Naruto bristles. "I'm as tall as you are now idiot! And you're only three months older than I am!"**

"**Right, right . . ." Sasuke placates. "So . . . she sent you?"**

"**. . . if you mean Sakura, then I'd like to tell you thanks a lot asshole now she'll never leave me alone to bring you back!" Naruto cries in exasperation. **

**Sasuke chuckles, and smirks at Naruto. "Look at you . . . what's with the angry face?"**

**Naruto rolls his eyes, and frowns at Sasuke. "You know . . . Orochimaru wants to use your body as a new suit in a few years, and I doubt he'll l just let you go if you decide the sound isn't your thing dattebayo?" **

"**I don't care about that." Sasuke shrugs. Naruto sighs in irritation, making the leap to the other statue and grabbing Sasuke's shirt collar. Sasuke neither moved nor changed expression. Naruto eyes narrowed . . . he **_**saw**_** it, meaning Sasuke's speed had now increased above his normal range thanks to the curse seal. His vision and agility, all his senses and abilities were now increased. **

_**Great, just great . . . **_**Naruto sighs. "That whimsical attitude is starting to piss me off. This is serious!"**

"**Serious . . . ?" Sasuke murmurs, as if testing the word. "Serious . . . let's get serious then Naruto. I'll show you my resolve."**

Something strikes Minato as odd about the conversation, what they're saying. He doesn't voice it, but he keeps the observation in the forefront as he focuses on the reading.

**Naruto sees the fist coming for him, but he doesn't quite realize how much force it's packing until it sinks into his stomach so far in that blood is coughed up in splatters from his mouth, and he is forcefully propelled from the statue head into the waterfall below, skipping like a stone on the water. **

**The blonde blinks. "What the fuck just happened?" Naruto asks no one in particular aloud as he floated on top the water, slowly climbing to his feet.**

_**You just got knocked the fuck back is what happened! **_**Kyuubi laughs, nearly howling in his mind.**

Obito snorts, coughing to control his laughter and waving away the strange looks.

_**Oh shut up. **_**Naruto grumbles, looking atop the statue. "You are in for a world of hurt, damn it!" he leaps, and Sasuke leaps down to meet him. As Sasuke starts to bring forward a knee to lash out in a kick against Naruto's cheek, the blonde grabs Sasuke's knee with one hand and his shoulder with the other to spin and launch the boy into the water. He falls down to the outstretched finger of Madara.**

**Sasuke pops up from the water in seconds and stands atop it. Naruto takes note of the receded curse marks before he speaks again. "If this is your resolve, perhaps I should spare Orochimaru such a disappointing disciple."**

**Sasuke growls and leaps up to where Naruto is. "That the best you can do?" he snarls disdainfully. "Are you holding back for some stupid reason?"**

"**Probably the same reason you're holding back." Naruto admits with a grin.**

**Sasuke snorts, and flies at Naruto. Both boys jump off the statue as they exchange blows and block intermittently, neither gaining an advantage or able to power through an opening. They fall to the ground below and separate, dust kicking up in their wake.**

"**Well come on . . . I want to see what the number one unpredictable ninja has got. I'll even throw in a bonus— the true power of the Sharingan!" Sasuke beckons with a taunting grin.**

**Naruto responds in kind. "You know well enough from our spars Sasuke . . . I'll tell Nade to go easy on you! Bring out your Sharingan buddy, you don't want to miss this!" **

No one has any thought in their mind to interrupt, to comment, to break the rhythm of the story. There is a tension that mounts as they realize in the backs of their minds— _this is it_.

**They clash in the middle, blows exchanged faster than normal. With every punch from Sasuke that gets blocked is a barely missed blow from Naruto. Even so, Sasuke's arms ache from the heavy blows his guard takes and Naruto curses the Sharingan quite spectacularly for allowing Sasuke to see his moves— even if Sasuke can't see the pattern and therefore copy it, the ability of the Sharingan to see "ahead" as it were lets Sasuke avoid serious injury by the skin of his teeth. **

**Taking a punch to his guard, Sasuke allows himself to bend back and upset Naruto's balance for just a moment which he uses to shove forward forcefully and push Naruto back. Far enough for him to use his Grand Fireball Jutsu.**

**Naruto leaps above it and throws kunai at Sasuke, who cuts the jutsu as he leaps to the side and avoids the metal, and then backflips several times to avoid Naruto's kick as the boy speeds forward. **

**Both boys leap back over the waterfall, their movements in midair now limited to just blocks and hits instead of weaving and dodging. Sasuke moves to land a fist against Naruto— it is blocked by an arm. The other fist moves forward, and is blocked by the other arm. Smirking, Sasuke's leg lashes out in a blue and lands a solid hit to Naruto's midsection. Naruto goes crashing down into the water, at the lake below the statues. **

**Naruto surfaces and jumps up to stand just as Sasuke lands. "You've gotten really good Sasuke . . . I should have sparred with you more often these past few weeks."**

**Sasuke says nothing, merely smirks and goes for the attack again. He crouches low, his right arm coming out straight in front of him. In his palm, chakra crackles and glows with a white hot light. "Chidori!"**

**Naruto holds out his left hand, and in his palm chakra swirls and compresses, forming a spiraling blue ball. "Rasengan!"**

**They sprint towards each other, and Naruto's arm rears back before shooting forward to clash with the lightning. The entire world stills for all of two seconds as the powerhouse jutsus meet— and then, cataclysm.**

**The water under their feet swirls and rages around them as the chakra whips everything within their radius into a frenzy. It's a battle of wills now, to see whose jutsu will fail first. **

**It's a draw.**

**Both boys are tossed back with tremendous force from the backlash as the jutsus explode. Naruto sinks below the waters, the coolness soothing the light sting of the burns on his arm and hand. He recovers quickly and swims up, bringing himself back to his feet. In the distance, Naruto sees Sasuke do the same. **

_**Whoa! I always wanted to do that, see which one was stronger. I guess it's a draw,**_** Naruto thinks to himself.**

_**He was able to counter my Chidori at its full power . . . **_**Sasuke recounts, never looking away from Naruto. **

"**You know what they say, don't you Naruto?" Sasuke breaks their silence. "When two shinobi are powerful enough, they are able to read each other's thought simply by an exchange of fists, without even speaking. So, could you hear them? My thought?"**

**Naruto doesn't react for a couple moments. He stares at the smirking Sasuke with the curse marks now covering his face, the hard red eyes of the Sharingan, as he thinks over that statement. **_**Read each other's thoughts . . . through an exchange of fists . . . **_**Naruto smiles warmly, and it startles Sasuke to see warmth practically emanating from the soft blue eyes. "Yeah, I heard them loud and clear."**

"Then why is he smiling?" Rin bursts out. "It's obvious Sasuke wants to kill him!"

They shush her with glares, and she subsides meekly, looking to the side in confusion and some agitation.

**Sasuke smirks wider. "You're surprisingly naïve Naruto." **

**Sasuke's hands speed through hand seals, and Naruto clucks his tongue as he dodges the phoenix flowers that spew from Sasuke's mouth . . . and then chokes on a surprised gasp when Sasuke appears behind him and sends him flying back with a fist to the mouth.**

**Skidding back on the water, Naruto touches a bruised and bleeding lip as he tries to figure out why Sasuke got suddenly faster. **_**Right . . . the last time the curse marks were that far on him, was before Kakashi sealed the mark. I guess whatever happened before, maybe even in that coffin too . . . allowed him greater access. **_**So he would simply have to remove his seal as well. With a single hand sign, Naruto's gravity seals are released and his full speed is accessible. **

"**Don't think just because you got faster, you'll win Naruto!" Sasuke yells, and then he runs even **_**faster**_**. Naruto easily dodges all fireballs and phoenix flowers, weaves around Sasuke's fists and legs. They become stuck in a taijutsu battle— Naruto bends back nearly ninety degrees and nails Sasuke's chin with his kick, but while in midair Sasuke twists his legs around Naruto's neck and twists them both so Naruto crashes to the water under Sasuke. Coughing up blood as Sasuke lodges a kunai in his shoulder, Naruto twists them both and kicks Sasuke away. He scrambles up and tears out the kunai, starting to get mad now.**

"**Sasuke! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to kill me!" Naruto yells. "But I know that's just the curse mark messing with you right?"**

**Sasuke coughs, wiping away blood from his mouth as he stands. "Maybe so . . . all I know is, there's no Kakashi or Sakura to stop us now, like in our spars when they see us getting too serious. Naruto . . . I want to fight you with all my strength— and win! Before I go, I want to know who is stronger!"**

"**Me too . . . I want to fight all out, but does that really mean we have to go for the kill—?" Naruto is cut off by another grand fireball, this one far grander than the others before.**

**He's so preoccupied with scrambling away that he only notices the charged up chidori heading at him at the last second. With his hand, Naruto redirects the trajectory of the chidori, but he isn't quite fast enough to avoid a blow.**

**Sasuke's arm goes straight through his left shoulder.**

Kushina hisses, eyes flashing briefly with red. Minato feeling the chakra, grips her tightly and quiets her with a look.

**Both boys freeze, as the lightning crackles and sizzles violently for a few more seconds, before fizzing away. It leaves only Sasuke and Naruto, nose to nose, pained blue eye to shocked black eye, as Sasuke's hand clenches disbelievingly in the air. Sasuke rips his arm out and takes a step back, refusing to look below and see the burnt red skin of the hole through Naruto— doesn't look below to know that he can see through that hole, it's so big. He wipes at the blood on his face, blood Naruto coughed up.**

**Sasuke recovers, face morphing into a disdainful sneer. "You couldn't avoid that Naruto?"**

**Naruto doesn't respond, and Sasuke realizes Naruto isn't looking at him, but beyond him, to something only he can see. His gaze has gone from pained to just plain shocked. Blood runs down his hand from the gaping wound, drips into the water. **

"**Naruto—"**

**Sasuke has to stop talking, and even leaps back as red chakra flares around Naruto. The blonde boy slumps forward, still on his feet but his upper half like someone cut of his strings. The chakra bubbles and swirls around Naruto almost like a cocoon . . . like Gaara's sand.**

"**Calling out the Kyuubi huh?" Sasuke smirks. "Good, I don't feel too bad about calling out **_**this**_** power either—"**

**Again he must stop talking, much for the same reason as before— his rarely present yet existing sense of self preservation. Behind Naruto, like a shroud of darkness and pain . . . he can practically see it out here; he sees it clear as day in his mind's eye. The dreaded and powerful Kyuubi, snarling at him and judging him unworthy before its might.**

_**Shit . . . forgot Kyuubi likes Naruto. **_**Sasuke remembers, a numb sensation going through him. The water whips around them like a storm churns it, spray rising and hitting him like small whips.**

**Naruto now straightens, and Sasuke sees the gaping hole vanishing before his eyes.**

**Scarlet red eyes, wide with anger seem to look into Sasuke's very soul. "Sasuke!" the yell is drawn out and deeply pissed. "I am going to break **_**every single bone**_** in your body!"**

**With another yell his arms slashes through the air and in its wake, a gale force wind of pure chakra makes a furrow in the water and crashes into Sasuke, sending the boy flying. While he's flying back, Naruto sprints forward and sinks his fist into Sasuke's stomach. The boy's eyes nearly roll back from pain, and Naruto doesn't stop there. A succession of punches into Sasuke's midsection keep the boy aerial, and then an axe kick sends him spinning away like a skipping stone on the water. Just as he manages to skid to a stop, Naruto drops in from above and double slams Sasuke into the waters below, a rush of bubbles being the only indicator of how hard and how fast Naruto did that. **

**Several yards from Naruto Sasuke bursts up and speeds away to gain some ground, but Naruto follows after him with ease, his speed eclipsing Sasuke's. He roundhouse kicks Sasuke, then follows after for a mule kick straight to the back. Sasuke lands on his back and floats as Naruto comes down. He spits out a fireball big enough to seriously fry Naruto's entire body. Naruto rears back his head, and the roar he unleashes is almost animalistic, the pure force and chakra in it so great it obliterates the fireball— the resulting backlash of the energies creating gigantic shockwaves that stir up the water into furious waves. Sasuke leaps up in a spray of water, Naruto following after him. Sasuke goes for a side hit, but is grabbed by Naruto. He tries a kick, but Naruto neatly dodges and grabs both Sasuke's legs and flips several times with the boy and throws, the momentum sending Sasuke crashing into the mountain side. Naruto follows the same path, gripping Sasuke's shirt and dragging him up.**

"**Looks like you're coming with me." Naruto growls.**

"**As if loser." Sasuke spits, coughing. He head-butts Naruto, and capitalizing on the surprise he tangles his leg behind Naruto's knee and unbalances them both, the two boys falling back to land on the water. **

"**It won't be so easy now Naruto. My Sharingan have fully matured . . . your speed won't help you here." Sasuke states.**

**Naruto grins wolfishly. "If you think this is my top speed, you're dead wrong. Let's put those bad boys to work then!"**

**They clash, and to the mounting frustration and anger of both, they cannot gain any ground. Naruto dips low to sweep Sasuke's feet, and avoids the resulting backflip kick Sasuke tries. Spinning he lets the chakras at his feet explode and send him skidding away at a great speed to avoid the running fire jutsu.**

**Their thoughts echo each other's. **_**Damn it, we match up at this point! Something has to give, and fast, I'm starting to tire!**_

**Sasuke gives first. He is panting heavily, body bruised and mouth bloody. He holds his side gingerly as he jumps back onto the rocky land. "Enough of this! There is no other choice . . ." **

**Naruto also huffs tiredly, his own body sporting bruises and burns that don't heal as rapidly as before, fatigue starting to drag on him. He watches with growing trepidation as Sasuke undergoes a . . . transformation of sorts. The curse marks thicken and link together, turning his skin black as tar, his sclera turning black to highlight the ruddy scarlet Sharingan, and his hair lightening to a bluish color. Then his skin lightens to a dark grey with a black mark on the bridge of his nose, his lips turn purple, and his hair grows in spiky lengths down his back. Sasuke has activated level two of his curse seal.**

"**Ooh, scary, you unleashed your full transgendered powers." Naruto bites out sarcastically. In response Kyuubi amps up the chakra, and Naruto's being is enveloped in a familiar cloak. The chakra takes the form of a fox, one long tail waving behind him and two long ears atop his head. The cloak is opaque, showing Naruto, and the only reason the cloak is visible is because of the electric red outline around the boy.**

**Sasuke just titters, the power flowing through his veins; his very bones seem to thrum with it. "There's no way I'm going to lose."**

**Naruto snorts and charges Sasuke, going from the water to the shore and his left hand sinks to tear through the rock as he comes upon Sasuke. The boy does nothing, makes on move but to smirk and watch Naruto. Naruto hits Sasuke like a freight train, smoke billowing like there was an explosion as they crash from shore to the foot of Madara. **

**As the smoke dissipates, Naruto looks down expecting to see Sasuke knocked out. Only . . . Naruto's eyes widen. A . . . he didn't know exactly how to describe it. A giant, clawed, webbed hand had blocked him. It covered Sasuke's body entirely, hiding him from view. In the webbing between the "fingers" were smaller finger projections. Naruto backed away from it in disgust.**

"**What the fuck?" he mutters in revolted shock. **

**The hand twitches, and Naruto backs up and brings his arms up into a cross guard in the nick of time as the hand stretches out and smacks him away. He soars across the waterfall and smashes into the foot of Hashirama. He struggles up, and looks over at Sasuke before going quite clearly, "Eeeewwww!"**

**That hand is a wing. A wing in the shape of a hand, and the hand stretches out, fingers spreading. On the other side, with a grunt from Sasuke, another wig comes out. Two hand— sorry, wings.**

"**That is so **_**fucked up**_**." Naruto whines under his breath, before straightening up and crouching much like a fox or a cat. **

_**I can't go on for much longer . . . **_**Naruto thinks grimly. **_**I've used up nearly all my chakra, and relying solely on Kyuubi's won't get me out of a coma. At least I trained with it, otherwise I'd be burning alive right now. Too damn tired!**_

"**Let's end this Sasuke!" he roars. "One finishing move!"**

"**Yes, let's . . . funny how our last fight is here, isn't it?" Sasuke sneers. **

**Glancing around, Naruto has to chuckle. Sasuke stands under the statue of Uchiha Madara, while he is under Senju Hashirama. Though he might be only related to him by marriage, the fact that they are relatives of these men is interesting indeed. "I wonder what they would say, to see us now." Naruto murmurs in wonder.**

**Sasuke crouches low, and another Chidori is charged up. Yet, at its zenith, the chakra changes from the pure crackling white to a sort of grey with a pure white center. A dirty Chidori.**

**Naruto growls and forms a rasengan, the kyuubi's chakra mixing with his to mix purple and blue, almost melding into violet at some points. **

**They stare.**

**They tense.**

**They leap.**

* * *

There is a pause as Tsunade breaths out, her eyes as owlish as the others.

"That's definitely one of the more . . . intense fights I've ever known." Jiraiya admits gruffly after clearing his throat.

"The level of power displayed between the two . . . they're just kids and yet . . . !" Kakashi breathes.

"Such a thing, I can't even . . ." Kushina clamps her mouth shut. _Thank you, Kyuubi, for shielding my son as best as you could._

"We have more to read, let's see the outcome." Minato points out, gesturing to the book.

**Kakashi just had no luck.**

**The first thing he hears after coming back from an A-rank mission is: "Sasuke has left Konoha to join Orochimaru. Naruto, Shika—"**

**He heard Naruto and ran out. He already knew it would come down to Naruto and Sasuke, it often ended like that. He was puzzled at how this could happen. Sasuke had seemed content with his place with his friends, had developed bonds with his colleagues. What stopped this? Sasuke had seemed so light, so . . . not happy, but content at the party. Or was he just imagining that? Could he have stopped this earlier? He felt like he could have, if he'd only been more vigilant with Sasuke!**

"I don't think that's the case . . ." Minato finally makes his suspicions known. "Did it strike no one else strange, how Naruto and Sasuke spoke in the beginning? As if neither of them were thinking of Konoha at that moment. Later on, too, how Sasuke didn't start getting increasingly violent until he started tapping deeper into the curse mark?"

"I had noticed, but for what reason? I can only think that Naruto had no intention to really bring Sasuke back, but that can't be right. He truly despises Orochimaru, and yet—" Jiraiya shakes his head. "It makes no sense. He and Sasuke are friends, he wouldn't want Sasuke going to Orochimaru."

**And now, half his reserves depletes and rushed for time, Kakashi chased after his two students hoping he could stop things before it got too far.**

"**Kakashi!" Kakashi looks down at Pakkun who runs at his side. "It's up ahead— I smell blood and lots of it. I also smells snake . . . not Orochimaru, but that other guy . . ."**

"**Kabuto." Kakashi murmurs, eye narrowing. He hoped he wasn't too late. Was Kabuto sent as backup in case Naruto defeated Sasuke? **

"If Naruto can't defend himself it'll be bad." Obito mutters.

**A flash of yellow in the trees below has him stopping so fast he almost slips off the branch. "Pakkun! Look below!"**

**The small pug does and sniffs. "No question about it, that's Naruto. That's also the source of the blood."**

"**Good work Pakkun," Kakashi mutters as he drops down. "You can go back now."**

"**You got it." Pakkun replies, and he is gone in a puff of smoke.**

**Kakashi alights upon the forest floor, grimacing as he realizes how close to that valley he is, and how close to Fire Country's borders. Naruto is several feet ahead of him, his back facing Kakashi as he slumps, a shaky hand bracing his body on the tree.**

"**K-Kabuto . . . took Sasuke. I almost had him . . . !" Naruto hits the trunk of the tree, and then seems to wilt at the energy that must have taken from him.**

"Ok now I'm seeing it." Kushina interrupts. "He acts here like he was so interested in taking back Sasuke, but he didn't seem so emotional at the time of their fight."

"I can't clearly see the motives." Minato murmurs.

"**I know, you tried your best Naruto. Be lucky Kabuto didn't try to kill you." Kakashi stated quietly, walking forward.**

**Naruto chuckles weakly. "He didn't see the need."**

**Kakashi's brow furrowed. Sure Naruto was beaten up, but why would Kabuto show such mercy? Then again, the younger man had strange reasoning, and he hadn't killed Naruto when they were retrieving Tsunade. "Naruto?" he asked suspiciously. "Turn around."**

**Naruto looked over his shoulder, a small grin tilting one corner of his mouth. "Come on nii-san—"**

"**Naruto." Kakashi warned. Naruto's grin didn't falter, even as he turned around and Kakashi choked on the air that was stolen from him by pure shock.**

"**He . . . he used Chidori?" Kakashi choked out.**

"Well yeah like three times—" Obito mutters before he is cut off by Tsunade.

"Shut up!" she hisses, her grip on the book tightening so much that creases start to appear where her fingers are.

"**What? Don't act like that. It's not . . . that bad." Naruto denies, even as fresh blood pours from the hole in his chest. **

"Did it go through?!" Rin shrieks.

"Rin, not the greatest time to bring that up." Minato hisses in censure, carefully holding onto his unnaturally pale girlfriend who seems to waver in his grasp, her face slack and horrified.

"**Not that—!" Stopping himself Kakashi darts forward and hauls Naruto into his arms, immediately taking into the trees. Kakashi had to keep him talking, if he fell asleep it was very likely the boy would never wake up.**

"**Not that bad, you say?" he finishes his earlier statement bitingly.**

"**It, uh . . . It's a flesh wound." Naruto chuckles.**

"**I'd hate to see what a lethal wound looks like to you. Perhaps a cut off limb." Kakashi jokes weakly, pressing Naruto closer as he feels the blood trickling down to his hands, staining them. **

"**That's unfortunate, not lethal." Naruto whispered.**

"**Don't fall asleep Naruto, stay with me." Kakashi urges, pushing more chakra into his legs. The boys weakened voice alarmed him, and he knew he had to work fast. Kyuubi's chakra could only do so much, he needed a medic.**

"**I . . . 'S okay, onii . . ." Naruto whispered, before falling silent.**

"Shit!" Tsunade bemoans.

"**Naruto?" Kakashi shakes the boy in his grasp, and his only response is Naruto's head flopping against his chest. "Damn it all to hell!" he snarls, forgetting all about his low reserves as he practically flies back to Konoha. **

"And it just ends there?!" Kushina shrieks, flying up. "There, and I don't know if he's dead or alive!"

"Then let's quickly read the next chapter, and we can find out." Minato soothes her, gently guiding her back down to the couch and into his warm yet firm hold.

* * *

**And let me know what you think! Oh, very quickly . . . i'll be putting up a poll on a decision i'd like your opinion on regarding Naruto Shippuden, so after reviewing kindly go to my profile and answer the poll. It'll be up for . . . two weeks, i'll give it. Thank you!**

**Love, **

**Bloody Mad**


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